The third episode of the final run of Game of Thrones saw the main characters come face to face with the enemy which threatened the entirety of Westeros, the Night King (played by Vladimir Furdik) and his army.
Many were killed in the battle and as he made his way toward Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright), it seemed as though the Night King could win.
But the Night King met his end as Arya Stark pounced toward him, seemingly out of nowhere, and stabbed him with a Valyrian dagger.
He shattered into pieces as did the rest of the White Walkers as the Battle of Winterfell was won by the living.
However, this climactic scene could’ve played out very differently according to director Miguel Sapochnik.
He has spilled that there were some key changes made to some original plans for the moment.
“At one point there was an elaborate plan to have her fight her way into the Weirwood forest, but as we progressed we realised she’d already done that earlier in the episode, so it felt like a repeat,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
“In the end we felt it didn’t matter how she got there – what mattered was setting up that moment when the Night King catches her mid-leap and we think she’s done for, then she pulls her knife switch and takes him out.”
Miguel added: “I loved Maisie’s performance post the takedown as well, sharing a moment with her brother, Bran. That weary smile. ‘Not today.’”
The huge moment did attract some criticism from fans as it wasn’t what many were expecting to happen.
READ MORE: Game of Thrones: Real reason Jon Snow had to return to The Wall revealed
A portion of viewers claimed the slaying of the Night King left his motives and backstory unexplained.
The Stark children ended up taking some very different paths when all was said and done.
At the end of the final season, Arya was seen setting off on another adventure as she said she was going to sail “West of Westeros”.
Meanwhile, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) was sent back to The Wall as Bran and Sansa (Sophie Turner) became a King and Queen, respectively.
One fan of the show has suggested writer of the source material George R.R. Martin was guided by the meanings of the characters’ names when bestowing them.
Reddit user lettuce-lady wrote: “I wonder if GRRM looked into the meanings of his characters’ names when he was choosing them (especially the Stark kids).
“Like, some connections are obvious: Bran means “raven, crow” (and apparently he could become the next Three-Eyed Crow) in some Celtic languages, Sansa means “charm” (“Courtesy is a lady’s armour”) in Sanskrit.
“Arya means “noble” (her story has some elements of the noble fugitive trope) in Sanskrit, Robb (or Robert to be more precise) means “bright fame” (which The Young Wolf certainly has even after his death) in some Old Germanic languages.
“Not so sure about Jon and Rickon but the above examples seem to be rather curious.”
Meanwhile, the prequel to the series is well underway although an air date is yet to be announced.
