I’m watching for the first time and had to pause because I’m pissed off at the use of dragons in this scene. The two remaining (living) dragons were used to breathe fire onto the battlefield when the living and the dead were mingled together in combat, with the highest risk of friendly fire (killing the living).

But they didn’t use the dragons to rain down fire when there was separation between the two sides: at the beginning of the battle/after the loss of the Dothraki, when the living army was in retreat, after they lit the fire trench, after only the dead were left outside the walls and climbing up the walls. I thought at first that they were afraid of losing the remaining dragons, but that wasn’t it because they did fly the dragons over the battlefield at what seemed like the worst possible time. All of these other points seemed like prime opportunities to use those dragons and wipe out some of the dead. But nope

Also, they need to put some harnesses on those dragons because you never know what could happen, especially after the first dragon was downed last season. Put some setbelts on that shit. Now they’re flying over the clouds!

I'm pretty sure this picture was released to the public as part of the promotional material, before Season 8 actually aired. And it really is darkly prophetic, in an unintentional way. All of these characters, the leaders of the army of the Living, are obviously engaged in planning the defense of Winterfell against the assault / siege of the army of the Dead. Going around the table, we see: Sansa Stark, Brandon Stark, Jon Snow, Arya Stark, Samwell Tarly, Theon Greyjoy, Alys Karstark, Brienne of Tarth, Jaime Lannister, Beric Dondarrion, Tormund Giantsbane, Davos Seaworth, Lyanna Mormont, Yhon Royce, Qhono (barely visible), Grey Worm, Varys, Daenerys Targaryen, Jorah Mormont, and Tyrion Lannister. And we, the viewers, notice that every single one of these characters has at least one of the following traits: They're all either a highborn noble, a charismatic leader of men, a skilled fighter, a hardened killer, a seasoned battle commander, exceptionally intelligent and/or resourceful, endowed with magical powers, carrying a Valyrian steel weapon, someone who can ride a dragon, and/or someone who literally grew up in Winterfell & therefore knows every inch of the place. And we realize that, "Wow! Despite the difficulty of the [CASTLE DEFENSE] they're attempting, these guys actually have everything they need. They've got the skills, the experience, the leadership, the money, the manpower, the materials, the tools, and the time. These folks aren't going to miss a single trick, this [CASTLE DEFENSE] is going to go off without a hitch."

Swap out [CASTLE DEFENSE] with [GoT FINALE], and there's your Season 8. The show-runners had every advantage they could have asked for, all the expertise they could have wanted was at their beck & call, HBO was willing to bend over backwards for them . . . and we still got idiocy like putting the siege engines outside the walls. Seven Hells.