Game of Thrones: Everything happened according to Cersei Lannister’s plan
By Sandy C.
Fans are still digesting Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 3, The Long Night. Cersei Lannister’s plan is successful and she now has the clear advantage.
Spoiler alert! Not caught up on the series or missed Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 3 “The Long Night”? Please note there are big spoilers ahead!
Three episodes down, three to go! The war against the Night King and the undead is now over, but there is still a lot to look forward to. With the dead out of the way, it’s now time to fight for the Throne. But if you think there’s nothing Daenerys and Jon Snow’s army can’t stop now that they have faced the Night King’s undead, you’re wrong.
Cersei has a clear advantage here. As Jaime Lannister revealed (and we all figured out long before), Cersei never intended to help the living. Her sinister plan was always for the dead and living to fight each other, and she would kill the few survivors left. Well, now she can.
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Even if Daenerys still has numbers on her side, they’re not in good condition, much less healthy enough to battle again. Those few who have survived are not only weak and hungry, but wounded. After what we witnessed in “The Long Night” (or attempted to, due to the darkness of the episode), there isn’t a soul who walked out of there unharmed — other than a few who lucked out in the crypt. Daenerys’ dragons may not even be fit for battle. We’ve yet to see the damage the dragons have suffered.
Cersei may not have elephants, but she has 20,000 strong and eager-to-fight men from the Golden Company, on top of her own army (The Verge estimates Cersei’s own army is under 10 thousand), and let’s not forget Euron’s soldiers, which are about 30,000. Cersei also has many resources to her advantage.
As for Daenerys army, according to vigilant Reddit accounts, before the battle with the Night King she had “10 thousand Northerners, 10 thousand Knights of the Vale, under 8 thousand Unsullied, and just under 100 thousand Dothraki.” Again, this is all before facing the undead.
The Dothraki took the heaviest hit, we’re not sure how many are left. The Unsullied and Knights of Vale also suffered many casualties, as did the Northerners, who tried and failed to hold the undead back. We know Jon Snow, Jaime Lannister, Ser Brienne, both dragons, Arya, Gendry, Tormund and others are still alive.
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So, that’s Cersei’s army size of approximately 60,000 vs Daenerys…50 thousand wounded? Maybe? Hopefully? I’m just throwing a wild guess here. What’s your prediction? Let’s just hope those dragons are ready for battle soon.
Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 4 premieres Sunday, May 5, only on HBO.