Ramin Djawadi's fantastic soundtrack was the real winner in the epic 'Game of Thrones' battle and deserves a big shout-out
Fans of HBO's hit TV show 'Game of Thrones' have been hearing about the longest episode in the series — season eight's 82-minute episode 3 titled 'The Long Night' — for quite some time now.
According to a November report, the episode was pegged as "the most sustained action sequence ever made for television or film". An assistant director on the show had made the error of posting on Instagram that the cast and crew of the show had shot through 55 straight nights for this one episode.
True to all the hype surrounding the episode, 'The Long Night' proved to be a spectacular battle sequence between the forces of good and evil. The most underappreciated part of this spectacle, however, is the musical genius of composer Ramin Djawadi.
The testament to Djawadi's musical capabilities is, of course, the iconic intro sequence to the series, which fans across the world will be able to hum at the drop of a hat.
It's his compositions that have provided so many incredible feelings while watching the show, even if the visuals are particularly underwhelming (read: season 5's Sons of the Harpy).
The feeling Djawadi wanted to convey through his score for 'The Long Night' was dread, and that's exactly what he did.
The episode starts off with a low, almost pulsating rhythm to portray suspense. The famed composer said in an interview recently that he wanted the episode to resemble a horror film.
The dread keeps you on your toes until the final scene in the episode when the piano solo begins.
However, when it comes to melancholic sounds of a piano playing on the show, fans are quick to realize that they are in for the shock of their lives.
One of the key scenes in the series so far is that of King Tommen jumping to his death as Queen mother Cersei Lannister exacts revenge on the High Sparrow and his followers using wildfire.
So once the piano started playing, fans braced themselves for the end for Winterfell towards the end of episode three of the latest season.
Every major character in the episode was stuck in a compromising situation and no one knew who was going to survive.
This is when we see Arya Stark emerging as the true hero, and the beautifully composed requiem shatters when she kills the Night King.
Thus, the score for the longest episode comes to an end with only a few fatalities.
Djawadi has only received one Emmy for his outstanding work on the series after being nominated for his composition twice.
His work on 'Thrones' is reminiscent of his masterful compositions for HBO's other popular show 'Westworld', but no one seems to be complaining because it's brilliant nevertheless.
