Game of Thrones -- "The Long Night"

Game of Thrones
HBO
Season 8: Episode 3
"The Long Night"
The Nicsperiment Score: 10/10

Expectations are tricky things. I binge-watched Game of Thrones a little over a year ago. I haven't been hanging out on show-theory message boards, trying to guess the plot over the last eight years. I raced through it, enjoyed most of it, and have been watching this final season in real time. I haven't been part of any online community attempting to guess who will kill the Night King, or what will Bran warg into, or if the entire show is just a dream. I came into this week's episode, "The Long Night," which sees roughly 95% of the show's myriad main characters making a desperate, impossible stand against death itself, with zero expectations. I received that 82 minutes like a gift.
And what a gift it was--82 minutes of the most intense television I've ever seen. An episode that fans, myself included, have been dubbing "The Battle of Winterfell," despite that not even being the actual episode title. Even that much presupposition on my part was a mistake--within the first 20 minutes, it becomes clear that this won't be a battle, but a slaughter. People will complain that a battle the show has been building toward since its first episode was too dark and engulfed in fog to see clearly, but that only made it more terrifying (Particularly that early shot of of distant flames extinguishing against a wall of darkness--and the incredible audio that went along with it!). Clearly, attacking in the dead of night, and creating a snowy fog were part of the dead's strategy. People will complain about a lot of things.
I thought this character was going to end up doing that.
I thought this character would die, and that character would live.
I thought they'd show this. I thought they'd show that.
I just watched the most awesome display of controlled chaos ever put on the small screen. I don't care about any of my previous "I thoughts" because I think what I just watched is awesome. The direction and lighting all felt extremely intentional and of great purpose, and I think what the show-runners and crew members achieved here will stand the test of time. The contrast of light and dark throughout, highlighted thematically what the battle was about, and yet was also to amplify tension--every time a flame flickers, what will it reveal? Absolutely incredible artistry. And that score! Only Lost has featured comparable musical work in a single episode.
Am I concerned about what the show will do to fill its final three episodes after what happens at the end of this one?
This is a review of "The Long Night," not "Do I Think Game of Thrones Will be Able to Provide a Satisfying Last Three Episodes?"
This has been an exhausting weekend for pop-culture fans. Watching the Avengers take on Thanos one final time and watching the living of Westeros take on the Night King in a 48-hour period is about as much high-stakes fantasy drama as I can take. I made it a point to write reviews for both out of how I felt immediately after I watched them, while making sure that I actually reviewed them through the lens of the objective present, and not the subjective lens of "what I thought was gonna happen." I know my heart is still beating at a dangerously fast rate. I know that my mind is racing, though my body is exhausted. I know that I love what I just watched. I know that as soon as I click "Publish," I'm going to bed.