Jorah rides through the ongoing fight, Dismembering a wight with one great swing, then another. His face is bloodied and he looks exhausted. As he pivots his mount, a wight tackles him from behind, and he and is horse both fall. He rolls to his feet and continues to battle. Nearby, Brienne grunts as she cuts through her assailants. She tries to catch her breath, but a wight attacks before she can. Tormund's berserk attacks are brutal and effective, but he is also out of breath. Jamie is more deft in his parries and footwork. Podrick pushes away the wight that tries to take him down. Gendry and the Hound also fight in the fray.

A wight leaps through the air and wraps himself around Jamie. The Kingslayer tries to shake him off. Another wight tackles Tormund. Sam shouts and slays an undead fighter. Edd circles behind him, but is taken down by a leaping wight.

Sam shouted, "Edd! Edd!"

Another wight tackles Sam before he can help his friend, pinning him to the ground on his back. Sam fights with all he has to stop the undead's blade from forcing into his skull. Edd saves Sam by stabbing the wight through the back. Sam whimpers, and his senses slow as exhaustion takes over.

Edd shouts, "Sam, get up!"

Edd grabs Sam's shirt and pulls him to his feet. As Sam regains his strength, Edd is stabbed from behind. Blood spews from his mouth as he gasps and staggers.

Edd said, "Oh, God. Sam."

Edd collapses. Sam looks at the snarling wight behind Edd. Sam turns and flees.

A woman shouts, "Edd!

—--

Sansa walks down the steps to the crypt. Above her, the heavy door closes and is locked by a guard. She joins the crowd of women, children and elderly who are huddling in the crypt, along with Varys, Gilly and Little Sam. Sansa takes stock of the crypt's atmosphere.

—--

The wind howls. The clouds of snow hang in the air. Rhaegal flies through. Jon holds on to the powerful dragon as they crash through snow-covered treetops. Rhaegal regains control of his flight. Jon gasps for breath. He looks behind him at the peril they escaped. Suddenly, Drogon appears from the snow cloud in front of them, on a collision course. The dragons bank to avoid one another. Aldarra grunts as she is slung around in her saddle. Jon strains to check that Aldarra is safe as the dragons pull side by side. The dragons struggle to fly against the wind and snow, and Jon and Aldarra are constantly tested by the unpredictable and jerky flight. Once they have settled, Aldarra looks down through the blowing snow to take in the battle. She then searches for Tyrion. She doesn't see him immediately. He starts catching up to them. The undead army continues to surge forward with inhuman stamina.

—--

Tormund grunts as he lands each blow.

Tormund shouts, "Fall back! Fall back!" A wight stumbles as it tries to attack Tormund from behind. He raises his weapon and delivers a powerful overhead strike.

Brienne shouts, "Fall back!" The Northmen follow the command to retreat.

A soldier shouts, "Come on!"

—--

Lyanna stands with her soldiers.

Lyanna shouts, "Open the gate!"

A soldier shouts, "Open the gate!" Her men run to the gate.

Another soldier shouts, "Let us in!"

The soldier shouts, "Open the gate!"

Four soldiers remove the crossbeam and open the mighty gate. The injured and weary Northern army rushes in noisily.

Soldiers shout, "Keep moving!" "Come on!"

Lyanna shouts, "Keep moving, fast!"

Soldiers shout, "To your posts!", "Go!", "Keep moving!", "Come on, run! Keep moving!"

—--

Northmen retreat through the gate. The undead battle with the soldiers nearby.

A soldier shouts, "Stand your ground!"

As one, the soldiers take a defensive stance, spears pointed forward. The undead swarm into them with great force, but the soldiers slow their progress.

—--

Men continue to pour through the gate. Just beyond, the Northmen fall back behind the battalions of soldiers, who stand at attention. Sounds of the battle beyond ring through the blasts of wind and snow.

—--

Jon, Tyrion and Aldarra fight to fly against the storm.

Jon shouted, "Aldarra!" She cannot hear him. Jon guides Rhaegal to bank to the right.

—--

Bran sits pensively. Above, he can see Rhaegal fighting to hover before landing heavily on the wall surrounding the godswood. Jon looks around.

—--

Soldiers rush towards the gate.

A soldiers shouts, "Grab your weapon now!", "Guard the barricades!", "Through that pass!"

Lyanna watches the men rushing through. Near the gate, Brienne tries to maintain some control of the rushing crowd.

Brienne shouts, "Hey! Hey! Hey!"

A soldier shouts, "Close up the gaps!"

Brienne shouts, "Go! Hey! Go! Go!"

Brienne ushers Podrick into the courtyard. Nearby, Jamie takes command of those near him.

Jamie shouted, "Get in! Get in! Get in! Come on!"

—--

Men continue to run towards the gate. Beyond the wooden fortifications, the soldiers stand their ground. The undead continue their onslaught, but the soldiers stop them.

—--

Northernmen flee in great numbers to the gate. Only a handful of lines of soldiers remain, but the endless waves of undead continue. The soldiers are near the end of their defensive effort.

—--

Soldiers run as fast as they can towards the gate. Flaming arrows shoot through the air above them.

A soldier shouts, "Move!"

Tormund takes down a wight with a mighty blow. The man beside him does the same, but is felled by an arrow right after. The snarling undead wrestle through the wooden palisades. Arya takes careful aim and shoots a flaming arrow, felling the wight pursuing the Hound. He turns around in surprise, looks up to Arya, then back at the felled creature. He swings his ax anew.

—--

Soldiers rush through the gate.

Lyanna shouts, "Protect the gate!"

Jamie shouts, "They're coming! Come on!"

The Hound shouts, "Fall back!"

—--

Davos runs forward to take stock of the battle. Panting, he watches the undead making slow but constant progress against the last lines of the soldiers.

Davos shouts, "Light the trench! Light the trench!"

Davos picks up two torches and waves them to signal the command.

Soldiers shout, "Light the trench!"

—--

A soldier watches the ferocious undead army battle against the soldiers and the Northmen in front of him. Deciding that it is time, he grabs a rope and pulls with all his might, triggering the collapse of the wood that spans the trench in front of him. A fury of arrows descends from the ramparts behind him.

Davos continues to signal with his torches.

—--

Aldarra and Drogon fly through the turbulent clouds of snow unable to see.

—--

Davos lowers his torches.

Davos shouted, "She can't see us." Davos throws down the torches in frustration.

Davis shouts, "Light the trenches!"

Archers shoot flaming arrows at the palisade in the trenches. The harsh wind blows out the flames before the stakes catch fire.

—--

The seemingly endless undead army continues to surge forward, snarling and growling.

A soldier shouts, "With a torch, light the trenches! Right there."

Another soldier shouts, "Torch it!" The soldiers grab torches from the braziers.

Davos is still screaming, "Light the trenches!"

—--

The soldiers run from the brazier to towards the trenches. One by one, they tackled by wights before they reach their objective.

—--

Jorah, Beric, Tormund and the Hound protect the gate. Snarling wights try to force their way through the palisades.

—--

Davos looks down to the gate as a battalion of soldiers march out.

Jorah, Beric, Tormund and the Hound give way to the soldiers, who march double time into a defensive formation. They align their shields to form a barrier and a battle stance. Melisandre emerges from the gate. The Hound slays a wight nearby. The soldiers captain gives a command, and the soldiers stand at attention, creating an aisle for Melisandre. She walks to the trench and places her hand on a frozen log, eyes closed.

Melisandre chants in Valyrian, "Lord of Light, cast your light upon us. Lord of Light, defend us. For the night is dark and full of terrors!"

Jorah and some soldiers fight back the charging undead. Flaming arrows streak down from the ramparts into the darkness beyond the trench. The growls of the undead creep out of the darkness.

Melisandre urgently chants in Valyrian, "Lord of Light, cast your light upon us! Lord of Light, defend us! For the night is dark and full of terrors!"

The Hound, Beric and Tormund stand their ground, helping to protect Melisandre. The wights get dangerously close to Melisandre, who opens her eyes at the threat.

Melisandre desperately chants in Valyrian, "Lord of Light, cast your light upon us! Lord of Light, defend us! For the night is dark and full of terrors!"

A wight leaps over the trench to grapple Melisandre. Just in time, sparks explode between her hands and the log. The oil in the trench quickly ignites, consuming the attacking ghoul and those behind it. The trench erupts into a blinding wall of flame, stopping the swarm of undead attackers. They shriek in surprise and pain. For now, Winterfell is protected from the charge.

—--

The glow of the flaming trench reaches Aldarra, Tyrion and Jon, who fly high above.

—--

The fiery wall leaps twenty feet into the air. The flames light up the wall of Winterfell. Melisandre looks on her inferno with relief.

—--

Arya and Davos watch as Aldarra directs Drogon to incinerate a swath of undead beyond the flaming trench.

—--

Some wights squirm and crawl out of the trench, engulfed in flames. Soldiers march past Jorah, Beric and the Hound, who fight to catch their breath. Beyond the wall of flame, the undead stand, motionless and staring. The Hound stares at the scene for a moment and then walks away.

Beric said, "Clegane."

—--

A baby cries, but otherwise the crypt is quiet.

A woman said, "You must try not to worry yourself."

Sansa, Shae and Varys sit apart from the others. The residents of Winterfell wait with concern on their faces.

Varys sighs, "At least we're already in a crypt."

Sansa said, "That's true."

Varys said, "Sorry I have nothing witty to say."

Sansa said, "Witty remarks won't make a difference. That's why we're down here, none of us can do anything. It's the truth. It's the most heroic thing we can do now to look the truth in the face."

Shae said quietly, "Hope Tyrion said alright." Sansa put her arm around her.

—--

The wind whips through the godswood. Theon continues to guard Bran, bow strapped to his back.

Theon said, "They lit the trench. Bran I just want you to know... I wish... The things I did…"

Bran said, "Everything you did brought you where you are now. Where you belong. Home." Theon weighs Bran's words.

Bran said, "I'm going to go now."

Theon asked, "Go where?" Bran's eyes go white.

—--

A raven's eyes go white as Bran wargs into the bird. The ravens caw as they take flight from the tree, towards the fire wall. Drogon spits forth a blaze of fire into the undead army, just in front of the conspiracy of ravens. They fly past the battle, beyond WInterfell, and fly into the dark sky. They come upon the Night King riding a dead horse. The Night King extends his hand in command, which crackles like freezing water.