Game of Thrones fans react to tonight's emotional whirlwind of an episode

Tonight's Game of Thrones started as such a solemn, celebratory affair. Then things got bad. Like, really, really bad.

Given that last week's record-setting, heart-pounding episode, "The Long Night," spent the entire time on the Battle of Winterfell, it was relatively light on major character deaths. Sure, there was Theon Greyjoy and Jorah Mormont going down in battle, not to mention the noble demise of Lyanna Mormont.

Anyway, with three episodes left to close out its massive storyline, and the threat of the Night King squashed (courtesy of our beloved Arya Stark), this week's episode was something of a return to form, filled with the good old-fashioned political backstabbing that made us all fall in love with it in the first place. Which includes a couple of truly shocking, heartbreaking moments.

*Warning: spoilers for the latest episodes of Game of Thrones to follow*

The mood in Winterfell started off a little mournful, but there was still a victory to be celebrated. And so the wine started flowing. So much so that the recently knighted Brienne of Tarth and Jaime Lannister decided to squash their years' worth of sexual tension once and for all.

Their romance, however, was short-lived, as Jaime ended up ditching Brienne to return to King's Landing to fight alongside his sister, Cersei.

Things got worse from there when Rhaegal took several spears to the chest, courtesy of a surprise attack from Euron Greyjoy. Which takes Daenerys' chances of winning a battle down significantly.

That wasn't the end, though, as Tyrion tried a last-ditch effort to get his older sister to surrender and free Missandei, who'd been captured by Euron in the wake of Rhaegal's death. That ... didn't go well, either.

So, to recap, Dany's military advantage is crippled, her claim to the Iron Throne is in serious jeopardy, and she lost her most loyal and trusted advisor. All in all, it's been a real rough few days for Dany.

That's it for this week, leaving us with just two more episodes of Game of Thrones ever. And remember, the show is notorious for saving the real gut punch for the second-to-last episode. Best to keep that in mind before next week.