If you missed this week's 'Game of Thrones' behind-the-scenes this week watch it now

"Do you think this is going well? I don't think this is going well." "Do you think this is going well? I don't think this is going well." Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close If you missed this week's 'Game of Thrones' behind-the-scenes this week watch it now 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The video below is hardly some small cultural thingamadoo that nobody has seen. Rather it's a clip watched by 1.2 million people and counting. But for any "Game of Thrones" fan that hasn't yet seen the behind-the-scenes short on the amazing, dragon-fire-filled Loot Train Attack scene, I cannot overstate how interesting and enlightening it is.

We're talking cameras moving along at 70 mph. And we're talking eco-friendly black dyes used to make Lannister soldiers look charred. Groups of 20 stunt men standing on fire (a record, so they say). And D.B. Weiss' comment about the dragon being like an F-16 swooping through a medieval battle.

By all technical accounts the Loot Train Attack scene was a rousing success. Fans have spent about six seasons to see Daenerys' dragons set loose, and well, they proved a formidable weapon. She basically dropped a nuclear bomb, but not on her enemy's center of power. This was more a tease.

And while the dynamics of this conflict between Daenerys Targaryen and Cersei Lannister shifted dramatically with this battle, there was a lot more going on than seeing soldiers reduced to ash.

"Thrones" has from the beginning avoided painting characters as good or bad, even in battle, where viewers often want to side with someone. The Battle of the Bastards was an exception, with a clear favorite and a clear villain. But more often the show sets up conflict with split allegiance -- all the better to make a grand statement about the horrors of war.

And this two-sidedness has never done so as deftly as the Loot Train Attack. Much of the conflict is presented through Jaime Lannister's eyes, offering the perspective of a seen-it-all soldier who, it turns out, hasn't seen it all. And while Jaime has done plenty of bad stuff, he's been on a slowly curving redemption arc on this show. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau beautifully presents Jaime's grim recognition that he's horribly outmatched.

But the viewer nevertheless is meant to feel this scene more from Tyrion Lannister's (Peter Dinklage) perspective. On one hand, he's the Hand of the Queen and watching his boss lay waste to the enemy. On the other, the only family member he ever loved, brother Jaime, is in grave danger. And worth noting, the rank-and-file Lannister soldiers -- fairly faceless to the viewer except for one guest star -- once served under Tyrion's command in another battle that split viewers' loyalties between Joffrey's forces and those of Stannis. Turns out they were both awful, but still...

Dinklage hardly appeared in this episode. His few scenes were wrenching: stone faced as a Dothraki soldier told him, "Your people can't fight." And secretly wishing his brother off the battlefield: "Flee, you idiot."

"Thrones" still has plenty of awful characters left on the game board. But the sides have been drawn such that no victory will come without an emotional cost for a committed viewer. It's grueling. And exhilarating, too. And it creates future complications beyond character loyalty. Dany's bomb test went pretty well if you're counting casualties. She also torched an enormous supply of food, which the show has subtly informed us is becoming scarcer. There's a good chance she's not only on a psychotic Targaryen rip after this battle, but also hamstringing herself strategically as well.

Like I said, the dragon scenes were amazing. But there was a lot of other stuff going on as well.