Honestly, the version he came up in the show – build trenches to avoid being flanked by Ramsay’s cavalry and neutralize Ramsay’s numbers, try to demoralize Ramsay’s army by questioning their leader’s fitness – isn’t bad. Indeed, even if Jon had known about the Vale cavalry, it might not have been a bad idea to distract Ramsay, turn his force into an anvil, and let the Vale be the hammer.
It’s more that the showrunners seem to have forgotten how they’d set up the battle – the trenches are mentioned but don’t appear on the battlefield, Ramsay’s cavalry are supposed to be the major threat but are actually inconsequential and it’s his infantry that are the real threat, there’s setup for the Umbers etc. to turn on Ramsay but no payoff.
But then again, what do you expect when the shooting of the battle is botched?
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