Game of Thrones is just one of those shows that fans love to talk and theorize about. Whether it’s about their favorite characters or characters they love to hate. One group of characters that fits firmly in the “love to hate” category is the Night King and his army of White Walkers. Fans have many theories about the Night King and his White Walkers, some of which make sense and some of which… don’t. Now we’re not saying that these crazy theories can’t happen on the show. Far from it. If anyone had told us about how Hodor got his name, we would have dismissed it as a crazy fan theory. So perhaps some of these theories have merit.
All of them, though, are quite interesting and some are somewhat fantastical as befits a fantasy show like Game of Thrones. In a world where dragons and ice zombies live— and now an ice zombie dragon— anything can happen. Speaking of ice zombies, that’s exactly what the Night King and his White Walkers are. And fans love to theorize about these fantastical villains.
Whether they’re questioning if the Night King and the White Walkers are villains in the first place, or theorizing that all those who had been burned will return to fight the White Walkers, fans love theorizing about these icy antagonists. Some believe that the White Walkers’ ultimate goal is to preserve life, while others believe that the Night King is a Stark, come to reclaim his title of King in the North. Whatever the theory, one thing is clear. Fans love talking about the Night King and his army of White Walkers.
Welcome to: 25 Craziest Fan Theories About The Night King And The White Walkers.
The Night King And The White Walkers Are Not The Villains They Appear To Be
According to a fan on Reddit, the Night King and the White Walkers are not the villains of the story. This fan believes that since George R.R. Martin likes writing morally grey characters, that applies to the Night King and the White Walkers as well. They’re not pure evil, we just haven’t seen their perspective on things very much. Of course, this makes a bit of sense. Yet the theory itself does not fully explain how the White Walkers are not villains and what their perspective truly is. Perhaps it will play out on the show. You never know what will happen in Game of Thrones, after all. Yet we wouldn’t bet on it.
The Night King Is Rhaegar Targaryen
Yes, you read that correctly. According to a fan theorist, The Night King is Rhaegar Targaryen. No offense is meant to said fan theorist, but this theory is not very likely to play out on the show. While it would be a plot twist, and Game of Thrones is known for those, it wouldn’t make much sense. Especially since the Children of the Forest created the Night King long before Rhaegar was even born. Though you never know what will happen in the world of Westeros, we hope that this theory does not happen on the show. Not only would it be heartbreaking, but it would also be very confusing. So let’s hope the writers don’t go that route.
The Night King Is Azor Ahai
Azor Ahai? The Night King? Really? Ok, we have to admit, this theory is an interesting one. According to the fan theorist, Azor Ahai is meant to defeat the darkness, and from the Night King’s perspective, people are the darkness. It’s possible, we suppose. Game of Thrones is known for its heartbreaking plot twists. Yet this theory doesn’t fully make sense. If the Night King is Azor Ahai, who is he meant to defeat? All of the people in Westeros? Or just the purely evil ones? Surely one of the points of Game of Thrones is that all people are capable of both good deeds and evil ones. Is the Night King like Santa Claus? Does he have a list of people who have been too naughty? Yeah, we don’t think so.
The Night King Is One Of The Seven Gods From Westeros’ Faith Of The Seven
Yes, a god. The Stranger, to be specific. The Seven are made up of the Father, the Mother, the Maiden, the Crone, the Warrior, the Smith, and the Stranger. The Night King being The Stranger is easy enough to believe. The Stranger does represent meeting your demise, after all. Yet if that is true, where are the rest of the Seven? Are they OK with the Night King— or The Stranger if this theory is true— messing with those they’re meant to protect? Besides, if the Night King is the Stranger, then why does he seem to have such a grudge against humanity? And how could this theory be true and also the story we’re told in the show, that the Children of the Forest created the Night King to help them fight the First Men? It just doesn’t make sense.
Getting Rid Of The Night King Will Also Eliminate The Starks
According to this fan theorist, the remaining Starks, including Jon Snow, should watch out. Because defeating the Night King will come with a price. The remaining Starks— Jon, Sansa, Arya, and Bran— will be eliminated once the Night King is gone. The reason for this, according to the fan theorist, is that the Night King was once a Stark and therefore getting rid of him will not only get rid of the White Walkers, but the remaining Starks as well. Now this would be a heartbreaking plot twist. And Game of Thrones is known for those. Yet we still don’t think this theory will play out on the show.
All Those Who Have Been Burned Will Return To Fight The White Walkers
And how will they return, you may ask? According to this fan theorist, they will be resurrected by the Lord of Light. The god that Melisandre prays to. While this would be an awesome twist, we don’t think it will happen. It seems to us that for the Lord of Light to bring someone back takes a lot of effort. On the part of the people working for the Lord of Light, and probably the Lord of Light himself. Why spend that effort on a bunch of random people who may or may not be helpful in the battle against the White Walkers?
The Starks Are Descended From White Walkers
We’ve spoken about this theory before. Though anything could happen in the world of Game of Thrones, this theory is not looking very likely. Especially since it is based on facts from the books and not the show. Though it is always possible that the show writers could pull off this twist, it doesn’t seem likely to us. Basically, the theory states that in the past, a Stark, called the Night’s King, (confusing, we know) married and had children with a White Walker woman. First of all, are there even female White Walkers? We don’t remember seeing any in the show. Of course, they could still exist somewhere in the world of Westeros. Second of all, bringing this up in the show would involve going into the history of House Stark which doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen. Although, you never know.
The White Walkers Came Back Specifically To Stop Daenerys
No offense to this fan theorist, but we don’t think so. Sure, the books are called A Song of Ice and Fire. And George R.R. Martin has apparently said that the White Walkers are misunderstood. However, we think there is a flaw in the logic of the fan theorist. The White Walkers started coming back and attacking people long before Daenerys even set foot in Westeros. So how could the White Walkers be after her? It just wouldn’t make sense. No doubt they won’t be fond of the Mother of Dragons, especially since she still has two dragons and a powerful army to fight against them with. But we don’t think they have a personal vendetta against her.
The White Walkers Are Trying To Communicate Something
Surely there has to be another way. If they are trying to communicate something, why not do it in a way that makes more sense, instead of leaving cryptic symbols around? Of course, it’s possible that this fan theorist is right. Anything’s possible in Game of Thrones. Yet we don’t think it’s likely. If the writers did want to go this route, they’d have to have the White Walkers create similar symbols in season eight and have the main characters figure out what they mean somehow. And we don’t know if there is enough time for all of that to happen.
…Something To Do With The Night King’s Origins
This is a possibility, we admit. Yet why would the Night King want everyone to know about his origins? Wouldn’t that just make destroying him easier? And we don’t think that’s what the Night King wants. He most likely wants to destroy everyone else, not get destroyed himself. Though it would be nice if our main characters could defeat him easily, this is Game of Thrones. Nothing ever comes easily in the world of Westeros. Our main characters are going to have to work hard to defeat the Night King and his army of White Walkers. And the fans wouldn’t have it any other way. Though the less main characters pass away, the better.
The White Walkers’ Ultimate Goal Is To Preserve Life
Really? Another “the White Walkers are really the good guys” theory? Listen, we like morally grey characters as much as the next Game of Thrones fans do. Yet this theory doesn’t seem plausible to us. No offense is meant to the fan theorist, of course. Anything can happen in the world of Westeros, after all. So who knows? This theory could happen on the show. Though we wouldn’t bet on it. If this theory was true, the White Walkers most likely wouldn’t leave behind people’s bodies wherever they go. They would instead transform every other person into a White Walker, so that they too could live in the paradise that the White Walkers live in, according to the fan theorist. Since that’s not the case, we’re going to disagree with this theory. Though you never know. This would be just the type of twist Game of Thrones could pull off.
The White Walkers Are Specifically After Jon Snow
This theory is more based on the books than the show, though it could play out in both the books and the show. Game of Thrones is known for its plot twists after all. Yet this one seems unlikely to us. The White Walkers have battled Jon Snow many times. They have never seemed to be specifically after him. Nor have they tried to harm him with any more dedication than they’d harm anyone else. If Jon Snow really is the Night King’s target, it certainly doesn’t look like it to us.
Because They Know That He Is The Prince That Was Promised
According to the same fan theorist from the last section, Jon Snow is the Prince That Was Promised. Now, that’s a possibility. Yet the White Walkers knowing about it doesn’t seem as likely to us. According to the fan theorist, they know about the Prince That Was Promised prophecy because they were created by the Children of the Forest and have been around for thousands of years. Alright, that’s all true. Yet how would they know for sure? This theory states that the White Walkers are intelligent. And they can be, in both the show and the books. Yet are they intelligent enough to know how to interpret an ancient prophecy? And if this theory is true, why have the White Walkers failed to eliminate Jon so many times? You’d think that if they were after him, they’d try harder to actually eliminate him.
The White Walkers Are All Starks
We’d believe that some of the White Walkers were Starks, that the Night King or the first White Walker is a Stark, but all of them seems a bit far fetched. Of course, you never know. Game of Thrones could surprise us and make this theory come true. The show is known for its heartbreaking and surprising plot twists. This would definitely fit into both of those categories. However, we believe that this theory will not play out on the show. You may wonder why. Well, it just wouldn’t be realistic. That may seem like a silly complaint in a world where there are dragons and ice zombies, but the world of Westeros does have some kind of logic that makes sense within it.
The White Walkers Can Sense The Presence Of Dragons
Though both are magical, they’re different kinds of magic. The white walkers were created by the Children of the Forest while the dragons were created by who knows what magic. If both had similar origins, it would make sense, but they don’t. However, you never know on Game of Thrones. Maybe this theorist is correct, and the white walkers can sense the presence of dragons. If that’s the case, though, wouldn’t they have sensed the dragons the moment they arrived in Westeros? And if they really wanted a dragon, wouldn’t they have set out to get one right from the start instead of waiting for one to fall into their laps?
…Meaning They Were Waiting For Daenerys To Come To Get One Of Her Dragons
Again, why did they wait? Either the White Walkers are very patient or very stupid. And we don’t think they’re either one. Though you never know on Game of Thrones. This theory could be correct. It’s possible. Still, we wouldn’t bet on it. For the White Walkers to set out to capture a dragon, they would have had to know that Daenerys was coming. And how could they have known? Daenerys herself didn’t know until she left to go help those beyond the Wall. So how could the White Walkers have known? They couldn’t have.
Jon Snow Will Become The New Night King
According to one fan theorist, the Night King cannot be eliminated, only replaced. This is how the theory goes: to defeat the Night King, you must remove the dragonglass that was used to create him in the first place. After that, the Night King would be no more but none of the White Walkers he had transformed would be eliminated. Instead, they would no longer be under the control of the Night King. In order to keep them under control, someone would have to sacrifice himself— in this case, Jon Snow— to become the new Night King. The new Night King, Jon, would stay in the North to avoid harming anyone else.
Jaime Lannister Caused The Return Of The White Walkers By Eliminating Aerys Targaryen.
This theory seems a bit far fetched to us. Why would getting rid of Aerys Targaryen cause the White Walkers to come back? And why would they have waited so many years to fully return? Jaime got rid of Aerys kind of a long time ago. Yet the White Walkers were not seen until the events of Game of Thrones. So something else must have triggered their return. But what? We aren’t sure, yet we hope that we find out in season eight. Though the White Walkers should remain somewhat mysterious, it would be interesting to know what caused them to return.
…Who Was Trying To Sacrifice The Entire Population Of King’s Landing To The Great Other
According to the same fan theorist from the last section, Daenerys’ House of the Undying visions are meant to show us what the Red Keep would look like if her father, the Mad King Aerys, had succeeded in burning King’s Landing. The fan theorist states that Aerys was trying to sacrifice the entire population of King’s Landing to the Great Other, also known as the Night King, leader of the White Walkers. Of course, Jaime Lannister interrupted this by eliminating Aerys. We hate to disagree with the fan theorist, but we’re going to have to. First of all, it isn’t likely that the Mad King would be intelligent enough to think of a plan like this. Though the wanting to sacrifice the population of King’s Landing part is in character for him, Aerys probably would not spend his time sacrificing to any gods. Great Other or not.
…Which Means That The Goal Of The White Walkers Is To Destroy King’s Landing
No one knows exactly what the White Walkers want. But this theory seems a bit out there to us. Anything is possible on Game of Thrones, though. So this might happen. But we wouldn’t bet on it. Here’s why. If the White Walkers wanted to destroy King’s Landing, why aren’t they doing that now? They have large numbers, a White Walker Dragon, everything they could possibly need to take King’s Landing if they wanted it. Yet they’re not heading to King’s Landing yet. If their ultimate goal was to finish what Aerys started and destroy King’s Landing, they could do it easily. Yet that doesn’t seem to us to be their goal.
