How Winterfell Can Win
The North certainly benefits from having the best people in Westeros leading its defense. Jon Snow has more experience battling White Walkers than anyone alive. Daenerys inspires loyalty from nearly everyone she meets, and the Mother of Dragons brings her own formidable army from Essos. As the Hand of the Queen, Tyrion Lannister has proven to be an expert tactician. Sansa Stark has evolved to become a worthy Lady of Winterfell. Jaime Lannister, even with one hand, is one of the greatest knights in the realm and also brings an army with him. In addition, they have Bronn, Brienne of Tarth, Jorah Mormont, and an assassin the caliber of Arya Stark on their side, not to mention Bran Stark’s magical ties to the Night King as the Three-Eyed Raven. Simply put, the good guys have a lot of high cards in their deck.
Daenerys’ two remaining dragons, Drogon and Rhaegal, will certainly be at the forefront of the action and will be more needed than ever, especially with their brother Viserion turned into an ice dragon for the Night King to ride. Dany’s winged children are certainly capable of engulfing the Army of the Dead in a field of fire, one of the zombies’ weaknesses. The dragons have proven vulnerable to the Night King’s magic, however, and one well-thrown ice javelin from the zombie commander can quickly turn Daenerys’ greatest advantage into a nightmare. Gaining control of all three dragons is something the Night King covets, therefore, an overreliance on the power of the dragons could end up being a costly mistake. Hence, the dragons are best used sparingly in the battle, or else the tragedy that befell Viserion will revisit Daenerys twice more.
Fortunately, the defenders have other weapons to utilize, like dragonglass and Valyrian steel blades. The union of Jon and Daenerys began over the King in the North asking for permission to mine the wealth of obsidian found in Dragonstone. Dragonglass can kill White Walkers and Wights; presumably, Jon has now acquired enough to arm the Northern warriors. Valyrian steel blades are considerably rarer, but every known weapon in the series is now in Winterfell: Jon, Jaime, Brienne, Sam Tarly, and Arya all carry Valyrian steel swords or daggers. Still, that’s merely a handful of the cherished weapons against a hundred thousand ice zombies.
The heroes do have another potential weapon at their disposal: wildfire. Tyrion utilized the highly combustible element to successfully defend King’s Landing in season 2. Wildfire would be an incredibly effective substitute for Dragonfire, but the question is where to get it? Westeros’ main supply is stored in King’s Landing and Cersei used much of it to destroy the Sept of Balor and kill her enemies the Faith Militant. Whatever wildfire is left would be something the Queen would likely horde to use if the Army of the Dead sieges King’s Landing (or if Daenerys wins and resumes their war).
Finally, there is the castle of Winterfell itself, which could be used as a weapon of last resort. Season 8 set reports have shown the great keep aflame, so it’s possible the worst case scenario does occur and Winterfell is destroyed by the Night King. However, Winterfell has its secrets: it rests above hidden hot springs, which are beneath the tunnels and crypts the Starks use to enshrine their dead. Somehow collapsing the castle could send the zombies plunging into the hot springs - and to their doom. That would mean the end of Winterfell, but, as in the ending of Thor: Ragnarok, the ultimate survival of as many of the Northmen as possible in spite of the loss of their physical home might end up being the only realistic outcome.
What Happens If Winterfell Loses?
No matter what weapons, allies, and tricks the forces of the living employ, however, they operate at one extreme disadvantage: anyone can be turned into a Wight. The White Walkers don’t just kill their enemies, they convert them to join their exponentially growing army. Therefore, every human who falls ends up joining the Army of the Dead, multiplying their numbers. This is evident from set reports during season 8’s epic battles, which show Dothraki soldiers turned into zombies, along with their horses. Indeed, Daenerys’ bloodriders and the Unsullied, in particular, are liabilities in this war because they come from Essos and have no experience fighting in cold weather and snow, especially not against ice zombies.
It’s unlikely that all of our beloved heroes will survive this war, much less make it to the end of the season. Already faced with an insurmountable foe, the political alliance holding the North together could also crack when it’s revealed that Jon Snow is actually Aegon Targaryen. Would this make his claim as King in the North invalid, and would that, in turn, break the resolve of the Northmen? With all of this potential strife both in the battlefield and within the walls of Winterfell, it seems like a daunting prospect that the army of the living will keep the Night King from breaching the castle’s walls eventually.
Can Cersei Do What Daenerys And Jon Can’t?
The reigning Queen in King’s Landing is despised by her people (and vice versa), but she could become the greatest heroine in Westeros if she were able to end the threat of the White Walkers. All of Cersei’s strategies are to face whoever survives the war in the North, but the odds are grim that she will ultimately face the Dragon Queen and the bastard of Winterfell. However, Cersei has cultivated allies: the Queen has the Iron Fleet of her “betrothed” Euron Greyjoy and she purchased the services of the Golden Company thanks to her business dealings with the Iron Bank.
Only the pirate ships would really be of use to her, however, if the White Walkers defeat the North and swarm south to claim the rest of the continent. The 10,000 mercenaries of the Golden Company wouldn’t stand much of a chance and would end up becoming wights in the Army of the Dead. The likely scenario would be Cersei’s true contingency plan coming to play: fleeing Westeros aboard the Iron Fleet and using her remaining wildfire reserves to annihilate King’s Landing. However, if she did so, the wildfire could engulf the White Walkers in fatal flames along with the city - giving the Queen an inglorious victory.
Unfortunately, despite Cersei needing the White Walkers to wipe out her human enemies, the dead coming to Cersei’s doorstep might happen sooner than later because Winterfell falling to the Night King seems inevitable. Barring an unforeseen miracle (which isn’t entirely out of the question on Game of Thrones), if the forces amassed at Winterfell can’t beat the White Walkers, the most important thing would be for as many of the people of the North as possible to survive, so that the North will remember.
Next: What A Jon/Daenerys Pregnancy Could Mean For Game Of Thrones Season 8
