‘Game of Thrones’: Why This Night King Theory Could Impact the Battle of Winterfell
When it comes to Game of Thrones, the theories about how the final season will conclude are available in abundance, but a recent one made about the Night King and his attack on Winterfell holds some serious weight.
Initially posed by reddit user u/qp0n, the theory suggests that the Night King isn’t going to Winterfell at all, but rather to King’s Landing. Before you dispute the idea, there a few key factors that back up this premise.
The first point made in the theory is the Night King’s uneven odds against Daenerys (Emilia Clarke), who still has two dragons against his one. And what does any party going into battle do to improve their odds? Recruit more fighters.
And this particular fan believes that those fighters will be found in King’s Landing, where the population is the most condensed in the land. Home to hundreds of thousands, King’s Landing serves as the Night King’s perfect breeding ground for more undead wights.
(Credit: HBO)
Considering we didn’t see Cersei (Lena Headey) or any of the characters in King’s Landing during the second episode, this theory pans out in a way, because we have no idea what was going on in that side of Westeros. Then there’s the fact that we never see the Night King with his army in the final moments of the pre-battle episode, which sees the undead’s arrival at Winterfell.
While there are a bunch of contradictory theories out there, this fan believes that the crew at Winterfell will survive the battle for the most part, only to learn that a bigger undead army is approaching from the south. The idea is further supported by the fact that Bronn (Jerome Flynn) has been tasked by Cersei to hunt down her brothers Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and is heading North. In this case, he could be the messenger of what’s happening in King’s Landing if this theory plays out.
(Credit: HBO)
As this Reddit user points out, there have been two visions from prior seasons that corroborate this idea or at least foreshadowed it. In Season 4, Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) has a vision in the episode, “Breaker of Chains,” in which he sees the Throne room desolate and cloaked in a snow-like substance. Another key piece of imagery is the shadow of a dragon flying over King’s Landing, which with this theory suggests it’s the Night King and Viserion.
Could the destruction they bring create the Throne room scene Bran sees? The moment also seems to call back to Season 2’s vision by Daenerys in the House of the Undying. There, she walks through the barren Throne room, which is covered in that same snow-like substance. If these moments were serving as a foreshadowing tool, then Cersei better hunker down, because the dead are coming…
A recent edit to the theory also includes the importance of Bran, that perhaps his warg abilities could help a few select dragon riders find the Night King and attack. Ultimately, there’s not much for us to know until the next episode arrives, but we’ll give it to this fan — the theory is solid.
Game of Thrones, Sundays, 9/8c, HBO
