The Night King is, in essence, death incarnate.
He’s a force of nature, one capable of resurrecting everything he touches and downing ancient dragons with a single spear. So it’s small wonder why the Northern Lords – save for House Glover – have joined forces under the one roof: Winterfell. The Stark stronghold is currently gearing up for the battle scene to end all battle scenes, but a new Game of Thrones fan theory believes the secret to killing the Night King lies in Sunday’s season 8 premiere.
It all centers on the creepy sigil spotted at the tail-end of “Winterfell,” when Lord Umber was pinned to the wall of Last Hearth, surrounded by dismembered limbs. Long-time Thrones fans will no doubt recognize the symbol, given it has become something of a recurring motif for HBO’s primetime drama throughout the years.
We still don’t know what it means, exactly – theories range from mathematical equations to a warped version of the Targaryen banner – but one astute Redditor presents another theory entirely. And this one may reveal the Night King’s one true weakness.
I think the wight that Beric killed is a representation of the Night Kings power. The Weirwood symbol it was centered on indicates the Grand Weirwood located on the Gods Eye is the main source of that power. In order to shut off the night king, they will need to burn down the grand weirwood with a flaming sword. I’m guessing Jon will be the one who pulls it off so Beric will eventually teach Jon how to get the firesword.
The answer lies with Beric Dondarrion, the seemingly unkillable character with an underlying connection to the Lord of Light. This theory also supposes that his flaming sword is the one true weapon capable of killing the Night King for good, as it created something of a chain reaction during Sunday’s episode.
Via Reddit:
I believe the Children of the Forest also created the Three-eyed raven in a response to the white walkers. The Three-Eyed Raven was meant to be an all-knowing library of knowledge, specifically created to house the memory for defeating the Night King. Its almost as if they knew the white walker concept would become lost to men and/or they couldnt trust even something like the citadel to keep the knowledge. So this would mean bran would be a shoe-in to die as well.
Going even further, I also think the Lord of light is synonymous with the Grand Weirwood, and uses these Weirwoods as a beacon to communicate with the physical world. Children of the forest can communicate directly through the trees, but for men, it can only translated by staring at fire. But for men it also includes blood magic. Almost like “give some blood, receive some magic in return”. Ex) Melisandre taking gendry blood, Beric using his blood to ignite his sword on fire.
It would certainly explain why Beric Dondarrion was resurrected six times; he must have a bigger part to play in HBO’s Song of Ice and Fire. Ditto for Jon Snow Aegon Targaryen, who was also brought back from the brink of death, seemingly to fulfill his destiny. Is that destiny to kill the Night King? We’ll have the answers we so crave very soon indeed.
Game of Thrones returns this Sunday, April 21st.