Though he hasn't gotten nearly as much screen time as other characters, the Night King has been a looming threat on Game of Thrones from the very beginning. Now that his army is about to ascend on Winterfell, it's time to take a closer look at who this guy is and what his motivations for all of this could possibly be. Based on the various Night King theories on Reddit, there are several potential answers to these questions. And considering what a huge part he'll play in the show's eighth and final season, it's definitely worth considering all the options before Sunday night's episode kicks off.
Up to this point, there's only a limited amount of information we know about the Night King's origin story. We know he was once a mortal man before the Children of the Forest captured him and drove a piece of dragonglass into his heart, turning him into the very first White Walker. The Children created these creatures, hoping the White Walkers would protect them from the First Men who began invading their lands thousands of years ago. But the Walkers ultimately turned on their creators and have become a villainous force to be reckoned with.
The Night King is at the forefront of it all and may be the key to how the series will end. So who is this guy and how does he factor into the rest of the story? Here are some of the wildest theories fans have managed to come up with...
1. Bran Stark Is The Night King
This is probably one of the most talked about theories out there right now. Reddit user turm0il26 believes that Bran's ability to time travel into the past will ultimately get the best of him and result in him becoming the very thing he's spent of this time fighting against.
According to turm0il26's theory, Bran will go back to when the Night King was first created by the Children of the Forest and warg into him to try and stop the Night King from ever being created. However, instead of changing the past, he ends up getting stuck in the Night King's body — a possible side effect of warging that Bran has been warned about multiple times.
2. Bran Will Kill The Night King
For those looking for a happier outcome, Reddit user YezenIRL thinks Bran will be the one to rid Westeros of the Night King for good by facing off against him during one of his visions. Bran is a greenseer, which means he possesses the ability to witness both past and future events in dreams. Typically, he hasn't been able to interact with anyone during these instances, however, there was one time when the Night King reached out and touched Bran during one of his visions. This theory suggests that this could be how Bran defeats the Night King by means of a psychic battle.
3. The Night King Wants To Be Human Again
Reddit user LeahxLove917 suggests that the Night King's motivations aren't as evil as we all suspect. Perhaps his main objective is to get rid of the curse that made him a White Walker in the first place and believes the solution lies south of the Wall. That could even help to explain why he has no qualms about killing everyone in his path and turning them into wights — because he believes that they all can eventually be turned back to their human form once he finds the cure.
4. He Wants Jon Snow To Be His Successor
According to a theory posted by Reddit user theDarkLordOfMorder, Jon Snow is destined to become the reigning Night King to parallel Dany as the Mother of Dragons and Queen of Fire. (After all, this is supposed to be about A Song of Ice and Fire.) And the only way to restore peace to Westeros will be for the two of them to get married and bring both fire and ice together.
5. He's Actually Not Evil At All
Then again, it's possible we have the Night King's motivations all wrong entirely. Reddit user Ouroboros612 points out that villainy doesn't have to be so black and white. Lots of people have done terrible things on this series. Plus, it's possible he may be aware of something that we're not.
This theory suggests the Night King could've somehow seen into the future, discovered that Daenerys and her dragons will destroy the world, and is trying to stop it. Hey, is it anymore impossible than fire-breathing dragons?
6. He's A Stark
Reddit user kinger9119 poses the possibility that even if the Night King isn't Bran himself, he could very well be an ancestor of the Stark family, even going so far as to think that his ability to control his Army of the Dead is a form of warging — a skill that many Starks are known to possess.
7. He Wants Little Sam
This one may feel like a bit of a stretch, but Reddit user NeverendingSpace thinks it's possible that the Night King is after Gilly's son, Baby Sam. He's the only son of Craster's that managed to escape the Night King's grasp. Perhaps he wants Baby Sam badly enough that he's taken his army south of the Wall to retrieve him.
8. His Demise Will Result In The End Of Magic
Reddit user OldLongStrings suggests that the only way the Night King will get defeated is by having magic vanish completely from the realm. That's where he gets all of his power and without it, he'd cease to exist.
9. The Night King Has Been Inside Us All Along
OK, that's definitely a prediction of my own making, but never say never, right?
Is it getting chilly in here or is it just me?
