I know who the Night King is. (Game of Thrones prediction)
The night king is a bit of an oddity on Game of Thrones. The point of much of the show is that there is no absolute good or evil, and all whove committed evil can be redeemed....but he seems pure evil. And his identity is still totally hidden in shadows...........until today.
You see, I think I know who he is: He's the brother (or son/father)of Brandon Stark. Not the crippled one who's currently calling himself the 3 eyed raven. No the original Brandon Stark....Brandon the Builder, the founder of House Stark.
Consider the following facts if you will:
1) We already know the Night King was transformed to his current state by the magic of the Children of the Forrest, before that he was a First Man. We also know the Northmen are the decedents of the First Men (unlike the rest of Westeros who are descended from the Andals). Meaning the Starks are all First Men, so a blood relationship is possible.
2) Brandon the Builder got his name, from among other things, building the Wall. The Wall was built during the Long Night, the mythical first invasion by the White Walkers into Westeros...and even then the Walkers were led by the Night King. So it seems proven he and Bran the Builder were at minimum contemporaries.
3) Bran the Builder is the founder of house stark...before him they were nobodies. Yet he he's driven in almost everything he does to prevent the Walkers and is convinced they will. He built the wall. He established the Night's Watch, and he gave them "The gift" the land they use to sustain themselves, independent of anyone, including him. Honestly, that seems borderline obsessive, especially given the implication anyone else in power believed the threat had been vanquished. Makes sense though if the White Walkers hit a bit closer to home for him than anyone else. 1 brother (or son) trying to save the other is a key part of many epic tales and classics. It seems fair this could be Brandon's motive as well.
4) On that same meta note, one of the other key themes of GoT is family...and the Starks are clearly the main family.
Consider though out the show, the major families (in terms of attention given by the show, not necessarily actual power) are the Starks, Greyjoys, Lannisters, Targaryens and Baratheon. Also the Tullys and Arryn got a fair amount of attention as well.
And well the thing is, the Starks are linked by family to all of them. Caitlin Stark was a Tully...as was her sister who married into the Arryn's. Jon Snow himself is the link to the Targaryens, Sansa was married to a Lannister. The Baratheon's believed they would be married to a Stark, and thanks to Theon, who is as Jon put in it in the season finale, both Greyjoy (by birth) and Stark (by nurture)
Basically the Stark family is to Game of Thrones what the Skywalkers are to Star Wars. The entire universe revolves around them.
So it makes all the sense in the world that the one major character not currently related in some way to the Starks, actually is.
5) Theres a theory floating around (that obviously I dont agree with) that Bran Stark (3 eyed raven) IS the night king via time travel. Now the evidence to support this are allegedly they look kinda alike, and the Night King seems to be able to cancel out Bran's powers.
Now as to the first one, in a world where bastard children of incest can be discovered by looking at family hair color history, its not insane Bran and the Night King might look alike being distant relatives.
Now as to the power canceling, its a bit longer to explain but:
It appears that both the Night King, and the powers of the 3 Eyed raven were created by the Children of the Forrest. At a minimum we know the Night King was, and the Children looked after and protected the previous Raven.
Second, thanks to Dani being immune to fire due to whats implied to be recessive genetic traits in her Targaryen DNA. It would not be implausible for another family, altered by magic to have a similar inheritance.
In fact, way way way back in the Season 1 finale, Bran and his brother Rickon both claim to be a having the same visions of a 3 eyed raven.
Now in the show, this ability is I believe still unnamed. Apparently the books call it Greensight, which I will use for simplicity's sake.
It originates (in the shows cannon at least) with the Children of the Forrest....the same people who made the Night King, but randomly appears in some humans.....except it may not be so random.
In the show the only Greenseer's weve encountered are the two stark's, The original 3 eyed raven (who's identity is unknown), and Jojen Reed, who comes from a vassal house of House Stark. Also probibly given his ability to interfer with Bran Greenseer abilities, the Night King
Now traditionally, vassal houses tend to be blood related to the house they served (at least in our world). So its not unbelievable all 3 of them are technically starks.
Which leaves the original 3 eyed raven, and the Night King.
Now we dont know who the original Raven was. We do know he is wearing all black robes like a member of the Night's watch. Also in the books hes called the 3 eyed crow for similar reasons (crow being a derogatory nickname for the watch). We know as well that the Starks are deeply connected to the Watch, they founded it, and still enforce the rules for it when needed (as in the first episode) as well as serve in it. So its entirely possible hes a forgotten member of the Starks who joined the watch.
Which brings us to the final revealed servant of the Children of the Forrest....Benjen Stark, who by all accounts is dead, but has been renaimated to fight for the living as is clearly assisting the children.
What I'm getting at, is there seems to be some connection between the Starks (Bran and Benjen at a minimum) and magical abilities and/or the Children of the Forrest.
It stands to reason the man chosen to be the night king, wasnt chosen at random....he was chosen because his bloodline was prone to magical abilities. Further cementing the idea the Night King is a Stark.
Furthermore, though not relevant directly to the Night King, Bran is a Warg, another magical ability known only to show in northmen (including wildings), suggesting the northmen are already predetermined to magical inheritances, beyond what might be exclusive to Starks.
6) The "Bran is Dead" theory, I touched on in a previous blog. The basic gist though is Meera Reed was more right than she knows when she claimed Bran died in the cave.
The claim here is that, Bran's body now hosts the consciousness of the 3 eyed raven. And the Raven a weapon designed to defeat the Night King.
Remember it was never the Children's intention to create evil, as they did....they were trying to create a warrior to put the invading humans off their land and fucked up. So they created the Raven to undo their mistake.
Ok so we know from Benjen Stark, that the dead cant cross the wall due to wards put on it by the Children. We also know the mark the Night King put on Bran lowered those wards (or at least the ones around the godswood hiding the previous host body of the Raven)...basically anywhere Bran goes, the ward goes down.
And the first place Bran went after fleeing the cave was South of the wall.....allowing the Night King passage as well.
But the Raven omniscient...to a degree at least (it appears its host body must intentionally decide to look at something for the host to become aware of it, but the Raven itself records everything it seems so the body can reference it later).
Of course when he decided to go south, Bran already knew about the ward on the wall, and the mark on him that lowered it....so going south, and luring the Night King there was an intentional decision.
And heres why I think he did it....when Bran ceases to exist, the mark in effect disappears....raising the wards back up. The wards then destroy anything linked to the magic of the Walkers, including the Night King.
Problem is, the Night King is aware of this as a possibility, hence why he was so determined to get to Bran before. He wants to turn Bran into a Walker so he can control him and ensure his own immortality (its a fair assumption if the King was weak to Dragonglass or valyrian steel, hed have been killed in the Long Night, when that stuff was much more common).
And he's going to do it too. Which is why Bran gave a valyrian steel dagger to the only person in his family willing to kill family to protect the rest of the family....Arya Stark.
So basically Arya kills Bran's body at least (in the form of a Walker), destroying all the Walkers and the Night King....except they wont die, they just revert back to humans.
This would bring the entire show full circle as it would reintroduce a good and benevolent (albeit unlucky) ancestor to the Stark "Children", and tie the entire thing into a huge narrative about a dysfunctional family, and what the true meaning of family and loving and sacrificing for your family really is, which seems to be an idea theyv been playing with for years (IE the Hound is a second father to Arya, Theon is a sorta Stark child, Jon presumably grappling with his identity as a legitimate person and not a bastard, as well as deciding if he wants to be a Targaryen or continue to see himself as one of the Starks. Will his sisters still see him as a Stark? ect)
So yea, there you have it, I'm calling it probably two years early...the Night King is a Stark...and most likely a close relative of Brandon the Builder, most likely his brother (since this show does love its sibling relationships)
You see, I think I know who he is: He's the brother (or son/father)of Brandon Stark. Not the crippled one who's currently calling himself the 3 eyed raven. No the original Brandon Stark....Brandon the Builder, the founder of House Stark.
Consider the following facts if you will:
1) We already know the Night King was transformed to his current state by the magic of the Children of the Forrest, before that he was a First Man. We also know the Northmen are the decedents of the First Men (unlike the rest of Westeros who are descended from the Andals). Meaning the Starks are all First Men, so a blood relationship is possible.
2) Brandon the Builder got his name, from among other things, building the Wall. The Wall was built during the Long Night, the mythical first invasion by the White Walkers into Westeros...and even then the Walkers were led by the Night King. So it seems proven he and Bran the Builder were at minimum contemporaries.
3) Bran the Builder is the founder of house stark...before him they were nobodies. Yet he he's driven in almost everything he does to prevent the Walkers and is convinced they will. He built the wall. He established the Night's Watch, and he gave them "The gift" the land they use to sustain themselves, independent of anyone, including him. Honestly, that seems borderline obsessive, especially given the implication anyone else in power believed the threat had been vanquished. Makes sense though if the White Walkers hit a bit closer to home for him than anyone else. 1 brother (or son) trying to save the other is a key part of many epic tales and classics. It seems fair this could be Brandon's motive as well.
4) On that same meta note, one of the other key themes of GoT is family...and the Starks are clearly the main family.
Consider though out the show, the major families (in terms of attention given by the show, not necessarily actual power) are the Starks, Greyjoys, Lannisters, Targaryens and Baratheon. Also the Tullys and Arryn got a fair amount of attention as well.
And well the thing is, the Starks are linked by family to all of them. Caitlin Stark was a Tully...as was her sister who married into the Arryn's. Jon Snow himself is the link to the Targaryens, Sansa was married to a Lannister. The Baratheon's believed they would be married to a Stark, and thanks to Theon, who is as Jon put in it in the season finale, both Greyjoy (by birth) and Stark (by nurture)
Basically the Stark family is to Game of Thrones what the Skywalkers are to Star Wars. The entire universe revolves around them.
So it makes all the sense in the world that the one major character not currently related in some way to the Starks, actually is.
5) Theres a theory floating around (that obviously I dont agree with) that Bran Stark (3 eyed raven) IS the night king via time travel. Now the evidence to support this are allegedly they look kinda alike, and the Night King seems to be able to cancel out Bran's powers.
Now as to the first one, in a world where bastard children of incest can be discovered by looking at family hair color history, its not insane Bran and the Night King might look alike being distant relatives.
Now as to the power canceling, its a bit longer to explain but:
It appears that both the Night King, and the powers of the 3 Eyed raven were created by the Children of the Forrest. At a minimum we know the Night King was, and the Children looked after and protected the previous Raven.
Second, thanks to Dani being immune to fire due to whats implied to be recessive genetic traits in her Targaryen DNA. It would not be implausible for another family, altered by magic to have a similar inheritance.
In fact, way way way back in the Season 1 finale, Bran and his brother Rickon both claim to be a having the same visions of a 3 eyed raven.
Now in the show, this ability is I believe still unnamed. Apparently the books call it Greensight, which I will use for simplicity's sake.
It originates (in the shows cannon at least) with the Children of the Forrest....the same people who made the Night King, but randomly appears in some humans.....except it may not be so random.
In the show the only Greenseer's weve encountered are the two stark's, The original 3 eyed raven (who's identity is unknown), and Jojen Reed, who comes from a vassal house of House Stark. Also probibly given his ability to interfer with Bran Greenseer abilities, the Night King
Now traditionally, vassal houses tend to be blood related to the house they served (at least in our world). So its not unbelievable all 3 of them are technically starks.
Which leaves the original 3 eyed raven, and the Night King.
Now we dont know who the original Raven was. We do know he is wearing all black robes like a member of the Night's watch. Also in the books hes called the 3 eyed crow for similar reasons (crow being a derogatory nickname for the watch). We know as well that the Starks are deeply connected to the Watch, they founded it, and still enforce the rules for it when needed (as in the first episode) as well as serve in it. So its entirely possible hes a forgotten member of the Starks who joined the watch.
Which brings us to the final revealed servant of the Children of the Forrest....Benjen Stark, who by all accounts is dead, but has been renaimated to fight for the living as is clearly assisting the children.
What I'm getting at, is there seems to be some connection between the Starks (Bran and Benjen at a minimum) and magical abilities and/or the Children of the Forrest.
It stands to reason the man chosen to be the night king, wasnt chosen at random....he was chosen because his bloodline was prone to magical abilities. Further cementing the idea the Night King is a Stark.
Furthermore, though not relevant directly to the Night King, Bran is a Warg, another magical ability known only to show in northmen (including wildings), suggesting the northmen are already predetermined to magical inheritances, beyond what might be exclusive to Starks.
6) The "Bran is Dead" theory, I touched on in a previous blog. The basic gist though is Meera Reed was more right than she knows when she claimed Bran died in the cave.
The claim here is that, Bran's body now hosts the consciousness of the 3 eyed raven. And the Raven a weapon designed to defeat the Night King.
Remember it was never the Children's intention to create evil, as they did....they were trying to create a warrior to put the invading humans off their land and fucked up. So they created the Raven to undo their mistake.
Ok so we know from Benjen Stark, that the dead cant cross the wall due to wards put on it by the Children. We also know the mark the Night King put on Bran lowered those wards (or at least the ones around the godswood hiding the previous host body of the Raven)...basically anywhere Bran goes, the ward goes down.
And the first place Bran went after fleeing the cave was South of the wall.....allowing the Night King passage as well.
But the Raven omniscient...to a degree at least (it appears its host body must intentionally decide to look at something for the host to become aware of it, but the Raven itself records everything it seems so the body can reference it later).
Of course when he decided to go south, Bran already knew about the ward on the wall, and the mark on him that lowered it....so going south, and luring the Night King there was an intentional decision.
And heres why I think he did it....when Bran ceases to exist, the mark in effect disappears....raising the wards back up. The wards then destroy anything linked to the magic of the Walkers, including the Night King.
Problem is, the Night King is aware of this as a possibility, hence why he was so determined to get to Bran before. He wants to turn Bran into a Walker so he can control him and ensure his own immortality (its a fair assumption if the King was weak to Dragonglass or valyrian steel, hed have been killed in the Long Night, when that stuff was much more common).
And he's going to do it too. Which is why Bran gave a valyrian steel dagger to the only person in his family willing to kill family to protect the rest of the family....Arya Stark.
So basically Arya kills Bran's body at least (in the form of a Walker), destroying all the Walkers and the Night King....except they wont die, they just revert back to humans.
This would bring the entire show full circle as it would reintroduce a good and benevolent (albeit unlucky) ancestor to the Stark "Children", and tie the entire thing into a huge narrative about a dysfunctional family, and what the true meaning of family and loving and sacrificing for your family really is, which seems to be an idea theyv been playing with for years (IE the Hound is a second father to Arya, Theon is a sorta Stark child, Jon presumably grappling with his identity as a legitimate person and not a bastard, as well as deciding if he wants to be a Targaryen or continue to see himself as one of the Starks. Will his sisters still see him as a Stark? ect)
So yea, there you have it, I'm calling it probably two years early...the Night King is a Stark...and most likely a close relative of Brandon the Builder, most likely his brother (since this show does love its sibling relationships)
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