Why the Night King won't be at the Battle of Winterfell on 'Game of Thrones'
The battle plans are drawn, dragonglass weapons forged, and the dead's arrival at last signaled by three horn blasts in the dark night.
But something is missing. Or rather someone -- horned, blue-eyed, and winged.
Ever since fans first got wind of a massive Battle in Winterfell, they've been questioning the seeming inevitability of an epic fight with the Night King. Now what began as pure speculation has crystallized into the most popular and logical twist for next week's Episode 3 of Season 8.
The Night King won't be at the Battle of Winterfell. Instead of doing what everyone expects of him, his army will take down Winterfell as a distraction as he focuses on the other target, King's Landing.
Let's start off with the logistics: Last we checked on the Night King's army, it was 100,000 strong as he crossed the newly destroyed Wall in the Season 7 finale. That number only got bigger as he marched south, taking the Umbers and everything else living.
Daenerys' 100,000 Dotharki Screamers are sure to put up a strong fight. But the Night King's army would be at unheard numbers by now if he diverged from the main horde on its way to Winterfell, instead raising the dead from dragonback on his way to King's Landing. Wars from the past several years have left untold human carnage between the Wall and the capital, which he can repurpose for his army.
And as people are wont to mention on the show, King's Landing is home to over a million people. That can become an army too huge to defeat, and proof that no matter how hard they fight he can always raise more.
He can pick up a whole new army by flying Viserion to the sitting duck that is King's Landing.
So when it comes to pure numbers, the Night King can comfortably win by just sending his White Walker generals and established army to Winterfell. Then he'd pick up a whole new army by flying Viserion to the sitting duck that is King's Landing.
Some even speculate that's what two of the most famous visions on the show were actually warning all along.
In Season 2 at the House of the Undying, Daenerys saw the throne room burned to a cinder as snow fell on the ashes. Tellingly, instead of touching the iron throne, Daenerys turns away from it last minute to instead follow the sounds of her dragons -- which takes her north in the vision. Potentially, this foreshadows her grievous error of choosing not to invade King's Landing and instead take her armies to fight at Winterfell.
One of Bran's recurring visions from Season 4 is of a dragon's shadow over King's Landing. All this time we assumed it was Daenerys on Drogon. But it could very well have been Viserion, especially since the shadow is of only one dragon, not the two that would accompany Daenerys.
From the Night King's perspective, there is absolutely no reason for him to show up at Winterfell, where people are actually prepared for his attack.
They have two dragons at Winterfell, both of whom could easily outmatch Viserion together. And while no one knows if White Walkers like the Night King are susceptible to dragonfire, we do know wights (like Viserion) certainly are. So why would the Night King risk his only dragon?
As the war council in Season 8, episode 2 showed, the living's best shot at winning relies on the Night King exposing himself. As Jon himself says, "We can't beat them in a straight fight," so their best chance is to stall for time while someone attempts to kill the Night King so the whole army goes down with him.
But the Night King knows he'll win if he just waits it out, giving him no reason to put himself or his game-changing dragon in danger by being anywhere near the fighting.
Meanwhile, it would be bittersweet justice to watch Cersei's overconfidence in her plan dissolve, when she realizes that the undead were coming to her door all along instead of conveniently taking out her enemies. When Qyburn told her that the Wall had fallen and the dead were marching, Cersei was the only one delighted by the news. She due for a swift, karma-filled defeat.
Ironically, the Lannisters were already defeated once by this strategy, when Robb divided his armies in Season 2 and captured Jaime Lannister right under Tywin's nose.
Noticeably, we haven't seen a single hint of the Night King in any preview or promotional footage for Season 8 either.
One shot in the episode 3 preview shows a dragon emerging from the darkness, setting us up to believe it's him on Viserion. But alas, that's Dany's silver hair on Drogon. And while all Game of Thrones promos are played close to the chest, it's hard to imagine we wouldn't get a single image of the Night King if the episode revolves around him going after Bran.
But the biggest wrinkle to this theory is the Bran factor.
Supposedly, the Three-Eyed Raven has some access to the future through visions. So why would Bran set up everyone for failure by proposing a plan to lure the Night King if he knew he wasn't coming? Well, premonitions of the future are always fallible at best. They're vague, so Bran might be doing some deductive reasoning that's lead him astray. Or he could be lying, because he knows what needs to happen for the larger endgame.
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Also, if the Night King's target really is Bran, then the mark on his arm ensures that Bran can be found no matter where he goes. There's no pressing need to take Bran out first. And if, as Sam says, the Night King wants to kill Bran in order to attack the keeper of man's history, then he'll also want to get rid of other historical bastions.
King's Landing as the seat of power and most relevant monument in the Seven Kingdoms' recent history is a good start.
Others speculate that this goal would make the Citadel at Oldstown another top target for the Night King. And that would explain the significance of Sam stealing some key books before the Citadel was destroyed and the history within it lost forever.
Another perfectly set up piece on the board for this twist to take place is Bronn.
Last we saw him in the Season 8 premiere, Cersei had sent him from King's Landing to assassinate Jaime and Tyrion in the north. So that means he's in the perfect position to see an undead dragon flying above toward the capital instead of the north. He can be the one to deliver the news, either to those at Winterfell or turning back to warn King's Landing.
Either way, it would be a classic Game of Thrones twist if the battle didn't pan out at all like people expected. Everyone is ready to die, but are they ready for what might happen if the living win this battle?
What if the survivors of Winterfell get a fleeting moment of hope from victory, only to learn that they've already lost the war because a whole new army was raised as the Night King sat on the Iron Throne?
Topics Game Of Thrones HBO
Jess is an LA-based culture critic who covers intimacy in the digital age, from sex and relationship to weed and all media (tv, games, film, the web). Previously associate editor at Kill Screen, you can also find her words on Vice, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Vox, and others. She is a Brazilian-Swiss American immigrant with a love for all things weird and magical.
