The 10 lessons 'Game of Thrones' just taught us about how White Walkers work
White Walkers, wights, and the blue-eyed beasts who bear them -- we probably learned more about these mysterious undead creatures in Sunday night's episode of Game of Thrones than the rest of the series combined.
We've been piecing together the details of Westeros' greatest threat since the very first shot of the very first episode -- and "Beyond the Wall" confirmed a lot of it while giving us plenty of new information, too. There are some zombie rules, some vampire rules and some rules that are completely unique to Game of Thrones.
There are a lot of rules, period.
Here are 10 White Walker/wight lessons we -- and the members of the happy hunting party -- learned about our Northern friends in "Beyond the Wall":
1. They can turn all manner of beasts
Book readers already knew about the zombie bear, but those of us exclusive to the TV show had never seen an animal that was turned (except the White Walkers' horses, which for all we know were supernaturally custom-made, like their riders). The giant bear that attacked the Seven -- and then, you know, the dragon -- confirms that undead-ness isn't just for humans and horses. All living things can be wighted.
2. Flames and fire don't hurt them much
That same (highly flammable) bear got nice and toasted, but the flames alone didn't seem to bother it at all. While Drogon's dragonfire later vaporized quite a few wights, that appeared to have as much to do with the force and extreme heat of the blast as anything. In other words: simple torches won't protect you. These ain't the snakes in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
3. Valyrian steel shatters White Walkers like glass
OK, we already knew this one from the battle of Hardhome in Season 5 (above), where Jon Snow's desperate battle with a White Walker ends with a crash.
The Walker seems just as surprised that Jon's blade doesn't shatter like all the others as our favorite bastard is, and Jon's swipe through the midsection causes him to explode like brittle crystal at the opera. It happened again on Sunday, so now it's confirmed: Dragonglass and Valyrian steel are equally as effective against these fellas. (Perhaps because you can't have the latter without the former?)
4. Wights die when the White Walker who turned them dies
Vampire rules! Or at least, the rules in some vampire stories. When Jon shatters the White Walker leading a gang of wights, all but one (a stray they took on, no doubt), fall lifeless to the ground. This is going to come in handy -- it is known.
5. They can call each other from long distances with a porcine squeal
The captured wight lets out a blood-curdling scream that summons the horde. So, like, pack a ball-gag next time, eh fellas?
6. Stormclouds travel with them?
The summoned army of wights and Walkers announces its arrival with a booming winter stormcloud. Are they controlling the weather? Or just dragging it along it with them? Do they need these conditions to survive? Could also be a coincidence. Probably not.
7. They can't swim, but they can't drown either
Bits of rotting flesh on bone probably aren't too buoyant in real life, either, so it's no surprise that every wight that set foot in water sank like a stone. But with no need for life-giving oxygen, you can just walk around down there! Slow-going, sure, but kind of a neat party trick.
8. White Walkers are beyond world-class javelin throwers
When the Night King picks up his spear to take aim at a dragon, we're thinking hey! They must've brought their own version of the Scorpion! No need for that -- this guy can wing it like Uwe Hohn. That had to be a 120-mph missile that would've traveled half a mile, if it hadn't hit the beast in the throat.
9. They communicate through some kind of ... telepathy?
These guys never talk to each other, but they're constantly coordinating. It's pretty obvious what's going on here: Either they have some kind of mental connection or they've just been together for a really, really, really long time.
10. Kill the Night King, kill them all?
More vampire rules! Beric is the first to suggest that the Night King "turned them all," and that killing him could be the key to winning this struggle. So far we don't know if that's true, but it would be a major violation of TV exposition rules if it weren't.
Topics Game Of Thrones HBO
Josh Dickey is Mashable's Entertainment Editor, leading Mashable's TV, music, gaming and sports reporters as well as writing movie features and reviews.Josh has been the Film Editor at Variety, Entertainment Editor at The Associated Press and Managing Editor at TheWrap.com.A finalist for the Los Angeles Press Club's Best Entertainment Feature in 2015 for "Everyone is Altered: The Secret Hollywood Procedure that Fooled Us for Years," Josh received his BA in Journalism from The University of Minnesota.In between screenings, he can be found skating longboards, shredding guitar and wandering the streets of his beloved downtown Los Angeles.
