Will ‘Game of Thrones’ Reveal The Night King’s Identity?
With every new episode of Game of Thrones, four central questions pop up every week. First, who will ultimately sit on the Iron Throne? Second, who is going to die? Third, who will be the person who kills the character that dies? Finally, and most importantly, considering the show is nearing its end, will we ever find out once and for all just who the Night King is?
Some folks will joke that the Night King was the cinematographer of Sunday’s episode, which was literally so dark that many fans complained they couldn’t tell who was doing what to whom in the battle of Winterfell. However, even a show as wild as GoT wouldn’t make the Night King one of their tech crew — would they?
What is the Night King on ‘Game of Thrones’?
Even people who are only just now getting into Game of Thrones have seen or heard of the Night King — the grey-skinned menace with icy blue eyes who makes a mean Snapchat filter. The Night King is widely recognized by viewers of the show, but no one knows his real identity. Is he a “nobody” who turned into a creepy-looking goblin or is he tied to one of the existing characters? Some theories speculate the Night King hails from the Stark lineage while others believe he is Rhaegar Targaryen, Jon Snow’s dead biological father.
We do; however, know the Night King’s target: Bran Stark.
“He’ll come for me,” said Bran, who has a scar on his skin from his previous encounter with the Night King. “He’s tried before, many times with many Three-Eyed Ravens.”
What happened to the Night King on ‘Game of Thrones’?
Spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t caught up, stop reading now.
In season 8 episode 3, fans watched the Battle of Winterfell take place. The Night King and his Army of the Dead infiltrated the wall and made their way to Winterfell.
Jon Snow and Daenerys had a plan: Use Bran as bait and have their fighters (an assortment of Dothraki, Unsullied, warriors, and volunteers) hold off the wights. With the knowledge that the Night King wants Bran, Jon planned to handle the Night King once he reached Bran.
Things went off plan once the Dothraki — the first line of defense — were decimated. Daenerys hopped on her dragon to step in, with Jon following. In the end, it was Arya Stark — Jon Snow’s younger sister — who laid waste to the Night King, blowing him to smithereens just as he was about to make good on his promise to end Bran. Fans went bonkers, making The Long Night the most-tweeted scripted TV episode of all time.
As wild as fans were, there was one person who was less than thrilled with Arya’s big moment: Maisie Williams’ own boyfriend. She said. “It has to be intelligently done because otherwise people are like, ‘Well, the villain couldn’t have been that bad when some 100-pound girl comes in and stabs him.’ You gotta make it cool. And then I told my boyfriend and he was like, ‘Mmm, should be Jon though really, shouldn’t it?'”
You truly can’t please everybody.
Who is the Night King?
With no other developments in the last episode, fans are wondering if Game of Thrones will reveal who the Night King was. The Night King is dead and his story arch is seemingly complete. If so, does it even matter who he was when he was alive? Or is the silence surrounding his identity a hint that we’re not done with wights?
The question of his identity may still linger, much to the chagrin of Bran himself. Asked during a press junket what question he never wants to hear again, Isaac Hempstead Wright replied warily, “Are you the night king?”
According to GameSpot, the actor shouldn’t worry. Their recapper minces no words about the theory that Bran was the Night King, writing, “It’s a stupid theory, and I would like to be done with it.” The actor himself dismissed the idea as “cheesy” and “too obvious,” so he really was sick of the question.
Maybe the prequel series will tell us.
We can’t tell you who the Night King’s identity in the story, but we can tell you he’s portrayed by two actors in real life, both of whom have played heavies in high-profile movies: Richard Brake played him in seasons 4 and 5, while Vladimir Furdik played him the rest of the way. Brake was the killer of Bruce Wayne’s parents in Batman Begins, and Furdik was one of the ship guardians in the Alien prequel Prometheus.
