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Odds Say the Night King Will Be Confirmed as a Stark in Season 8 Game of Thrones

Bryan Thiel

by Bryan Thiel in Entertainment

Updated Mar 30, 2020 · 6:29 PM PDT

Night King
Will we discover the true identity of the Night King in season 8 of Game of Thrones? Image by HBO.
  • While the Starks rule the North, the Night King brings the long night
  • The Stark name is 8,000 years old; the Night King is assumed to be around 10,000
  • Will he be confirmed as a Stark in Season 8?

There has been a lot of time to come up with theories between Game of Thrones episodes. And a lot of those theories have settled on the Starks and the Night King.

In terms of living Starks, both Bran and Jon have been tied to his identity. Bran especially with his ability to traverse time. But with the Stark name being over 8,000 years old, it’s not limited to them.

Could the Night King be a long lost member of the Stark clan?

Will a Stark Be Confirmed as the Night King?

Will the Night King Be Confirmed as a Stark? Odds
Yes -500
No +350

*Odds taken 04/08/19

This number is likely heavily influenced by the “Bran is the Night King” theories. Factor in those who think it’s somehow Jon, and it sways the odds.

The Bran Stark Theory

There’s a lot going into this Bran Stark theory whether you choose to believe it or not. The crux of the theory is Bran’s ability to travel through time. Here’s the quick version:

  1. Bran travels back to warn Aerys Targaryen to burn the dead so they don’t turn. Aerys becomes the Mad King in the same way Hodor…Hodored
  2. Bran arrives at the building of The Wall, meaning that he is Bran the Builder. Unfortunately, this fails as well
  3. Bran then travels back to the creation of the first White Walker, and tries to intervene. He fails, and in the process becomes the Night King

If you don’t think it’s Bran, well you’re not the only one. This from Isaac Hempstead Wright who plays the Three-Eyed Raven: “I mean it’s quite an interesting theory… I just think it seems a bit obvious. A bit cheesy.”

If it’s meant to throw us off the trail, he’s doing a good job.

What About Jon Snow?

While there are theories surrounding Jon Snow and how he could become the Night King, the current Night King is not Jon.

Yes characters like Bran can jump between eras, but it’s a limited ability. There’s nothing to suggest that Jon would have that ability to go back in time either as the Night King, or to become him.

Night’s King: The Apostrophe is Important

When comparing the show to the books, the Night King and the Night’s King are two different ideas.

Wait…Night’s King? Who is the Night’s King?

“As for the Night’s King (the form I prefer), in the books he is a legendary figure, akin to Lann the Clever and Brandon the Builder, and no more likely to have survived to the present day than they have.” – George RR Martin

He was the 13th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch who fell in love with, what sounds like, a female White Walker. He took the Night’s Watch as his own, and began making sacrifices to the “Others”. Then, he was eventually overthrown and any records of him were erased.

Old Nan seemingly confirmed that the Night’s King was a also a Stark:

“Some say he was a Bolton. Some say a Magnar out of Skagos, some say Umber, Flint, or Norrey. Others would have you think he was a Woodfoot, from them who ruled Bear island before the ironmen came. He never was. He was a Stark, the brother of the man who brought him down.”

So if the producers were to drop the apostrophe and somehow merge the two…he’d be a Stark.

Will the Night King be Confirmed as a Stark?

All evidence seems to be pointing that way. And while it would make you money, it’d be going out on a limb to say otherwise.

Do I think it’s Bran? No. Is there enough circumstantial evidence to say that he is? There definitely is.

YouTube video

And while the Night’s King story isn’t related, the show has taken liberties before. If they were to somehow merge those two together, we have a Stark at the center of the story.

One way or another, that seems to be where we’re headed.


Our Other Game of Thrones Season 8 Coverage:

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