Even though there’s still a certain air of enduring mystery surrounding the White Walkers in the Game of Thrones universe, there are certain truths that fans undoubtedly agree on. Things like their weakness to Dragonglass and their unnatural strength are pretty self-evident, right? How about the identity of their leader? How many Night Kings are there in Game of Thrones?
The Hierarchy Of The Army Of The Dead
While we only see a single version of the Night King, a popular fan theory seems to suggest that there might have been more than one army leader of the dead plotting behind the scenes. Before we can go further into this fascinating hypothesis, let’s take a quick glance at the hierarchy of the Army of the Dead in Game of Thrones.
Above all sits the Night King, the only one capable of raising the dead and creating the White Walkers. These White Walkers serve as the second-in-command in the army of the undead, operating with a certain autonomy. Lastly, there are the wights, which are the mindless zombies we frequently see people erroneously call White Walkers.
The Theory Of Multiple Night Kings
As fans know, when Arya killed the Night King, the rest of the undead army fell with him. However, what if there was another? Would he crumble, too, or would he have been above the Night King’s influence? More importantly, what evidence do we have about the existence of more leaders? The answer lies in the show itself.
The show explicitly tells us that the White Walkers and the Night King were created thousands of years ago by the Children of the Forest. However, there’s a certain scene that involves Jon and Dany going to a Dragonglass cave. In this locale, Jon finds an ancient picture depicting the White Walkers and the Night King—who looks completely different from the one we’ve seen in the show.
This Night King has a long beard, something that’s clearly missing from the one Jon faced at Hardhome. Did he shave? No, that’s just not how things in the world of Game of Thrones operate.
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Implications Of Having More Than One Night King
The theory further suggests that the Children of the Forest created more than one Night King and that the one we see in the show is the last one left. The best part about this theory is that it makes perfect sense within the Game of Thrones’ larger mythos.
In the Age of Heroes, after the Children of the Forest originally defeated the White Walkers and the first men, a fraction of the undead army remained, waiting beyond the cold lands in the North of Westeros.
Of course, these remaining White Walkers couldn’t have returned without a leader, which is where the Night King comes into play. The theory suggests that the Night King of the show is the last of its kind, and he’s also the one responsible for amassing an army that would attack Westeros thousands of years later.
While the mythos surrounding the White Walkers and the Night King is still one of the major letdowns in Game of Thrones, we can hope that House of the Dragon sheds some light on the backstory of these terrifying creatures and what would happen if the prophecies of the Azor Ahai and the new Long Night were to become true.
Of course, Daemon Targaryen’s vision of the Night King and White Walkers in the finale of House of the Dragon Season 2 has stirred fans to reconsider the theory again. Heck, some fans even believe Daemon Targaryen is the future White Walker King.
Tell us, what do you think? Is there more than one Night King?
Game of Thrones |
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Nine noble families fight for control over the lands of Westeros, while an ancient enemy returns after being dormant for millennia. |
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| Creator: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss |
| Cast: Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Iain Glen, John Bradley, Alfie Allen, Liam Cunningham, Aidan Gillen, Gwendoline Christie, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Rory McCann, Jerome Flynn, Nathalie Emmanuel |
| Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Drama |
| Number of Seasons: 8 |
| Streaming Service: HBO Max |
