Ill be honest, I was pretty confused when this guy showed up at the end of episode four, as Im sure many other readers were too. Hes only mentioned in passing as myth at the end of A Storm of Swords, one of Old Nans stories told to the Stark children probably to put the fear of the Old Gods in them. Anywho, as the story goes the Nights King was once a man who served as the 13th Lord Commander of the Nights Watch shortly after the great conflict with the Others known as the Long Night had come to a close and the Wall constructed. On his watch he supposedly came upon and fell in love a woman with skin as white as the moon and eyes like blue stars, and that doing the nasty with her corrupted his soul. After bringing her back to the Nightfort and declaring himself king and her his queen, he subjugated the Nights Watch under his rule and went about sacrificing them to the Others for the next thirteen years until the King in the North and the King Beyond the Wall came together for a limited run and sent him packing to the Land of Always Winter, which is presumably what we see in this scene. HBO Go had his name listed as the Nights King for about the two flicks of a dragons tail before taking it down after observant fans flipped out, but judging by the icy thorns crowning his head, its fairly safe to assume hes the Nights King mentioned in the books. Whats so tantalizing about this scene is that throughout the books readers have been given very little information on the Others. Who they are, what their motivation is, their very nature as a species, is all a mystery even until the end of A Dance with Dragons. This break from the books is absolutely HUGE, at last confirming long held suspicions based on textual evidence that Crasters sons are made into Others. Whats more than clear is that there appears to be a certain hierarchy to the White Walkers; The Nights King appears to be fully dressed in rich black, his skin more akin to ice than the frosted-mini-wheat complexion of the outrider who brings him the child. This season has been all about constructing a larger world, moving beyond the petty squabbles that have dominated the screen for so long, and showing us the edges of a greater conflict, amassing powers that threatens to swallow Westeros with ease. To that end, the reveal of the Nights King and his cohorts was the perfect icing on the cake (see what I did there?). Oh, and remember, until next season:
Spencer is an avid lover of storytelling and cinema. This likely began in a simpler time when watching Indiana Jones kick the snot out of Nazis and pretending to be a velociraptor were standard fare for the day. He’s absurdly opinionated and somewhat stubborn, qualities only mildly offset by his awareness of his own insignificance. Spencer is nearly always restless, but he'll settle for food, friends, and a good pint anytime.
