Game Of Thrones Season 8: WILL The Dead Starks Rise From Winterfell Crypt?

3. Why Would They Be Good? Magic And Defiance

The question you're inevitably going to face when this sort of thing comes up is why the Stark wights would be "good guys" when everyone else who has risen from the dead isn't.

The answer to that comes down to magic.

Winterfell was built by Bran the Builder. The same Bran the Builder who built the Wall, with its magical protection against the White Walkers. Why wouldn't he have built that into his family's home too? After all, weaponising his ancestors to protect their future if they're revived from the dead by the Night King would be hugely valuable to the living and a major f*ck you to the Night King.

There's also the detail of the Stark kings being buried with their swords across their chests to protect against evil spirits. It's a small detail, but it's clearly one that indicates that there is old magic down in the Crypt.

And then there's the idea of defiance beyond that. Consider what Sansa said last episode about what happens after the Night King is defeated and Cersei falls: Dany says she will sit on the Iron Throne and Sansa challenges her on what happens with the North. Crucially, she also says that the North will never be ruled again. Would never bend the knee again. Would never be subservient.

How better could that play out than with the Starks - the leaders of the North - rising and defying the Night King's control. Now there's your poetry.