‘Game of Thrones’ Star Shoots Down That Bran-Night King Theory
Our watch has ended for Game of Thrones Season 7; the perfect time to conserve energy for the next round of crazed conspiracy theories. Well, let’s shoot one more down on our way out, as star Isaac Hempstead-Wright takes an ice javelin to that crazy Bran-Night King theory.
You’re warned of light spoilers from here on out, but whether by vague physical resemblance or their notably linked visions, Bran and The Night King’s similarities have been setting off alarm bells in the tin-foil hat community. Some have suggested that Bran’s time-bending influence might somehow lead him to become the Night King (never you mind that we saw his actual origin in Season 6), but Hempstead-Wright tells Vulture the link is much less complicated:
I think it’s less that they’re the same person and more that they’re two of the ancient beings of Westeros. The Three-Eyed Raven has been around for God knows how long, and White Walkers have been reported since the beginning of time. As we’ve seen, they were created by the Children of the Forest, so we can’t get much more ancient than that.
Perhaps we can think of it as these are two characters with a huge amount of power, but one is a Frankenstein’s monster who is driven by nothing but hatred and violence. Then there’s Bran, who uses his powers for good. I want to find out why the Night King is so obsessed with destroying mankind. We’ll see whether they have any kind of explanations in the next season.
We’ll grant that zombie dragons and Hodor’s time-traveling stroke once seemed pretty far-fetched as well, but can we officially lay this one to rest? Will we learn anything important about the Night King’s past before the final showdown in Season 8?