Alright this is a long one. So bear with me and hear it out:
The greatest question in Game of Thrones is simple: What is the meaning of the White Walkers? Many people don’t think twice about their meaning, they have accepted that the WW only service the storyline as simple, mindless, absolute evil beings. Yet this is not consistent with GRRM’s writing style. Most things in this story (everything of importance) have a deeper meaning: every character, every name, even minor details can have hidden truths behind them. These deeper meanings are revealed as twists in the story line, and these reveals are part of the reason GOT is so popular. There are countless examples:
The name’s of the Dragons and the significance of their riders is one of my favorites: Drogon (rode by Dany, named after the man who spurred her real character arc). Rhaegal (presumably will be ridden by Jon, named after his father). Viserion (is killed and “betrays” her for the NK, named after her brother, Viserys, who also betrayed her). GRRM could’ve named them anything but he gave them deeper meanings that included incredible foreshadowing. The same is true for Hodor, he could’ve been named anything, but GRRM used his name as a mechanism to advance the plot. Hell, he could’ve actually made Jon Ned Stark’s bastard and the plot could’ve advanced the exact same way up to this point. But the point is, this is how GRRM writes. Every major plot twist in this story reveals that it is more complicated than we can imagine, Martin has woven these stories incredibly deep and thought of every aspect, and each of these twists are carefully, perfectly foreshadowed so that everything comes together once its revealed, making perfect sense. Which is why the many question marks surrounding the Night Kings actions and intentions lead me to the following conclusion…
My theory is that the NK is not an absolutely evil being, his goal is not to destroy life, his goal is to unite the people of Westeros, whenever they are most divided, by being a common enemy. My theory is not only foreshadowed, but it functions perfectly when thinking about the purpose of the story:
First we must look at why they were created: To protect (The children of the forest) against mankind. We all know they went on to turn on the COTF, and this ended up uniting the COTF and the First Men against the WW. But looking at this from a wide narrative perspective, did they actually fail their duty? Had they done what the COTF wanted, no outcome would have been favorable: Either 1) the First Men defeat the WW and then view the COTF in a much more intensely negative light. Or 2) the WW and Children prevail and take over Westeros, and face threats from foreign invaders for the rest of time until one finally conquers them. Instead, the WW chose to fight both the First men AND the COTF, forcing them to make peace and unite against a common enemy. So in the end, the NK didn’t protect the COTF from mankind, he protected ALL sentient beings from themselves by ending their trivial bullshit wars and creating one that wasn’t just a simple struggle for power.
This is exactly what he’s doing now. Westeros has become a mess again. Greedy lords fighting for power at the expense of their people and even themselves in some instances (RIP Olenna). Simply put, everything that the NK has done in the books and the show can be rationalized by this theory: Every action the NK takes will help the seven kingdoms unite themselves against him. Most of his questionable actions fit perfectly with this theory:
Why didn’t he have his wights chase Bran (a great threat to him) and Meera after Hodor died? He needs Bran as the TER so he can spread the word of the dead coming and so he can assist Jon in the Great War.
Why did the WW spare Sam in S2? The NK knew Sam would go on to discover the significance of Dragon Glass, as well as play a vital role in revealing Jon’s true identity.
Why didn’t he kill Drogon, even though he was significantly closer to him and he is a much stronger dragon? He needed a dragon to break down the wall, but if he had killed Drogon, he would’ve also probably ended up crushing any chance of the living stopping him, considering everyone who will presumably unite the Seven Kingdoms (other than Tyrion) needed Drogon to escape the battle.
The reason he can see these things is because I assume he’s a greenseer (how else can he touch Bran in Bran’s vision?).
From a narrative perspective, this theory works perfect. Before I thought of this theory, I was extremely conflicted. By the end of season 7 we don’t know who the true antagonist is. Is it the NK or is it Cersei? I believe there is a single answer to that question, and I believe it’s Cersei. She has one of the highest airtimes in the show so we have been able to observe why and how she develops into the monster she is today. We know and understand her better than the NK, and at this point I believe she has, and will continue to, become the embodiment of absolute evil, and the downfall of humanity. She doesn’t represent a supernatural evil, or magical threat to humanity like the NK. She represents a very real tangible evil and greed that we have seen throughout real-life history and still see today. This evil, evil and greed among the human race is actually the biggest threat to humanity. Cersei is the antagonist, she embodies “The Game of Thrones”, or “The Wheel” Dany references, she perpetuates the suffering of the common people in an effort to keep herself and her family in power. The NK being the main antagonist as a totally evil being would be too simple, and wouldn’t work as a metaphor for the story (we know GRRM uses his stories as real-life metaphors, and his stories definitely aren’t simple). Anyways, at this point in the story Jon and Dany are heading North to fight the NK, indicating Cersei will probably die last assuming both of them do die.
Lastly: this theory has been foreshadowed. Old Nan says that Bran’s favorite story was always the Story about Bran the Builder, the man who united the living against the dead and through this created peace, and also happened to found the greatest house in the North, House Stark. But the real foresight has been hiding in plain sight since the first scene of the story: the mysterious symbols of the dead. We know the spiral is an ancient COTF symbol they used for rituals. So why would the dead continue to create this symbol? Maybe to show that in the big picture they actually have been doing the COTF’s bidding the whole time: protecting the living against the living themselves. But here’s the kicker: what is the meaning of the “phi” symbol the WWs like to leave around (the circle with the line through it, seen in the opening scene in episode one, and also seen in the caves under Dragonstone)? The symbol phi is an ancient symbol for the golden ratio, it represents universal harmony, creativity, and balance. So if the NK was a purely evil being who wants to destroy all life and completely disrupt universal harmony, why would GRRM associate him so closely with this symbol? Because he doesn’t want to destroy the living, because he isn’t an absolute evil. He wants to scare the living hell out of everyone in Westeros and remind them that the trivial political conflicts they engage in everyday are worthless and costly in the grand scheme of things, and he wants to demonstrate to them the power of a united people. Not only would this be a jaw dropping, perception changing, plot twist. The likes of which we would have never seen, not even in this show. But this would also be a beautifully fitting metaphor that happens to be extremely relevant to our world today. There’s a good chance I’m wrong, but I would be disappointed if the meaning of the NK was as simple as most people think. Yet, knowing George RR Martin’s style and love for using his works as real-life metaphors, I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m close to the mark.
Submitted December 27, 2017 at 03:25PM by RashBackpacker http://ift.tt/2l8XPLV
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