This topic was originally published in conjunction with another post in my former blog. However, I think it requires its own post.
Concerning Game of Thrones, the TV show, I was not aware that the White Walker / Other transforming Craster’s son into a White Walker was originally called the Night’s King according to HBO Viewer’s Guide. The character’s name was later changed to simply a White Walker. I believe he could be the Great Other.
The Night’s King in the TV show
In the books, the Night’s King was a former Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch who lived shortly after the Wall was complete. It is not known from which noble house he came from, but he could have been a Stark. He fell in love with what it seems to be a female Other / White Walker, and he declared himself King. He made the Nightford his castle (the castle that has the hidden door to the other side of the Wall, the one that Bran and team used to go beyond the Wall). He made sacrifices to the Others / White Walkers (probably in the same manner that Craster did). He was taken down by the King in the North (probably his own brother) and Joramun (King-Beyond-the-Wall). Records of him were destroyed after his defeat so his name was actually forgotten. As a result, the Night’s Watch was forbidden to build walls around their castles or keeps making them accessible from the south.
This story provides the reader with two main points:
- White Walkers may be able to reproduce by themselves. However, the show has portrayed the need of humans to procreate. Are White Walkers sterile? Are there few female White Walkers? Are they pretty? This last question may sound silly but White Walkers are portrayed as better looking in the books than in the show. Is magic a requirement for White Walkers to reproduce? Did the Night’s Queen have a child? If yes, what happened to this child? Would a mix of human / White Walker produce a viable offspring? It has been speculated in Westeros.org that members of House Bolton are actual descendants of the Night’s King. Here is the link to this theory: Descendants of the Night’s King. However, I think a lot of these speculations are a little bit crackpot. It is interesting also that the White Walkers require an army of wights. Are there few of them? To me this points out that they are sterile. The link I provided mentions that the Night’s Queen is likely to be a human corpse reanimated by the Night’s King. This will make mating possible. However, Old Nan in the first book mentions that Wildling women mate with White Walkers to create half-human creatures.
- The North and the Wildlings have joined forces in the past. This may be one of the reasons why some Wildlings in the books have a lot of respect for House Stark. The books also specify that there is trade between the Wildlings and the members of the Night’s Watch at Eastwatch by the Sea.