Game of Thrones is down to its final season, and there’s still a lot of interesting fan theories on the board. With the White Walkers destroying the northern wall in the Season 7 finale, some fans are pushing the idea that Brandon Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) is actually the Night King. What are all the clues that might prove Bran isn’t who we think he is?
According to The Sun, the theory speculates that Bran’s ability to time travel and warg led him to become the Night King. The general idea is that Bran went back in time to prepare the world for the White Walkers. He eventually time traveled to when the Children of the Forest created the White Walkers and attempted to stop them. Things went terribly wrong, however, when Bran warged into the person who became the Knight King. This trapped and prevented him from returning to his own time.
While this theory has not been officially confirmed, there are several clues that support it. For starters, Bran has mimicked the Knight King’s actions on several episodes. He also had an interesting conversation with the Children of the Forest, who admitted that they created the White Walkers to defend themselves against Bran and humankind.
The Night King [Image by HBO]
“We were at war. We were being slaughtered. Our sacred trees cut down. We needed to defend ourselves,” one of the children told Bran, who asked, “from who?”
“From you,” she replied.
Further, some Game of Thrones fans believe that the Season 7 finale offered a crucial piece of evidence in support of the theory. After the Night King took down the wall with his dragon, the dead army marched through the ruined ice. Some fans thought the army was marching in the shape of the Stark family sigil, a direwolf. This could be a sign that the Night King is actually Bran.
‘Game of Thrones’ star Isaac Hempstead Wright. [Image by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images]
While some fans are adamant that Bran and the Night King are one in the same, GOT star Isaac Hempstead Wright told Vulture that Bran is not the Night King. The actor acknowledged the popular fan theory but insisted that Bran and the Night King are simply two ancient characters with very different agendas. He also teased that we might learn more about the White Walkers and their motivation for destroying the world next season.
Season 8 of Game of Thrones will hopefully premiere in 2018, though an official date has not been announced.