At the start of Game of Thrones, we meet the
Stark family. There’s Ned, Catelyn, Robb – and they all die. But we still got Sansa,
Arya, Bran, Rickon's alive in the books, and there's Jon, who’s secretly half-Targaryen,
at least in the show . We tend to see the Starks as the good guys, but the Stark family
aren’t the Brady bunch – in Chapter 1, Ned beheads a guy, and makes his sons watch.
And the kids all get pets from a giant dead wolf. It’s clear from the start that the
Starks are connected to harsh ancient customs and mysterious magic . Bran becomes a psychic
tree god, Arya a Faceless assassin, and Jon an undead prophetic warrior-king. The blood
of House Stark is tied to the ancient secrets of Winterfell and the Wall, the Night’s
King and white walkers – which might hint at the ending of Game of Thrones.
According to legend, House Stark began eight thousand years ago – after the Long Night,
when the white walkers “came for the first time” . The walkers were defeated by “the
last hero” with the children of the forest , or by Azor Ahai with a flaming sword – there
are lots of different legends . But the walkers went away, and Brandon the Builder raised
the Wall to keep them out. Brandon also built the castle of Winterfell – and started House
Stark, who ruled as Kings of Winter for thousands of years . Eventually, a people called the
Andals invaded Westeros from across the sea, bringing a new religion and culture. Only
the Kings of Winter could resist them , and that’s why the north keeps the customs of
the First Men, worshiping the old gods – and remembering things that others forget . It
all ties back to the foundation of House Stark in the fight against white walkers and winter.
The ancient words of House Stark are a warning that “Winter is coming” . The castle of
Winterfell might be named for the place where the white walkers were defeated – where
winter fell. Winterfell is built on hot springs that keep it warm through winter . And the
crown of the Stark Kings was spiked with “iron” – a metal of winter “to fight against
the cold” . In the Winterfell crypts, the statues of dead Starks have swords of iron
– and it’s said that white walkers hate iron . Winterfell might have magic defences
against white walkers. Cause the Wall and Storm’s End have protective spells , and
Brandon the Builder is sposed to have built them both – maybe he gave Winterfell protective
spells as well. It’s said “There must always be a Stark in Winterfell” , as though
the Starks have an ancient responsibility to defend the north from winter and white
walkers. But the story goes deeper than that. Along
the Wall are nineteen castles, mostly abandoned now. The oldest is the Nightfort – a dark
and “sinister” place that’s connected to the white walkers. There are stories of
a “thing that came in the night” , that killed people then brought them back as “shambling”
slaves , like wights. There’s a tale of a knight with eyes like blue stars , like
a white walker. And the oldest Nightfort legend tells of the Night’s King. In the TV show,
the leader of the white walkers is called the Night King, but he seems to be a different
character to this Night’s King. Cause the Night’s King was Lord Commander of the Night’s
Watch, and he met a woman with skin cold as ice, and eyes like blue stars – which sounds
like she was a white walker. The Night’s King made her his queen, and gave her his
seed and his soul. Together they ruled the Nightfort, and made sacrifices to the white
walkers. Which might mean that they gave their children to the walkers – like how the wilding
Craster sacrifices his children. The Night’s King and Queen ruled for thirteen years, until
they were cast down by the Stark king, Brandon the Breaker. All records of the Night’s
King were destroyed, and his name was “forbidden” – “wiped from the memory of man” . Why
was the name of the Night’s King so important? Well, Old Nan says that the Night’s King
was the brother of Brandon the Breaker – that the Night’s King “was a Stark” .
So did an ancient Stark marry a white walker? We can’t totally trust these old legends
– no one really knows what happened thousands of years ago . But the stories are there to
give us hints, and there was obviously some kinda white walker action at the Nightfort.
Which might have been the plan from the beginning. Cause in Book 3 we see the Black Gate, a “secret”
“hidden” “magic gate” at the Nightfort that lets Watchmen through the Wall. It’s
made of a living weirwood face, at the bottom of a deep dark well. It’s super creepy,
and looks like the sorta gate you’d use if you were secretly giving babies to white
walkers. And thing is, the Black Gate is “as old as the Wall itself” , it was built into
the Nightfort from the start – was this place designed for sacrifice to the white
walkers? The Nightfort was the “chief seat” of the Night’s Watch for thousands of years
, it was the first castle on the Wall , possibly built by Brandon the Builder, founder of House
Stark. So why do its oldest legends point to sacrifice and marriage to the white walkers?
One popular theory is that the walkers weren’t just defeated in the Long Night – there
was actually a peace agreement. We know that lots of wars in the north ended with the Starks
marrying a daughter of their enemy – so maybe the Long Night ended with the Stark
Night’s King marrying a white walker. We know that Craster makes peace with the walkers
by sacrificing his children – so maybe sacrifice at the Nightfort was part of this white walker
peace deal. We also know that humans once made a pact with the children of the forest
– and this was done before a grove of weirwood trees. Maybe the weirwood Black Gate represents
a similar pact between white walkers and the Starks. Maybe an marriage alliance with the
white walkers is how the Starks become the Kings of Winter, and built the icy Wall. Maybe
the phrase “There must always be a Stark in Winterfell” was part of this agreement.
This is just speculation. If there ever was a peace with the walkers, it’s now forgotten.
But the Starks might still be connected to the walkers by their blood – there’s a
theory that the Starks are descended from the Night’s King and his icy Night’s Queen
. Game of Thrones is full of symbolic repetitions and parallels [show Ned behead, Robb behead,
Jon behead] – it’s like poetry, it rhymes. And one of the stories that’s repeated is
of a baby boy with a secret special bloodline being raised as a Stark at Winterfell. For
example, Jon Snow is secretly the son of Rhaegar Targaryen, but Jon is raised as Ned Stark’s
son at Winterfell. Another example is the story of Bael the Bard – where the son of
a wildling was raised as a Stark at Winterfell. And there’s a similar story with Gilly’s
baby. Remember that Gilly is one of the wives of Craster, who gives his sons to the white
walkers. When Gilly gives birth to a son, she and Sam run south to save the baby – passing
through the Black Gate at the Nightfort. The plan is to raise Gilly’s baby as Sam’s
bastard – and Jon considers raising the boy at Winterfell . So over and over there’s
a story of a baby boy with a secret bloodline being rescued and raised at Winterfell. Maybe
the same thing happened with a child of the Night’s King. Like, we’re told that Brandon
the Breaker cast down his brother the Night’s King. What if Brandon found one of the Night’s
King’s children at the Nightfort? Would Brandon murder his own baby nephew, when kinslaying
is such a crime in the north ? Or would Brandon take his brother’s baby to Winterfell and
raise him as his own – just like Ned raised Jon, and the Starks raised Bael’s son. The
story of Bael reveals that the Starks have wildling blood. Maybe the story of the Night’s
King reveals that the Starks have the blood of the Night’s Queen – the blood of white
walkers. We are told that the Starks are “not like
other men” – that they’re “made of ice” , and “made for the cold” . Old
Stark kings included Brandon “Ice Eyes” , and Edrick “Snowbeard” . They named
their sword Ice – just like white walkers use swords of ice. Maybe to the ancient Kings
of Winter, the words “Winter is coming” was a boast, and a threat. Cause the ancient
Starks didn’t accidentally take over the north. They conquered it, kingdom by kingdom
– slaughtering men, stealing wives, wiping out entire houses . These Starks were bad
guys who did “terrible things” . Maybe in this brutal past the Starks embraced their
white walker blood, just as the Targaryens embrace their blood of the dragon in their
conquests. There’s a great symmetry in the Targaryens having fiery dragon blood , if
the Starks have icy white walker blood. But being related to ice demons musta gone out
of fashion, because now the Starks seem to wanna to deny their white walker heritage.
Like that’d be why they hide the Stark name of the Night’s King. And these iron swords
in the crypts – we’re told that they keep “the spirits of the dead locked [in] their
tombs” . Why do the Starks need to lock away their own ancestors? Maybe cause their
ancestors are part white walker. Maybe the Starks started using these iron swords to
lock away their icy heritage. Maybe the iron in the crown of the Kings of Winter is there
to suppress the white walker in the mind of each Stark. Maybe Winterfell isn’t built
just to keep walkers out – it’s built to keep white walkers in.
This whole thing could be very Lovecraftian. H. P. Lovecraft was a horror writer who influenced
Game of Thrones author George Martin – there are Lovecraft references all over the world
of Thrones, go watch our East video. And one of Lovecraft’s recurring ideas is the fear
of something terrible in your ancestry. In one story, called The Shadow over Innsmouth,
the narrator finds out that he’s descended from evil fish gods called Deep Ones. He tries
to resist the Deep Ones, but ends up joining them in the sea. Maybe, similarly, the Starks
will discover to their horror they’re descended from white walkers – but will have no choice
but to join them. Remember that Gilly’s baby was meant to be sacrificed to the white
walkers – apparently to be transformed into one. So when Gilly and Sam take the baby south
instead, the white walkers come after them – to take back the baby that was promised
. Maybe that’s what’s happening with the Starks. Like, if the Starks are all descended
from a baby of the Night’s King who was meant to be sacrificed, maybe the walkers
are now coming south to take back what’s owed – to take the Starks as their own.
Jon Snow is set up as the guy to beat the white walkers. But surely the story won’t
end with just like a sword fight with the Night King. Author George Martin says that
Game of Thrones isn’t about good guys fighting bad guys , it’s about conflicts within the
human heart , like love versus duty, survival versus sacrifice . And that’s what Jon’s
story’s all about. He sacrifices his honour, his love, his own life. Maybe now he’ll
have sacrifice himself to the white walkers. He is “the Prince That Was Promised” – in
more ways than one . Maybe he’ll represent the Stark blood promised to the white walkers.
Jon makes peace with the wildlings. Maybe he’ll make peace with the white walkers.
It could be another marriage pact – Jon could become the new Night’s King. There
are lines in the books about Jon having armor made of ice , and his skin growing pale and
cold . The tragedy here would be that Jon has just fallen in love with Daenerys. So
again he’ll have to choose between love and duty, between fire and ice – between
banging his aunt, and becoming a popsicle king to save the world. It’s fantasy and
it’s human drama and it’s bittersweet – this could be the ending of Game of Thrones.
If you liked this video, please like and subscribe, we’ll be making lots more videos for the
final season of Game of Thrones. For more on the Starks and white walkers, check out
Lucifer Means Lightbringer, Ideas of Ice and Fire , Gray Area and others – the community’s
done lots of great analysis on this stuff. Thanks to artists Oriana Weisner, Klaradox,
pahapasi, and Ertaç Altınöz. This video topic was chosen by the Patrons at patreon.com/AltShiftX.
Thanks to Patrons DrB, Gyovai Dóra, Jack Ierfone, Travis Leleu, William Applegate,
Story Hideo-Smith, MajorasMasque, Jordan Bell, Max Campagna, Casper Sedgwick, Sam Goss, and
solvalent. Cheers.
