Could the Night King’s Identity Be Right Under Our Noses?

The most successful television series that’s captured the attention and fandom of pretty much the entire world will shortly be arriving at its conclusion – after many twists and turns. At the center of the dramatic conclusion is the terrifyingly powerful Night King, the leader of the undead army of white walkers. Due to the vast expanse of lore in the Game of Thrones universe a lot of seemingly bizarre or implausible theories have more than a little bit of justification if one turns over enough rocks. One of the popular theories that has recently developed regarding the Night King is that it may in fact be one of the Stark children; Bran Stark to be specific.

The theory gets pretty abstract and crazy, but it effectively boils down to intricate sequences of time travel based on Bran’s unique set of abilities – he can visit moments in the past, present and future due to the gift of Greensight, but he can also enter the minds of sentient beings and possess them, what is referred to as “Warging”. In prior seasons, we’ve seen Bran use both powers, and internet theorisers suggest that a combination of the two at a critical moment could be the hint that Bran is in fact the Night King. That critical moment? When the first White Walker, and the Night King, is created by one of the Children of the Forest, Leaf.

Bran visited this moment when he used his Greensight, and the Three-Eyed Raven who trained Bran to control that power once warned him “Stay too long, and you will remain” – which is a key part of this theory. If Bran stayed too long and inhabited the man who was turned into the Night King, it’s possible that one version of Bran, with all his powers, inhabits the same body as the Night King.

There are a few coincidental references that suggest this as well; one of them being that the Night King can interact with Bran when he uses his powers, something that nobody except others with Greensight seem to be able to do. Another instance is when Leaf relates the story of the Night King’s creation to Bran she says they were trying to protect themselves, and when Bran asks from what her response is “From You” – which many took to mean human men, in general, but she may literally have meant from Bran himself. The last piece of tentative evidence is that the Night King’s appearance and Bran’s have gradually become more alike, specifically when looking at the clothing Bran has recently been wearing:

There’s even a similarity in the features of their faces:

Of course, take all of this with a pinch of salt. While plausible, there still are a number of characters who could very-well be the Night King. Who do you think the Night King is? And more so, who do you think will be the last person to sit in the Iron Throne? You can even place your bets on who you think will take the seat in charge of the Seven Kingdoms and win some cash in the process.