Summary

• The Night King's origins as a defense creation by the Children of the Forest add depth to the Game of Thrones universe.
• The Night's King in the books, though similar, has a different origin as the 13th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.
• Some fans argue that the Night King's backstory wasn't necessary for the ultimate threat he posed to Westeros.

The Night King is a mysterious and legendary character who appears in both prequels including House of the Dragon, the lore of Martin’s universe is revealed.

Dotted throughout Martin’s original series are clues and hints to a much larger world beyond the scope of the books. The history of Westeros extends far further back than Robert’s Rebellion or even The Dance of Dragons. And one of these characters from thousands of years before the start of the main plot proves to be an integral part of Game of Thrones. The Night King appears in Game of Thrones as arguably the greatest villain of the entire series. This character’s origins in the show are integrated deeply within the story, but in the books, the Night King is presented much differently.

The Night King Was Created By The Children Of The Forest In HBO's Game Of Thrones

The First White Walkers Were Made As A Defense Against Humanity

The origin of the Night King is shown in Game of Thrones season 6, episode 5, "The Door". Bran, who at this point has become experienced in traveling through time with his vision, is taken by the Three-Eyed Raven far back into the past. He walks into a grove surrounding the same heart tree he is sitting beneath in the present, but now, there is no snow in the lands beyond the Wall. Bran sees Game of Thrones' Children of the Forest, led by Leaf, surround an unidentified man bound to the tree, and watches as Leaf stabs a piece of dragonglass into his heart.

As a last resort, the Children created the White Walkers as a desperate gambit to destroy their enemies.

The man’s screams quickly go silent as his eyes ice over, much like the baby’s eyes in Game of Thrones season 4, episode 4, "Oathkeeper". It’s revealed that the Children of the Forest are responsible for creating the White Walkers, beginning with the Night King. When Bran returns to the present and confronts Leaf about what she did thousands of years ago, Leaf responds that they made the Walkers to, "Defend ourselves from you". When the First Men came to Westeros, they fought the Children of the Forest. As a last resort, the Children created the White Walkers as a desperate gambit to destroy their enemies.

However, at some point, something went wrong. The Children of the Forest were pushed back to the lands beyond the Wall and fell into legend and folktale as the race of Men proliferated. The White Walkers turned on their creators, with the Night King seeming to have a special enmity for the Children and their ally the Three-Eyed Raven, and retreated into myth. It’s an important lesson in the series, that magical power is not so easily controlled. This is a resonant theme that goes for both the "Ice" in the series, as well as the "Fire", as Jon Snow comes to understand with Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons.

The Night's King Was The 13th Lord Commander Of The Night's Watch In The Books

The Books Have A Character Of The Same Name With A Completely Different Origin

Though the Night King is powerful in Game of Thrones, the character is not officially present in A Song of Ice and Fire (yet). In the books, there is a similar character, known in legend as the Night’s King. The Night’s King is a figure from Westeros’ Age of Heroes, a semi-mythical time period in history. It was during this time that many of the founders of Westeros’ great Houses were supposed to have lived. Bran the Builder of House Stark, Lann the Clever of House Lannister, and the Grey King of the Iron Islands are all said to have lived during this period.

He made the woman his Queen and he declared himself the Night’s King and ruled from the Nightfort, a Night’s Watch castle in the Wall.

The Wall was built during the Age of Heroes and many famed Lord Commanders of the Night’s Watch ruled it over the years. The 13th Lord Commander, however, is the most notorious. The unnamed Lord Commander was said to have met a pale woman with ice-blue eyes beyond the Wall to whom he gave his soul. He made the woman his Queen and he declared himself the Night’s King and ruled from the Nightfort, a Night’s Watch castle in the Wall. There he committed nameless atrocities and made sacrifices to the Others, much like Craster ended up doing thousands of years later.

How The Night's King Is Linked To House Stark (According To Old Nan)

Jon Snow And His Siblings Have A Deeper Connection To The Night's King In The Books

In A Song of Ice and Fire, many references to the Night’s King come from Old Nan, the Stark children’s caregiver. Her stories are often repeated by the children and of the Night’s Watch, and it’s never quite clear what exactly is history and what’s legend. In her stories, the crimes committed under the Night’s King’s rule were so egregious that Brandon the Breaker, the King of Winter, and Joramun, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, banded the Stark men and their allies with the Free Folk to defeat the Night’s King. Afterward, all records of the Night's King’s reign and even his name were stricken from record.

The Night King has yet to appear in George R.R. Martin's novels but when he does, answers regarding the relationship between the Night’s King and the Night King from Game of Thrones should be made clearer.

In the show, a similar alliance would be formed thousands of years later between Jon Snow and the Free Folk against the Night King. The legend of the Night’s King and his hidden backstory have led to Northerners theorizing about the identity of the king. Some believe the Night’s King was a Bolton. This would make sense considering the violent history of the House. A flayed man is on their banner for a reason and the atrocities described in legend could very well include skinning sacrifices alive. Other theories about the Night’s King’s identity include him being a member of House Umber and House Flint.

However, Old Nan also says that Night’s King could be a member of House Stark, maybe even a brother of Brandon the Breaker. House Stark historically ruled the North and were of the Night’s Watch. It would take someone as respected as a Stark to lead a rebellion, evil or not. This would also add an element of tragedy to the legend, how brother fought against brother. The Night King has yet to appear in George R.R. Martin's novels but when he does, answers regarding the relationship between the Night’s King and the Night King from Game of Thrones should be made clearer.

Did The Night King's Origin Ultimately Matter?

Some Game Of Thrones Fans Would Have Preferred The Night King's Beginnings Remained A Mystery

While the story of the origins of the Night King in HBO's Game of Thrones was certainly interesting, there is also a strong argument that the ultimate threat to Westeros didn't actually need a backstory. From season 1 of Game of Thrones, the Night King and White Walkers were portrayed as a force of nature more than anything else. It didn't matter where they came from or what they truly wanted, they just existed. They were the ultimate danger that came with winter, and the true reason the Wall was implied to have been built.

The entire sequence with the Children could have been skipped without making a dent on the tension of the final battle between the assembled forces of Westeros and the Night King — if anything, without an origin, it might have been more impactful.

The Night King's true motivations were never made clear beyond that he wanted to (presumably) kill every living thing in Westeros. Just like Daenerys' dragons, audiences were satisfied with the fact that the Night King and White Walkers simply existed. They were a relic of a time when Westeros was far more rife with magic and other fantasy elements. They didn't need an origin per se, just like the Night King himself didn't need the complex motivations of other antagonists in the show such as Cersei Lannister, Littlefinger, or (eventually) Daenerys Targaryen.

The argument that the origins of the Night King were unnecessary for the show felt cemented when he was eventually killed in Game of Thrones season 8. With his motivations never revealed, and no moment of grand dialogue where he explained why he was bringing slaughter south of The Wall, the origin story with the Children of the Forest felt like narrative baggage more than anything else. The entire sequence with the Children could have been skipped without making a dent on the tension of the final battle between the assembled forces of Westeros and the Night King — if anything, without an origin, it might have been more impactful.

While there will always be some fans of Game of Thrones who want origins and explanations for the more fantastical elements of the show, there's a large number who still believe that the Night King and White Walkers worked better when they were an unexplained force of nature. Giving the Night King an origin humanized him, and to many, this diminished the threat he presented considerably.