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Benjen Stark Could Be A White Walker On 'GoT'

by Alaina Urquhart-White

Benjen Stark is officially back, guys. He returned in seriously impressive fashion, swooping in on horseback and saving Bran & Meera from certain death by a gang of wights. After making them wonder who the hell he was for a while, Benjen finally removed his hood and told them the tale of where he had been all this time. Apparently, Benjen was stabbed in the gut by a white walker's ice sword and left to die. Luckily, some children of the forest came to his aid by stabbing him in the chest with a shard of dragon glass. That seems counterproductive but it brought him back to life. But, wait, is Benjen Stark a white walker on Game of Thrones now?

I'm fairly certain that he is not a card-carrying white walker. Benjen seems completely lucid while he spoke to Meera and Bran. Sure, he may be a little scarred and broody, but he doesn't seem particularly undead. He is also missing the signature ice blue eyes that White Walkers tend to have. When Benjen explained the method that the children of the forest used to save him, he even described it like they were stopping the spread of the white walkers' "magic." So, that says to me that they were unable to turn him. It's a classic "the poison is also the antidote" situation, if you ask me.

While Benjen is probably not a White Walker, he is most definitely changed after his experience with them. How many other people can say that they were brought back with a piece of dragon glass plunged into their chests? I would like to know exactly how this stops the inevitability of death after being stabbed with a white walker's ice sword. Is Benjen impervious to any future physical altercations with them? There is so much more for us to learn about his situation and I hope that we get to understand it all sooner, rather than later.

Images: HBO