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This Night King Theory For 'Game Of Thrones' Season 8 Could Change EVERYTHING

Helen Sloan/courtesy of HBO

Game of Thrones may not return until 2019, but that just means there's plenty of time for reading, rewatching, and theorizing. Now that the wall has fallen on the HBO series, most of the theories about courtly intrigue seem to matter a little bit less — fans should focus their attention on the White Walkers before the new season, even if Cersei will not. There's one Game of Thrones Season 8 theory to watch out for, and it pertains to where the Night King is headed in Westeros and what his ultimate goal may be.

Back in September 2017, Reddit user twerkmileyyy predicted that the White Walkers are going to the Gods Eye. "Ultimately," the user said in the Reddit post, "I think [the Night King's] end goal is to reach the Isles of Faces and use its magical properties to give life to his undead army."

The user also noted that the only character in A Song Of Ice And Fire who has been seen recently in that area is Howland Reed, Ned Stark's old pal and Meera's father. He may have seen something there that prompted Jojen to take Bran beyond the wall in addition to Jojen's own supernatural sight abilities.

What is the Gods Eye? It's a big lake located in the Riverlands, and it's been mentioned on the show before. Harrenhaal is nearby. In the middle of the lake is the Isle of Faces, where the Children of the Forest (or the green men) made a pact with the First Men. The island got its name because it is covered in weirwood trees who were all given faces when the pact was signed.

So, at the very least, Bran might want to pay the island a visit. He'd have plenty of trees to talk to. In fact, it is thought that green men still live in the Riverlands and guard that island. In the books, Bran wondered if they could restore his legs. If this fan theory is correct, they could do so much more. The Night King wasn't super fond of the Children above the wall, so we'll see.

There's another major flaw with this theory, though. Why would the Night King want his army to be anything other than undead? As ice zombies they are naturally intimidating, very difficult to defeat, and follow the King's every command. It would be unwise to mess with this formula.

What if the wights are brought back to life and decide they don't want to be in the White Walker's army, and revolt? Even if they were turned back into living men and continued to fight alongside their once leader, they're just that much easier to kill. If this is what the Night King wants, there must be a catch.

It seems near impossible that Westeros can win this war as is. Even if all of the houses and various monarchs did manage to unite against this common enemy, the Night King has an unstoppable army and a freakin' ice dragon.

Their best bet might be that the Night King is actually a chill (no pun intended) dude and simply wants to accomplish a magical goal for himself. What if he just wants to be a mortal human again, broken from his frosty curse? Look, Gendry finally came rowing back in Season 7. Wishes do come true. Maybe the Night King isn't a villain, and the Gods Eye is his own path to redemption.

A Song Of Ice And Fire has always dealt with villains that are varying shades of grey... with this one exception. It would make sense to learn that his situation is more complicated than we realize. It also feels a lot like a fairy tale, which George R. R. Martin's stories love to twist.

Then again, the Night King was super into sacrificing Craster's babies. That might be a tough thing to redeem or explain around. This is just one of the many theories likely to catch fire and ice before Game of Thrones returns in 2019. Fans have a lot of time to think about what's going to happen in Westeros. Go back, refresh, and see if there are more clues as to what lies in the Riverlands and/or what the Night King is up to besides flash freezing dragons and shrugging at the heroes.