At the very end of "Game of Thrones" Season 7, we saw the Night King smashing down the part of the Wall with his undead dragon which allowed his army to finally pass through. Jon and Daenerys, on the other hand, forged an alliance, and they are heading towards Winterfell to prepare for the Great War. With the Army of the Dead closer than ever, we can expect nothing less than a bloodbath in Season 8. But given the fact of how history has a tendency of repeating itself, there's no better way to start speculating about what's coming then to try to understand what happened 8,000 years ago during the first Long Night.
The hero's tale
Apparently, there was a hero named Azor Ahai who fought off the darkness with his burning sword Lightbringer, but not before he plunged it into the heart of his beloved wife, Nissa Nissa. Also, we have the story of the Last Hero who traveled far north with his 12 companions, a horse, and a dog to seek out the Children of the Forest. They fought the White Walkers who had the pack of spiders big as hounds by their side. One by one, his companions were killed, but the Last Hero eventually reached the Children. And the next thing we know, the enemy was defeated.
Before jumping into the theory of what really happened there in an attempt to fill the large plot holes in these legends, let's get something out of our way, first.
In our opinion, these two legends tell the story of the same man. The only difference is that he is called the Last Hero in Westeros, while in Essos he's known as Azor Ahai. Now, let's talk about the theory.
What ended the Long Night?
It is our belief that when the Last Hero finally found the Children of the Forest, they told him that he must make a sacrifice.
And so he did when he plunged the sword into Nissa Nissa's heart. It is said that all her blood, courage and soul went straight into the steel. Of course, the first thought that comes to mind is that Nissa Nissa died. After all, that's what the sacrifice means. But what if she didn't? What if she was turned into a White Walker instead?
It certainly wouldn't be too much of a stretch since we've already seen in the show how the White Walkers were created. And it was only after Azor Ahai made this sacrifice that the enemy retreated into the Lands of Always Winter. Then, the Wall was built to stop them from ever coming back.
"Game of Thrones" Season 8 theory
With all of this being said, it is possible that the White Walkers are after the same thing again. They want the sacrifice just as much as they did the first time they attacked. So what if Jon Snow, as the most obvious choice for Azor Ahai reborn, has to make the sacrifice to end the war? And if Jon is the reincarnation of Azor Ahai, Nissa Nissa could be none other than Daenerys Targaryen. This twist would certainly fit the "Game of Thrones" narrative, and it will also coincide with the bittersweet ending of the story that George R. R. Martin has been talking about.
