The Night King is, without a doubt, the most mysterious figure in the entire "Game of Thrones" universe. And a lot of the mystery surrounding this fearsome White Walker leader stems from the fact that he doesn't appear in George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" books. At least not yet. There's, however, a certain figure from the Age of Heroes known to history as The Night's King who was the 13th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch before he gave his soul to the Others when he fell in love with a female White Walker.
In one of the previous articles, we explored the possibility that the Night King we see in "Game of Thrones" TV show is none other than this legendary figure from the books.
So now, we are going to take it one step further and try to figure out who he was before he joined the Night's Watch and how his real name might answer some of the most important questions in "Game of Thrones." For that, we are going to dive deep into the book territory and the story of Bael the Bard that Ygritte told Jon Snow in "A Clash of Kings."
The story of Bael the Bard
According to free folk legend, Bael was a great wilding raider who never tasted failure. So to provoke him, Brandon Stark, the Lord of Winterfell at the time, called him a craven who prayed only on the weak. It was then when Bael decided to teach this Lord a lesson. He scaled the Wall and snuck into Winterfell disguised as a singer.
Bael being a talented musician impressed the Lord so much that he was allowed to pick his reward. He could have asked for whatever his heart desired, but the only thing Bael wanted was a pale blue winter rose. Brandon was eager to grant him this wish, so he commanded the most beautiful winter rose be plucked from the Glass Gardens of Winterfell for the singer's payment.
And so it was done.
However, the following morning things took an unexpected turn. The singer vanished, and so did Lord Brandon's only daughter. Her bed was completely empty but for the pale blue rose that Bael left on the pillow. Furious, Brandon sent the members of the Night's Watch North of the Wall to trace his daughter and the kidnapper.
But they were nowhere to be seen. The year has passed with no sign of them, Brandon fell ill, and the Stark line was on the verge of extinction. But one day Brandon heard a baby crying. Following the sound, he found his daughter alive and well in her bed with Bael's baby boy in her arms. They were in Winterfell the whole time, hiding in the Crypts.
A darker end to the story
Thirty years had passed. The boy became the Lord of Winterfell and Bael the King beyond the Wall who was leading the free folk south. They met at the Frozen Ford and fought to the death. Bael had the upper hand, but at the end, he was unable to kill his son, so he let the young Lord Stark kill him instead. Then, not knowing that he just killed his father, the young Lord brought Bael's head back to Winterfell as a trophy.
But when his mother saw the head, she jumped from the tower into her death. The young Lord didn't long outlive her as one of his lords peeled the skin off him and wore it as a cloak. At least that's what the legend tells us. But, as we all know it, Westerosi legends should not be taken at face value. And that brings us to today's theory.
Why is this important?
According to YouTube user bridge4, the young Lord Stark was stripped off his title and family name and sent to the Wall for killing his father. Then, he became the 13th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch and eventually the Night's King whom bridge4 believes is the show's Night King.
But it gets even better. The name of this Lord who, according to this theory, became the Night King was, in fact, Jon Snow because his parents' story parallels the one of Rhaegar and Lyanna.
Also, bridge4 thinks there is something quite interesting about this name. Here's why:
- In the books, when Jon told Ygritte his name, she flinched and said it was an evil name.
- Also, the Lord of Light's enemy is called the Great Other, or, as Melisandre puts it, the one whose name can't be spoken. And if the name can't be spoken, then it must be some kind of spell that summons the Great Other.
- Given the fact that the Night King is controlling the White Walkers and the wights it stands the reason to believe that he is, in fact, the Great Other.
So if the Night King's name is Jon Snow, then Ned Stark pretty much caused his return by naming Rhaegar and Lyanna's son the same. Or, it could be just Jon's birth that caused the return because he is, after all, the son of ice and fire. Check out bridge4's video down below for more details that support this mind-blowing theory.
