The Song of Ice and Fire ends, but the Game of Thrones goes on
The Valyrian Steel dagger that Arya used to pierce Night King’s armor didn’t simply seal the fate of the show’s elemental antagonist. As the white walkers were reduced to icy mist so too was the core fantasy mythology of the series. The conflict that has been teased since the pilot’s cold open — humanity facing off against the elemental and deadly white walkers and their army of zombie-esque wights — is over.
While the Night King’s defeat at the hands of Arya Stark rather than Jon Snow was a surprising twist, even more surprising was the fact the Night King was defeated at all in this week’s episode. Game of Thrones, after all, is based of a book series entitled A Song of Ice and Fire. While you could make a compelling case that refers to the “songs” of Daenerys and Jon, the series’ name nonetheless heavily implies that the ultimate conflict was between the living forces of the Seven Kingdoms and the army of the White Walkers.
The defeat of the Night King and his army sets up a wholly human conflict as the principal claimants make their final bid for the Iron Throne of Westeros. Cersei seemingly won’t face consequences of ignoring the existential threat to the north, nor will she be forced to ally with her enemies in a desperate final bid to defeat the Night King. It’s a twist that certainly undermines the idea of the white walkers as an allegory for climate change, but is it truly a mistake?
In the wake of a surprisingly abrupt conclusion to the major fantasy conflict of the series, it’s tempting to assign blame to the show-runners tasked with providing at least the first version of the ending of A Song of Ice and Fire. Benioff and Weiss have been operating beyond the map of Martin’s published entries in the series for several seasons now. While many have accused the show’s creators of failing in their stewardship of Martin’s mythology, it’s worth taking a moment to consider the published version of that mythology.
The three main entities who have shown themselves to possess some form of magic or another — the Faceless Men, the Old Gods, and the Lord of Light — are all accounted for in Martin’s published works, yet the nature and rules of their magic are if anything more nebulous five books in to A Song of Ice and Fire. As for Dragons, the show’s understanding of the mythological beasts mirrors that of the books.
The White Walkers, more commonly known as “The Others” have only been seen through the eyes of the main characters on a couple instances — the first book’s prologue and at the Fist of the First men, where Sam kills one with a dragonglass blade. The white walkers do attack the wildling camp at Hardhome, yet neither Jon nor any of the other first person perspective characters are present. The Night King doesn’t even exist on the page.
Yet Benioff and Weiss have been tasked with trying to tie these strands of smoke into a coherent and compelling plot thread. The results have been perhaps less nuanced than some hoped, but overall effective in advancing the plot. The strength of the White Walkers and their army in Game of Thrones has been as agents of horror. “Hardhome”, “The Door”, and “The Long Night” were all legitimately spine tingling. Yet as a true villain the Night King is relatively one dimensional — as most nonverbal walking embodiments of evil intent on world destruction tend to be.
Complicating matters is the fact that Martin’s series remains unfinished. Rather than comparing Thrones’ adaption of the White Walkers to those in the books, hardcore fans compare Thrones to their theories of what could happen in the books. The convolutions and nitpicked details innate to any reddit theory not only set up those embracing it for a letdown on screen, but likely on the page disappointment as well, should Martin ever manage to finish A Song of Ice and Fire.
That’s not to say there haven’t been some missteps in the show’s handling of fantasy. Last season’s quest beyond the wall to capture a wight was nonsensical and Bran’s warging into ravens during last night’s battle seemed perplexingly futile. But overall, the culmination of the show’s mythological conflict proved equal parts entertaining and effective.
While the positioning of the conflict’s resolution in the final season is jarring, perhaps its for the best. Game of Thrones has been at its most compelling when dealing with the conflicts between the living and the living. Cersei may not be able to resist dragonfire or raise the dead, but she’s just as ruthless and a much deeper villain. With three episodes left there’s time to set up the final clash for the Iron Throne and allow enthusiasm to once again crescendo to the series finale.
Perhaps it’s fitting the show took the title “Game of Thrones” from the first book rather than “A Song of Ice and Fire.” The song may be done, but the game is far from over.
