A new Game of Thrones fan theory has predicted the Night King’s endgame. This theory, unlike a lot of the others, does not revolve around Bran Stark or the idea that Isaac Hempstead Wright’s Three-Eyed Raven and Vladimir Furdik’s White Walker leader are somehow the same person. (Wright himself has already shot down that particular theory, and offered his own alternative idea.)


This is the latest in a long line of speculative suggestions about the upcoming final run of the show, Game of Thrones season 8. Previous ideas to be raised, alongside the Bran/Night King speculation, include key characters coming back as Wights, Jon Snow’s name linking to Ned Stark’s past, and the hidden meaning of The Hound’s words to The Mountain.


And now, a Reddit user with the handle ‘twerkmileyyy’ has brought a new Game of Thrones season 8 fan theory to bear. The theory centers on the Isle of Faces, an island in the Gods Eye lake, located in the Riverlands, where the Children of the Forest made their pact with the First Men – back in the ancient history of the show – to work together and take down the White Walkers. Given the supernaturally-lengthy lifespans of the Children of the Forrest and their undead ice zombie creations, ‘twerkmileyyy’ reckons that this location is of paramount importance to the Night King:

“There is something magical there that [the Night King] has seen in his greensight visions. I know he has greensight because he can see Bran during his greensight and Worging abilities. Ultimately I think his end goal is to reach the Isles of Faces and use its magical properties to give life to his undead army.”

To hammer their point home, the Redditor notes, “The writers have dropped hints about the Gods Eye for years and have always discussed the Riverlands with great detail.” Perhaps this is why. Maybe the Night King wants to get his hands on some unexplored magical apparatus from this area – the same stuff that has kept him and the Children of the Forest alive for so long.


According to this theory, the Night King essentially shares a motive with many a villain from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies: to bring himself and his undead followers properly back to life. This theory has a certain logical air to it, and it makes sense to give the Night King an endgame goal with a bit more nuance than ‘kill everyone in the world’. He’s clearly got a keen tactical mind (the ice javelin, the massive chains, and his attack on The Wall all suggest this), and perhaps this is what he’s been working towards.


However, at this moment, the magical life-giving powers of the Isle of Faces exist only in this fan theory. The location hasn’t properly been visited or explained yet in the TV show. It does have vital religious importance in the books, though. But you could argue that it’s too complex a concept to try and throw in at this stage, with only six Game of Thrones episodes remaining.


Even if these remaining episodes do all end up being feature length, establishing more magical history and strange locations, and explaining the Night King’s connection to it all, would still be tricky to squeeze in. All fan theories are valid until proven otherwise, though, so you’ll just have to keep watching to find out which ones are right.