Speculation is an entertaining part of the viewing experience, especially with a text as dense and unfinished as A Song of Ice and Fire. Readers of the early 2000s theorized on internet message boards about the mysteries author George R. R. Martin embedded into his series; Game of Thrones fans were just as enthusiastic during the show’s eight-season run. Likewise, House of the Dragon, despite being a prequel to a finished television series, has sparked interest across the board, largely due to how House of the Dragon fleshes out Fire & Blood, its untrustworthy source material. One persistently recurring theory has taken on extra life after House of the Dragon’s Season 2 finale — and although it’s an amusing concept to rabbit hole after, it’s also time to halt this train of thought before it veers entirely off the rails. No, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) isn’t destined to become the Night King (Richard Brake/Vladimir Furdik). Nor is Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), his youthful rival. The receipts have existed since 2016.
Daemon’s Vision in ‘House of the Dragon’s Season 2 Finale Doesn’t Make Him the Night King
The idea that Daemon evolves into the Night King, the leader of the White Walkers and Game of Thrones’ primary villain, dates back to House of the Dragon’s first season. Most of the evidence (but not all; more on that later) stems from a mixture of fact and observation. For example, the Night King survives a blast of dragonfire in Game of Thrones Season 8, a trait previously reserved for Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) — prompting speculation that he was once an ancient Targaryen. Daemon and the Night King’s costumes also share generic similarities. Fans positing Aemond as a contender for the Night King, meanwhile, gained more traction after his villainous turn in Season 2. Both theories were revitalized and spread like wildfire after Daemon’s vision of the White Walkers in the second season finale.
Even as far as grasping-at-straws theories go, the compiled evidence is as flimsy as a sneeze. For one, Daemon’s weirwood-induced vision is one part of a larger whole. He witnesses both the White Walkers’ invasion and the fall of House Targaryen, which includes the dragons’ extinction and Daenerys restoring them into the world. Dany and her dragons might not destroy the Walkers during Game of Thrones’ version of the Long Night, but she’s still Daemon and Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) last descendant, and the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy links the Targaryens, the dragons, and the Walkers. When Daemon sees the White Walkers, he isn’t locking eyes with his — or his nephew’s — future self (even if some Walkers share Daemon and Aemond’s fashionista trademarks).
‘Game of Thrones’ Told the Night King’s Backstory
As ironic as it would be for Westeros’s worst enemy to be a corrupted, immortal Targaryen (many of the human ones did the continent no favors), Game of Thrones already showed the Night King’s origins in Season 6, Episode 5. Bran Stark’s (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) greenseer flashback reveals that the Children of the Forest created the White Walkers as a weapon against the First Men. The Night King was an unnamed mortal (played by Vladimir Furdik out of makeup) whom the Children transformed by stabbing him with a dragonglass dagger.
Since we know nothing about his human self, it’s possible his bloodline had ties to the ancient Targaryens of Old Valyria. Unless a future spin-off expands this lore (like the cancelled Bloodmoon, which planned to cover the first Long Night), the King’s human face unambiguously disproves the Daemon-Aemond theories.
Who Is the Night’s King in the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ Books?
Martin’s books are another matter. The Others (his title for the Walkers) don’t have a leader yet, but infamous legends surround the Night King’s closest equivalent. According to rumors, the Night’s King — Night’s, not Night — was the 13th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. He fell for a woman beyond the Wall who ticked all the Other boxes: her “cold as ice” skin was “white as the moon,” and she had “eyes like blue stars.” Sleeping with her corrupted the Commander’s soul, although it’s unclear whether he became an Other himself.
Either way, he betrays Westeros by dubbing himself the Night’s King, brainwashing his Watch brothers, making human sacrifices to the Others, and ruling the Wall alongside his beloved “corpse queen.” In a rare show of unity, House Stark and the free folk joined forces to kill him.
Appalled by his crimes, history destroyed all traces of the Night’s King’s existence, including his name. Martin described the Night’s King as “a legendary figure […] no more likely to have survived to the present day” than any other ancient human. That statement rules out any magical time travel shenanigans with Daemon or Aemond, although theories swirl that the current Bran Stark will travel back in time and become the Night’s King — especially since the King’s name could have been Brandon Stark. Other speculations place the King in a range of houses (Bolton, Umber, Woodfoot). Another possibility links the Night’s King to the Great Other, an enemy of the god R’hllor. R’hllor’s followers believe that the Great Other commands coldness and death. If they know his name, they refuse to say it lest he destroy them.
‘House of the Dragon’ Isn’t Going To Retcon ‘Game of Thrones’
The strongest argument (if you will) for Daemon or Aemond becoming the Night King in HBO’s universe comes down to one ambiguous detail from Fire & Blood. Both characters presumably die during a clash called the Battle Above the Gods Eye. Aemond’s corpse eventually washes ashore, but Daemon’s body is never found. Although House of the Dragon could let Daemon fake his death, his weirwood vision shows him drowning — foreshadowing the Gods Eye. As for Aemond’s fate, Helaena’s (Phia Saban) prophecy leaves no wiggle room. “You’ll be dead,” she promises. “You were swallowed up by the Gods Eye, and you were never seen again.” Jon Snow (Kit Harington) proves that resurrection can happen, but it’s still rare.
Most importantly, as we know, Game of Thrones established the Night King’s human face. It’s quite unlikely House of the Dragon will retcon something as massive as the theories suggest. Showrunner Ryan Condal shared the writers’ intention during a press conference to tinker with Martin’s world but never strongly deviate from Fire & Blood:
” We are not looking to do anything for shock value or to totally change the way the history was written . What I think we need to do as adapters and storytellers in television is to interpret things in new and unexpected ways that are given to you one way in the book. There’s a line in the book that says X, and then we are presenting you with this very well-rounded, three-dimensional story that’s told from all the different points of view, that gives you a deeper understanding of why that thing was written down in the history , why it was accepted by the history.”
Sure, maybe Daemon or Aemond will survive the Gods Eye, hitch a ride to Braavos, and study with the Faceless Men. Or perhaps HBO will follow George Lucas’ lead and release a new Season 6 that swaps Vladimir Furdik’s face out for Smith or Mitchell. But what is the likelihood of that happening? Not high. Many book readers decoded Jon Snow’s parentage years before Game of Thrones canonized it. Still, no matter how fun it is to don our tinfoil hats, sometimes the simplest answer prevails, even in the increasingly complex A Song of Ice and Fire.