The White Walkers are the ultimate big bad in the universe of Game of Thrones. While most of Westeros is consumed with its own conflicts and petty squabbles over the Iron Throne, their menace lurks beyond the Wall, just waiting for the moment when they can sweep down on the south and destroy everything in their path.
As evil as they are, though, and as much as the show paints them as truly terrifying, there’s still an awful lot about them that doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense.
How Exactly Did The Children Intend To Use Them?
For much of the series, their origins remain shrouded in mystery. Eventually, however, it is revealed that the White Walkers were created by the primordial Children of the Forest as a weapon to use against invading men.
The creation of the first White Walker is a striking visual, but it necessarily leads to the question: how, exactly, did they intend to use these creatures? Clearly, they didn’t think ahead very well, considering that their own weapons turned against them.
Where Have They Been Since The Last Time They Invaded?
The return of the White Walkers at the very beginning of the series is a catalyst for much that happens with the characters of Jon Snow and and Sam Tarly. However, their return ultimately raises its own set of questions.
What, exactly, were the White Walkers doing all of that time since they last came south? For that matter, where exactly were they? Sure, they were in the farthest reaches of the north, but one can’t help but wonder what they were doing in their spare time.
How Do They Reproduce?
Though the series shows how the first White Walker was created, it’s rather vague about how they continue to reproduce.
Do they continue to practice the same agreement when Craster brings one of his babies to them? For that matter, who was providing them new children to make into adult White Walkers before Craster came along? It also raises the possibility of little baby White Walkers walking around, assuming that the Night King doesn’t somehow turn Craster’s babies into adult Walkers.
Given How Long Craster Has Been Doing This, Why Are There Just Now Indications That They’re Back?
Time is one of those things that this series tends to play fast and loose with, with predictable results. It leads to all sorts of questions that it seems very reluctant to answer.
For example, given the fact that Craster has clearly been sending his babies to the Walkers for quite some time, how is it that no one has gotten even a hint before now that the Walkers have returned?
Why Didn’t The Night King Use His Vision More Effectively?
As the series goes on, it’s eventually revealed that the Night King, like Bran, has the power to see into the future and into the past. Given that this is so, it certainly makes it seem as if he’s not very adept at using his powers in a way that is most effective.
Clearly, even being one of the most powerful and dangerous beings in the world doesn’t mean that you’re omnipotent (or even all that capable, when it comes down to it).
Why Do They Hate The Three Eyed Raven?
Obviously, the Night King hates most things that are not a White Walker, but he has a particularly strong hatred for the Three Eyed Raven, the being that seems to be the receptacle for all of the knowledge in Westeros (and perhaps the world).
This is another gray area, though, since it’s never made exactly clear why he should have such hatred for this creature, other than the fact that he’s competition for the “knows everything in Westeros award.”
Why Do They Hate Both The First Men And The Children?
One of the strangest and most contradictory things about the White Walkers is that they seem to have an equally strong hatred for both the men of the North–who are mostly the descendants of the First Men–and the Children of the Forest.
Given that the Children of the Forest created the White Walkers to destroy their human oppressors, it seems rather strange that the White Walkers would come to hate both of them in equal measure.
Why Does Bran Say That The Night King Will Come After Him?
As the Long Night approaches, Bran suggests to everyone at Winterfell that he believes that the Night King will be coming for him, just as he came for the Three Eyed Raven. Once again, though, this raises more questions than it answers.
After all, it’s not as if Bran has done anything particularly useful with the knowledge that he has inside of him, other than sit around uttering strange prophecies and random warnings that no one finds particularly helpful.
Why Do They Bother With The Symbols?
One of the more visually disturbing aspects of the White Walkers is their tendency to take the bodies of their victims and make them into symbols for their enemies to find. While these certainly make for chilling visuals, they raise some serious questions.
Foremost among them: what, exactly, is the point of all of this? Is there some sort of message that they’re trying to convey, beyond””hey, we’re creepy”? The show doesn’t answer this question, and so the symbols remain an enigma.
Why Don’t There Appear To Be Any Female White Walkers?
Though it’s hard to tell much about the White Walkers from their appearances, from what the series shows it’s pretty safe to say that there might not be any female White Walkers.
Certainly, all of the children that Craster takes to them are male, but still, one would think that there would at least be one or two of the White Walkers that are planning on sweeping Westeros before them would be female.
