This 'Game of Thrones' Fan Theory About Winterfell's Crypts Is Actually…Optimistic?
The Game of Thrones theories continue to pile up as viewers prepare for the looming battle in Winterfell. A lot of people are already speculating that things aren’t going to go very well for Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, and the rest of the guys getting ready to fight the Night King and the Army of the Dead. Some have even started worrying about what might happen down in the crypts, particularly after HBO released a couple of episode three photos that show Sansa Stark looking worried down there. However, there’s a new theory that the crypts might actually not be so scary after all—in fact, they could offer a huge advantage.
If you remember, the plan was to keep some of the more vulnerable characters down in the crypts while the battle unfolded, where the dead Stark kings also happen to be. One theory posited that maybe the Night King was going to bring the ancestors back to life and use them against those in the crypts. But according to some fans, the dead Starks—who have some idea of their history—could come to life and help their living relatives, not fight them.
The theory seems supported by the books: Jon Snow even has a dream at one point about old Stark kings coming to life down there. In the dream, as series author George R. R. Martin writes, Snow had “heard the scrape of stone on stone. When he turned he saw the vaults were opening, one after the other. As the dead kings came stumbling from their cold black graves, Jon had woken in pitch-dark, his heart hammering.”
Another supporting point to this theory? Steven Attewell, a Song of Ice and Fire blogger (and professor at CUNY), also pointed out on Tumblr that the Starks were buried with iron swords, which could mean they’re already set and ready to defend their heirs.
What will actually happen, of course, is TBD—we’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out exactly what goes down in the crypts.