The dragon has three heads. Daenerys Targaryen - one. Jon Snow - two. Night King - three? Is it possible that the Night King is actually a Targaryen?
We know that Daenerys is a Targaryen. We know that Jon Snow is actually Aegon Targaryen. So if the dragon really has three heads, who is the third head?
The Night King’s symbol looks an awful lot like the Targaryen sigil
In Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 1, the Night King once again left behind his mysterious swirly symbol. Except this time, it looked much more like the Targaryen sigil than ever before:
Looks kind of familiar, yeah?
The Night King is one of three dragon-riders
Daenerys and Jon Snow are both Targaryens, and they can both mount and ride dragons. The Night King is the third dragon-rider in Westeros.
Is it because he reanimated his dragon — and gained mind control abilities over it in the process? After all, every other creature reanimated by the Night King falls under his control. Or can he ride the dragon because, like Daenerys and Jon Snow, he’s a Targaryen?
If we’re taking the prophecy the dragon has three heads literally, then the Night King is literally the third head of the dragon — and the other two heads just so happen to be Targaryens by blood.
Is the Night King trying to communicate with the living?
Why is the Night King leaving symbols in the North rather than just rapidly descending upon Winterfell with his undead army and undead dragon?
Is it possible that he’s trying to communicate with the living, rather than simply destroy them?
We’re not sure what he’d be trying to communicate. Maybe that they want to be left alone. Maybe that they are cursed, and they need the human’s help to lift the curse. Or maybe he’s trying to say he’s a Targaryen, too.
If the Night King is a Targaryen, does that mean Dany’s dragons can’t kill him?
If the Night King is a Targaryen, and dragons can’t be killed by fire, then how would the living ultimately defeat him? The logical thought is that Jon Snow (or someone else) could get into a sword fight with him and defeat him with dragon glass or Valyrian steel.
There’s also plenty to suggest the Night King isn’t a Targaryen
The Night King really just has two “hey, maybe he’s a Targaryen” checkboxes.
- He can ride a dragon
- His symbol kind of looks like the Targaryen sigil
But the Night King is also the story’s symbol for ice, while Targaryen’s represent fire.
Additionally, for the book version of the Night King, Old Nan indicates that he might be a Stark, and that his name is Brandon. Related: Maybe Bran is the Night King.
According to legend, the Night King was the 13th Commander of the Night’s Watch — which was a really, really long time ago. The Night’s Watch was founded 8,000 years ago. The Targaryens didn’t invade Westeros until 300 years ago, and by that point, the Night King was such ancient history that he was more of a myth.
Additionally, the Night’s King symbol, while undeniably similar to the Targaryen sigil, is also more likely to be a symbol of the Children of the Forest, who created the Night King and the army of the undead.
In the above image shows the tree on which the Children pinned the Night King, stabbed his heart with dragonglass, and transformed him into an undead.
The stone symbol around that tree is the Night King’s symbol.
So, no, the Night King probably isn’t a Targaryen. But it doesn’t hurt to theorize.