Terror Buildup — Game of Thrones

With a week to go before the much-anticipated return of Game of Thrones on HBO after almost 2 years of absence, now seemed a good time to make a gothic appreciation post on this TV show—and book series. One of the most striking characteristics of the gothic genre rests in the use of terror, the immense fear born from unseen but known and looming threats. This motif opposes horror, which is the fear originating from gruesome and acknowledged danger and threats. Obviously, Game of Thrones lacks nothing in the latter category, horrendous massacres and sickening schemes being the custom, but the true gothic masterstroke rests in the magnificent terror buildup that is finally coming to a close (presumably, one can never know) in the final season. I am talking, of course, about the threat of the White Walkers. 

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Readers be warned: the following post contains spoilers from seasons 1 through 7 of the Game of Thrones series. Read at your own risks. 

The White Walkers are introduced in the very first episode, on the very first scene. A member of the Night’s Watch comes upon a true scene of horror just beyond the Wall: bodies torn up and arranged in a circular symbol on the snow. We can then see his companions getting hacked by a shape with bright blue eyes that is only visible for a second before it disappears, and a little girl previously dead watching the same man with her newly blue eyes. The pursuit that follows only gives short glimpses of the monsters before the scene ends suddenly. Soon after, it is discovered that the initial man survived, crossed the wall back to safety and deserted his post. He is arrested for breaking his oat but is unapologetic, rather being frantic to share what he saw and warn the people of the land. What he saw—or claims to have seen—does not budge Ned Stark in his duties as the Warden of the North and the deserter’s head is chopped off, his worries dying with him. Indeed, none of the people present at the execution seem concerned by the alleged White Walker sighting, and that nonchalance is mostly due to the legendary status of the White Walkers. This is the first of many encounters with the evil creatures and the one that confirms to the viewer from the very start that they might be a real danger to humankind.

The people of Westeros believe White Walkers to be myths used to scare young children, a tradition mostly spread in the Northern parts of the continent. White Walkers are magical humanoid creatures who possess power over ice and cold. They are very strong and can resurrect people as Wights, zombie-like creatures they can control. It is made clear from the start that they are a very real threat to the humans and that their hunger for death is fearsome. 

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Knowledge about their actual existence spreads very slowly. At first, only a few people at the Wall believe in their existence and in the need to reinforce the Wall to protect Westeros. This knowledge mostly comes about after rangers are found dead above the Wall. The descent of the Wildlings, the human people living above the Wall, to the edge of their territory to escape from them, is the first hint that these creatures might be marching to attack. At the end of season 1, an expedition of rangers from the Night’s watch goes out to assess the situation. 

In season 2, Jon Snow and the Night’s Watch discover that a man living north of the Wall worships the White Walkers and offers his sons to them in exchange for protection. Later during their expedition, a warning sends the men fleeing, but Samwell is stuck behind and comes face to face with an entire army of White Walkers and Wights. For an unknown reason, he is left alive. 

Season 3 shows Sam, still beyond the Wall, being attacked by a White Walker while hiding. He tries to defend himself with a sword but the steel shatters at the contact of the monster, clearly demonstrating their invulnerability to human weapons, which is very bad news. Luckily, he had previously found a dragonglass dagger and stabbed the Walker with it, which effectively killed the creature. This is the first insight on the White Walkers’ few vulnerabilities. Season 4 gives barely more details on the progress of the dead army except for a short glimpse of  a baby being turned into a White Walker.

During all this time (the exact amount of time passed since the beginning is unclear but about 2-3 years would be my guess), people south of the Wall are unaware of the very real and dangerous looming threat slowly descending to kill them all. Only those at the Wall (and the viewers) seem to be aware of the danger coming and are frantic to find more men to solidify their stronghold, pleas for help that are joyfully ignored by all southern powers who are too busy fighting wars they don’t realize mean nothing if they all end up dead at the hand of the White Walkers anyway. The situation is so dire that Jon Snow, at that point Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, stresses the need to let the Wildlings, their forever enemies, through the Wall the escape the ice-cold menace. 

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The first real demonstration of the White Walker’s powers and their army’s enormous numbers and strength takes place in season 5 when a Wildling village is attacked while the people were trying to evacuate to reach safety south of the Wall after Jon Snow convinces Stannis Baratheon that the threat is real. He is the first important player in Westerosi politics to acknowledge their existence and lend his support to the cause. During this battle, Jon Snow fights a White Walker amongst the army of Wights and is able to kill one with his Valyrian steel sword, thus exposing their second vulnerability.

The storyline of the White Walkers with respect to the threat they pose for the humans does not escalate much in season 6, as they do not cover much geographical distance, but interesting information about their origin is revealed. Jon Snow also takes back Winterfell and is established as the King the North. His primary concern is still the threat of the White Walkers, and he makes more and more people aware of the danger coming. Since dragonglass is one of the ways to defeat them, Jon embarks on a mission to get some. Conveniently, the biggest reserve sits on the island currently occupied by Daenerys and her dragons, which could be of help in a war against the White Walkers. When both rulers meet in season 7, Jon convinces the queen to fight the dead with him and lend him her army and support. At this point, the terror of the White Walker is becoming more and more real and widespread, just as they are getting closer and closer to the Wall and Westeros. 

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In order to finally rally the whole continent to stop fighting with each other to ally and focus on the real enemy, Jon and his allies capture a Wight beyond the Wall (process in which they lost a dragon to the leader of the White Walkers, the Night King) to prove to Queen Cersei in the South that a bigger problem is coming for them. While Cersei seems convinced by the existence of the monsters, she is not convinced to lend her support to the cause. The season finale ends with the White Walkers finally reaching the Wall and destroying a part of it, effectively creating an entrance into the realm of men. The tension is at its best and the cliffhanger is unbelievable, as the threat has finally become real, not only a faraway possibility anymore. Nothing stands between them and the destruction they seek, hinting that the worst is yet to come, that the terror is soon to become horror for all of Westeros. 

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Overall, this series brought to life an epic terror buildup by planting an immense threat known to the viewer but unknown to most of the characters, effectively creating a long-lasting suspense that seems to have reached it epitome at the end of season 7 and conclusion in the upcoming season 8. Winter has come. 

Source for refreshing my mind: https://gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/White_Walkers

Pictures:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Walker

http://collider.com/game-of-thrones-white-walkers-explained/

https://nerdist.com/article/why-are-there-no-female-white-walkers-on-game-of-thrones/

https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/What-White-Walkers-Wights-Game-Thrones-37614286

http://time.com/4918048/game-of-thrones-the-wall-viserion-ice-dragon/

http://wallpaperswide.com/game_of_thrones_season_7_white_walkers-wallpapers.html