Throughout all these years we have read dozens of theories about Game of Thrones. There are the obvious ones that ended up being true (R + L = J), and then there are elaborate theories from mixing analysis of thousands of years of Poniente history with quotes from all the books, stories and episodes woven into a truly impressive narrative and credible that delineates the end of the series.

The user of Reddit MrSilenceT has developed one of these theories. And being honest, we could be facing the theory of Game of thrones that would end all the theories of Game of Thrones. It is long and elaborate, so much so that it occupies nothing more and nothing less than three Reddit publications, with tens of thousands of words and dozens of sections that address some of the most important points of the series. If you have time, and you are a hardcore geek, we recommend that you read it all, but here we will try to offer you a reduced version of the most interesting theory, which essentially defines us as the White Walkers as victims of a major war who are trying to finish with its eternal agony.

As we learned after reading the books of George R.R. Martin, a good character is never completely good and a bad character is never all bad. Martin will make you endear yourself to Tyrion and Jaime while allowing your heroes, Robb Stark and Ned Stark, to make fatal and obsessive mistakes.

So, according to this theory, why would Martin pose such a clear final battle of good versus evil? That is not your style. As the user MrSilenceT points out, part of the author’s personality was shaped by the events of the Vietnam War, which taught him that things are not always as white and as black as they seem.

This is what we know about the White Walkers: they were created to protect the Children of the Forest from the First Men, who were at war thousands of years ago. The Sons of the Forest lost control of their creation and after the War of the Dawn the Wall was built to prevent the White Walkers from destroying humanity.

But we never knew anything from the perspective of the White Walkers. Only that they were once men created by the Sons of the Forest for the purpose of killing other evil men. Bran saw the Children create the King of the Night in a violent ritual where a vidriagon dagger was buried in his chest.

Another widely accepted theory is that Bran Stark is actually the King of the Night, who would have merged with the first White Walker after traveling to the past to try to stop the transformation of the Sons of the Forest. Obviously, this would not have been the first time that Bran fucked up everything while loading the past (RIP Hodor).

So, if Bran at the end is part of a mission whose only purpose is to kill, he could have an objective that does not imply destroying humanity, but stop all the events that put all this in motion:

How do you protect life when you know that the only thing you can do is bring death, and when you know that nobody has the power to stop you? Destroying the magic source that keeps him bound to the curse: the main Heart tree in the Islands of Faces which is the most important of all the Weirwood trees in Westeros, and killing himself by killing Bran … This is the which is why the army of the dead completely turns around and returns to the North when the King of the Night points to Bran. Because killing Bran is the priority … If they had known, all the people of Westeros had to do was let the King of the Night and the White Walkers pass … As a result, who would be the bad guy in this stage? The King of the Night and the White Walkers, who killed tens of thousands to prevent them from continuing to kill life without stopping? Or are Jon / Bran and company, who sent tens of thousands to death, instead of stepping aside like Sam did in his first encounter with a White Walker? One thing is certain, knowledge would have been his true savior. Even with the most unlikely people or things, there may be things in common. In this case, both the King of the Night and Jon Snow were fighting for the same cause without realizing it: protecting the living.

As we have already warned, it is somewhat convoluted and elaborate, possibly too elaborate to be part of a conventional television series. But nevertheless it is very interesting, and of course it is the kind of end that George R.R. Martin would approve without hesitation. Of course, as it was already tested during the seventh season, we should never ignore the fans, because they could end up being right.