Will the Night King Raise the Dead in the Winterfell Crypts?
We're Calling It Now: Everyone Hiding in the Winterfell Crypt Is Going to Die
Warning: Big ol' spoilers for Game of Thrones are lurking below, so proceed with caution!
In addition to all the singing, sexing, and knighting going on in the most recent episode of Game of Thrones, there also seemed to be a lot of talk about the importance of putting all the women and children (and Samwell Tarly) in the Winterfell crypt to wait out the upcoming battle against the White Walker army.
At first glance, the move makes sense; sequester all those who can't defend themselves in the safety of the Stark fortress so that they'll have the best possible chance of surviving the Night King's impending onslaught of frozen death. But thanks to the preview for the season's third episode, it's looking more and more like hiding in the crypt might actually be the worst possible move anyone in Winterfell can make.
The brief trailer for the next episode isn't even a full minute long, but the only part that matters comes in at the :23 second minute-mark when Daenerys ominously declares, "The dead are already here." It seems like she's talking to Jon when she says this, and though we get a quick glimpse of the White Walkers arriving at the tail end of season eight's second episode, what Dany says seems to allude to something other than the army outside Winterfell's gates — what if "the dead" she's referring to are the bodies of dead Starks entombed in Winterfell's crypt?
If you'll recall, the Night King has the ability to raise the corpses of those killed in his general vicinity; last season he brings Viserion back from the dead after impaling him on an icy spear, and back in season five's Battle of Hardhome the villain is able to revive the village's fallen warriors as wights merely with a raise of his arms. He's also able to transform one of Craster's abandoned (and still living) infant sons into a White Walker with a touch of his finger in season four. So, what's to stop the Night King from turning the corpses in the crypt against the unsuspecting Northerners seeking shelter there? Well . . . potentially a few things.
For starters, there might be some kind of enchantment on the crypt that can keep the Night King's dark magic from infiltrating its walls. We're also unsure of how ancient corpses (which are likely nothing but bones at this point) will be able to lift the heavy stone caskets they're currently relaxing in. But, even so, what Daenerys says in the preview really has us worried. Making matters worse is that the characters we know will be inside the crypt — chiefly Sam's boo, Gilly — really don't seem like they're going to make it out of the episode alive. And we all know this show is no stranger to killing children. (RIP Shireen and the Umber boy.)
Another thing we need to consider is the trailer for season eight that was released a few weeks before the premiere. The last bit of footage shared before season eight arrived features Arya desperately running through the halls of Winterfell — is she running towards something, or away from it? Could she be running down to the crypts to warn the people there of what's going on? The third episode's preview also shows a brief glimpse of Arya using her new weapon in the crypt, which has a spearpoint made of dragonglass. Why is that important? Dragonglass is one of the few materials that can kill a wight, the very creatures the Night King might be planning on summoning.
Between Arya and that adorable (and badass) little girl who chats with Ser Davos in the second episode, hopefully the innocent people in the crypt will have some backup. Otherwise . . . well, you might as well start stocking up on tissues now, guys.
