Game of Thrones made a major mistake when it came to the White Walkers, but A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms made sure to fix it in the show's recently released finale. The White Walkers were introduced in the opening scene of Game of Thrones Season 1's premiere, and the series established them as the main threat/antagonists of the entire show. However, the HBO title made a crucial mistake when it came to the White Walker's name, but A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms finally fixed it.
In A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 6, titled "The Morrow," a scene featuring Ser Duncan the Tall and Lyonel Baratheon included a line of dialogue about the White Walkers that many fans may have missed. Specifically, when the maester tending to Duncan's wounds said that Duncan was going to die, Lyonel Baratheon stated, "Oh, the Others f***ing geld me."
While this may have seemed like a throwaway line or an in-universe figure of speech, it was actually a reference to the White Walkers. In George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the White Walkers were mostly referenced as "the Others." The term "White Walkers" was also used, but only sparingly, and most mentions of the Walkers referred to them as the Others.
Game of Thrones never called the White Walkers the Others, despite it being the most common name for them in the source material. Reportedly, this was done because, at the time Season 1 was released (which was 2011), the show Lost was still extremely popular, and featured a group known as the Others.
Game of Thrones didn't use the Others to reference the White Walkers so that it would not seem like it was copying Lost and so that no problems arose between studios, so the show never even used the book-accurate name for the White Walkers, even in the later seasons.
Notably, House of the Dragon also never used the term "the Others," despite one of the show's main plotlines centering around The Long Night (the battle against the White Walkers) and Daemon Targaryen seeing the White Walkers in a vision while he was at Harrenhal in Season 2.
With the mention of the Others in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the White Walkers have now either shown up or been referenced in all three A Song of Ice and Fire titles.
However, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was the first series to actually reference them by their book-accurate name, the Others.
Will the White Walkers Appear in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 2 is already filming, and Season 1 has been a massive hit on HBO Max, so it is almost a sure thing that the series will continue on for multiple seasons. Season 1 adapted George R.R. Martin's The Hedge Knight, and Season 2 has been confirmed to adapt The Sworn Sword, so Season 3 will likely bring The Mystery Knight to life.
Anything can happen, and events that occurred in the books could be changed, but, spoiler alert, the White Walkers never actually appear in any of the three novellas. However, a certain character connected to the Walkers, House of the Dragon, and the flagship Game of Thrones series is talked about all throughout the second and third novella (and actually appears in the third book), so there is some connective tissue between A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and the White Walkers.
It is important to talk about one of the most notable events in Westerosi history, though, and a theory about that event that states it could be connected to the Walkers.
The show might not run long enough to actually adapt this event, but a few decades after A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms takes place, there is a major timeline event called the Tragedy at Summerhall. Essentially, the Summerhall castle gets burned to the ground, and many important people die.
No one knows exactly what happened at Summerhall, but one of the prevailing theories is that Egg (after he became king) became obsessed with bringing dragons back to Westeros, and, in an attempt to hatch seven dragon eggs, started a fire that burned the entire castle.
It is possible that Egg had a prophetic vision of the White Walkers (Egg is later established as a Dragon Dreamer just like his brother, Daeron), and that what he saw convinced him that he needed to find a way to bring the dragons back so that the realm could protect itself against the White Walkers.
Since the prophecy of the Prince that was Promised, or Azor Ahai, stated that the Prince would be reborn amidst salt and smoke, and would wake dragons out of stone. Since dragon eggs at that time in Westeros had essentially turned to stone, it is possible that Egg thought that he could hatch the dragon eggs at Summerhall by starting a fire and fulfill the prophecy.
If Egg were to have a Dragon Dream of the Others, then they would most definitely appear on-screen in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. However, the show may not be renewed for enough seasons to get to that point in Egg's life.
However, it is also important to mention that, even though the fourth Dunk and Egg novella has not been released, George R.R. Martin has confirmed that it will feature Duncan and Aegon traveling to Winterfell and potentially the Wall.
If that happens, it is possible Egg could have his first Dragon Dream in that book, especially if he were to touch the Weirwood Tree in Winterfell, since Daemon had a vision of the Walkers when he touched the Weirwood Tree at Harrenhal in House of the Dragon Season 2.
If that were to happen, fans could see the White Walkers in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms as early as Season 4.
