House of the Dragon’s Season 2 finale featured an intriguing vision scene with Daemon, making fans wonder why the Night King's appearance was different.
The scene in question occurred when Daemon touched the wierwood tree in Harrenhal. Doing so gave him intense glimpses of the story yet to unfold—his inevitable death, the three-eyed raven, Daenerys and her dragon eggs, and the terrifying White Walkers.
With those White Walkers, many quickly assumed that the Night King was being teased.
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Does the Night King Look Different?
HBO did not change the look of the Night King in House of the Dragon. Instead, Daemon’s visions showed an average White Walker. So, for those worried about some catastrophic retcon, worry no longer.
For reference, the photo below shows the Night King on the left and the White Walker on the right:
The Night King is the commander and ruler of the Army of the Dead. This army makes up the threat hiding behind The Wall in the North.
The classic turn of phrase, "Winter is Coming," specifically teases the arrival of the Night King and his White Walkers (not that they managed to do much of anything by the time they got through in Game of Thrones).
The Night King is over 10,000 years old, despite starting as a mortal man. His terrifying transformation occurred thanks to the Children of the Forest, who attempted to protect themselves from the invasion of the First Men.
He can turn others into White Walkers, often from the dead, which is how he builds his army.
The brief appearance of the White Walker in Daemon’s vision was a nod to original book series A Song of Ice and Fire, and their faction will almost certainly play no role in House of the Dragon Seasons 3 and 4.
House of the Dragon's Confusing White Walker Choices
While not a big deal, it is a strange choice to tease a random White Walker over the Night King himself.
Some fans also got confused about the different White Walker for another reason: many thought it suggested that Daemon Targaryen would become one. However, that is a stretch since it's hard to imagine how he’d get involved with the White Walkers beyond the wall.
What makes it interesting is that Daemon's story is somewhat open-ended after the original book, Fire & Blood. After battling it out with Aemond Targaryen above the lake, The God’s Eye, Daemon’s body is the only one that isn't ever found.
Again, his future probably never involves a White Walker, let alone the Night King.
To see what happens next in House of the Dragon, the world will likely need to wait until 2026 for the story to continue.
House of the Dragon is streaming on Max.
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