Why Is Game of Thrones Wasting Its Boss-Level Villain on The Night King?

• The Night King has been around since Game of Thrones's Season 4 episode "Oathkeeper."
• Four seasons later, why is he still so hollow?
• He...is not interesting.

night king terrible villain game of thrones
Men's Health

Game of Thrones is epic. The sets are magnificent, the effects have improved with each season, the actors have truly merged with their on-screen avatars, and the emotional attachment to certain characters is unlike any other show on television. Why, then, does the show continually devote so much effort trying to get us to care about one of the least compelling TV villains of all time?

That's right. The Night King, despite being written as the show's scary-looking, powerful, all-knowing, Boss-Level villain simply hasn't landed. He's not interesting. In fact, he's quite boring.

For years, Thrones has had an opportunity to make us feel some way about him outside of he's blue, and everyone has decided to refer to him using a sinister nickname. But outside of his minimal backstory—he was just a regular person who at some point had a wedge stuck into his heart—and the occasional close-up of his ice-blue eyes, we've learned basically nothing about The Night King. As a result, the audience has no reason to care about what happens to him—or by his hand.

What constitutes a strong villain? There's a reason why foes like Kylo Ren, Loki, and Thanos tend to make such a greater impact. It's a matter of thoughtfully displaying the villain's perspective, no matter how warped it is. We care about villains afforded dimension. It's the only way to ensure there are real stakes when we place them in conflict with a story's heroes.

It also has to do with pure charisma. When Kylo Ren has a temper tantrum and smashes an entire control room with his red-crossed lightsaber, we see the reckless and erratic kid he really is at his core. When Thanos has a look of hesitation in his eyes, making a decision at the top of a very high cliff, we see his struggle, and while we don't like him—and certainly don't like what he decides to do—we understand it, we comprehend it, and it leads us to feel something about him.

So when The Night King just shows up, or when people just talk about him, that leads to absolutely nothing but empty feelings. Do you really hate The Night King? Do you feel strong feelings about Jon Snow taking him out? Probably not. There's nothing there to really feel.

"Battle of Winterfell" promises huge action and higher stakes—perhaps the highest in Game of Thrones history. Many fan-favorite characters, including Brienne of Tarth, Tormund, and Podrick are expected to be in immense danger. There's a chance that Thrones will use the last few episodes—"Battle of Winterfell" included—to develop our blue friend, and give the audience a specific reason to care about him. Regardless of how the show treats The Night King's remaining arc, it may be simply too little, too late.


Wouldn't it be great if the "Battle of Winterfell" was not just another giant battle episode or excuse to kill off characters, but a way to clean up the entire White Walkers mess, led by The Night King? There's even been speculation that Daenerys could go through something of a heel turn, following in her father's shoes, and become the final villain of the show. By all means, this would be a much more effective use of everyone's time.

If The Night King can be disposed of in "Battle of Winterfell," the rest of our time can be focused on dealing with the villains we actually care about. Take Cersei, for instance. For all we've seen her go through, and all we've seen her do out of retaliation, spite, greed, and, really, evil, she is immensely more interesting than The Night King. We've seen her endure so much: losing children one by one, losing husbands, being convicted of a crime, and finally making an explosive play to take power back for herself. Her ride has carried the weight for much of the show, and for her to be forced to a backseat role behind a glorified Smurf is quite frankly a disservice.

Cersei deserves an exponentially more interesting conclusion than The Night King. We'll just have to hope the showrunners are keen enough to grant us one.

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