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Villain Overview

Demons made of snow and ice and cold. The ancient enemy. The only enemy that matters.
~ Stannis Baratheon, to Samwell Tarly.

The Others, also known as The White Walkers, are some of the main antagonists of the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series and its television adaptation Game of Thrones. They are an ancient, mysterious, and elusive race related to ice and the night. They are the creators and leaders of the army of the dead.

Before the events in the novel series, the Others had supposedly not been seen for thousands of years. So far, they have appeared in the flesh only twice in the entire series, and their purpose remains unknown at this time. They reside in the Lands of Always Winter, which are located in the farthest parts of the north beyond the Wall. Believers of the religion of R'hllor claim that the Others follow the Great Other, a god of darkness, ice, and death, who is locked in an eternal war with R'hllor, god of light, fire, and life.

While it is currently unknown if the Others have a leader of their own, in the TV show adaptation of Game of Thrones, the leader of the White Walkers is the Night King, who was created by the Children of the Forest as the first and original White Walker.

In the novels, the Others are capable of speech and can even laugh, but their language is incomprehensible to humans. In the television series, they are completely mute and show little emotion.

Characteristics[]

They wasn't gone, old man. They was sleeping. And they ain't sleeping no more.
~ Osha to Maester Luwin, talking about the White Walkers.

Novels[]

The Others are described as tall, gaunt beings with pale white skin and eyes that are an inhuman shade of cold blue, said to be as bright as stars and colder than ice. Their blood is said to be pale blue, while their bones are as shiny as milk glass. George R. R. Martin describes the Others as "strange, beautiful… think, oh… the Sidhe made of ice, something like that… a different sort of life… inhuman, elegant, dangerous." In addition, though Old Nan describes the Others as "dead things," Martin stated that they are not dead.

The Others wear delicate camouflaging armor that can reflect their surroundings, constantly shifting colors and blending into the world around them. According to George R. R. Martin and comic book artist Tommy Patterson, the armor of the Others can pick up "the images of things around it like a clear, still pond."

The weapons of the Others are swords made of crystal, which glows like moonlight with a faint blue glow. Because they are extremely sharp, they are capable of passing through ringmail as though it were silk. When an Other's crystal sword makes contact with a steel blade, a shrill, high, and thin noise, akin to an animal screaming in pain, is heard. When it would brush the flames of a torch, this would emit a screech that was as sharp as a needle.

The Others' crystal swords radiate intense cold, so great that they can cover metal in frost to the point of shattering a steel blade. George R. R. Martin claims that the substance the crystal swords are made from is "Ice. But not like regular old ice." Martin further claimed that the Others can do things with ice that "we can't imagine and make substances of it."

The language of the Others is unnamed, but those that hear it describe the words as sounding like the cracking of ice on a winter lake, while their laughter is being compared to sharp icicles.

TV series[]

The White Walkers are shown to be tall, pale-skinned beings whose flesh is pulled over their form, lending them a mummified appearance. They are often seen with long, wispy beards and hair as pale as snow. Their skins are pale-grey, which is sinewy and stretched taut across their faces, which explains why they have a gaunt and mummified-like appearance. They also wear black leather armor, which may appear to represent a high position in the army of the dead.

Much like their novel counterparts, the White Walkers wield weapons made of crystallized ice, which include swords, spearheads, and javelins. Like in the novels, they are capable of shattering not only steel weapons but also bronze. In addition, the weapons of the White Walkers can even pierce the hide and scales of dragons.

While they are master swordsmen, they are also inhumanly strong, capable of throwing an adult man backward with a single blow. The language of the White Walkers is the same as in the novels but is called Skroth. The inhuman sound that emits from the language is "ice-cracking chatter."

Powers & Abilities[]

Wherever the Others go, intense cold follows, but it is unknown if they only appear when it is extremely cold or if they themselves bring it. While some stories claim that the Others will only come out at night, others still say that they bring the night. While wielding their crystal swords, they are shown to be superior sword fighters. The Others tread lightly in the snow, leaving no tracks to mark their passage, akin to that of ghosts, and moving, while graceful and swift, as fast as lightning.

By far the most insidious power they possess is their ability to resurrect the dead, turning them into undead creatures called Wights, who are described as having pale blue eyes just like their masters. As such, Wildlings burn their dead to ensure they do not rise as slaves to the Others' will. According to the Free Folk, the Others and the Wights can smell life, or rather, its warmth.

There are tales of the Others riding the corpses of dead animals such as bears, direwolves, mammoths, and horses. In addition to normal animals, some Tales also say that the Others also ride giant ice spiders.

Weaknesses[]

In the Novel series[]

The Others have a few known weaknesses that are recorded in ancient texts: One is obsidian, otherwise called dragonglass or "frozen fire." If an Other is stabbed with any weapon made of Obsidian, this will cause its flesh and bones to melt away, leaving only an icy puddle. Ancient texts also record a weakness for "dragonsteel", which several have taken to be Valyrian steel. Mance Rayder expressed the belief that magic wards in the Wall prevent the Others from crossing into the Seven Kingdoms.

In the television series[]

In the TV series Game of Thrones, ranging from Eastwatch-by-the-Sea to capturing a wight beyond the Wall, it is shown that killing a White Walker will cause all the wights who had been resurrected by it to crumble upon their master's death. Furthermore, all wights and White Walkers are linked to the Night King, and if the Night King dies, the entire race of White Walkers and Wights will go extinct. This is shown as when Arya killed the Night King, all White Walkers exploded into ice shards, and all wights immediately crumbled.

While their crystallized ice weapons can destroy bronze and steel weapons, however, they are incapable of destroying weapons made of Valyrian steel. As a result, weapons made of said metal act as counter-weapons, making them a match for the White Walker's ice weapons.

Gallery[]

A Song of Ice and Fire[]

Game of Thrones[]

Trivia[]

  • In the novels, the Others are sometimes referred to as "white walkers" by characters on a few occasions. The showrunners of the television adaptation chose this alternate nomenclature as the sole main name for the Others.
  • As a result of their undead-like appearance in their depiction of the TV series Game of Thrones, a common misconception among those who are less informed is that the White Walkers are intelligent undead. They have also been mistakenly compared to the draug from mythology, and they even resemble the Draugr from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The Others are a magical living race of the Known World, not undead corpses of any sort. George R. R. Martin stated, "The Others are not dead. They are strange, beautiful … think, oh … the Sidhe made of ice, something like that … a different sort of life … inhuman, elegant, dangerous."
  • In the TV series Game of Thrones, the Others, who are only known as White Walkers, have a completely different appearance and behavior than what the novels A Song of Ice and Fire described them. Their respective portrayals differ, and their origins and goals may differ as well, depending on what will be revealed about them in the upcoming sixth novel, The Winds of Winter. George R. R. Martin promised much focus on them and their frozen lands in said installment.
    • In A Song of Ice and Fire, they are described as strangely attractive and beautiful, mysterious, graceful, and otherworldly. Even though their movements are elegant, they are constantly present in the night, always watching but never showing themselves, and only rarely attacking anyone directly. They appear to look down on humans, as they are seen mocking and taunting Ser Waymar Royce in their own language. They are magical creatures from thousands of years ago; their weapons are extremely icy and nothing human-like. Most humans believe they are demons of ice and winter. Some people, such as Craster and his family, see them as ancient gods, entities superior to human beings. The legend of the Night's King claims that the traitor of the Night's Watch fell in love with a blue-eyed and pale-white woman at first sight. The Others do not wear gloves or any clothing necessary for protection against the cold, as they are creatures of cold and ice themselves, and wherever they go, they bring an extremely higher level of cold that is unnatural in nature.
    • In Game of Thrones, the White Walkers resemble the frozen corpses of human beings. They are not beautiful or graceful, and they are as evil and destructive as believers in R'hllor claim them to be. They use ordinary-looking weapons and wear ordinary-looking armor made of boiled leather with boots and gloves. They are a creation of the wood creatures known as the children of the forest, and their highest-ranking commander is known as the Night King. While George R. R. Martin has promised to reveal more about the Others and that the readers will finally "travel" to the Land of Always Winter in the icy further north of Westeros, in the TV show said lands are only featured in a single episode in Season 4, the White Walkers do not have any females, and the only child ever shown as one of them is a human infant, Craster's last son.
    • In A Song of Ice and Fire, the Others are not mutes and have a language, and they have displayed a behavior of superiority. The aggressors of Ser Waymar Royce displayed a mocking and sadistic attitude toward him, toying with him and letting him take multiple swings of his sword at them before humiliating him, wounding him, and finally killing him. Both Will and Samwell Tarly describe the Others' movement as graceful, and their naked feet do not break the snow's crust. When they walk, they never make a sound, and they are described as "shadows." They are lurkers and stalkers, only living in the night, always watching anyone beyond the Wall, and hiding in the woods. That is how the Others also earned the nickname "white walkers of the woods".
    • In Game of Thrones, all White Walkers are mute.
    • While in the TV show, the White Walkers are led by the Night King, George R. R. Martin stated that his novels do not need a dark lord (just as he said, he does not want his story to have an "Aragorn," meaning neither Jon Snow nor anyone else will play the main hero, savior, or absolute "true heir"). The novels will not have an overall main antagonist for the story, so if the Others have any kind of hierarchy, it might differ from the television's portrayal.
    • The legendary traitor Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, nicknamed "Night's King," was said to have allied himself with the Others a long time after the Others' first defeat in the Long Night. He also never became the leader of the Others, as he was simply a mortal man who declared himself king at the Wall, took the Nightfort for his seat, and offered sacrifices for them like Craster. His existence is questionable, and it is unknown if his story was based on anything true.
  • The legendary wife consort of the Night's King, known as the "corpse queen," was likely associated with the Others, as the Night's King started making sacrifices for them as soon as he fell for the female being. Whether she was an Other or a sapient kind of ice wight is unknown. So far, the only known sapient wight related to Ice who ever appeared in the story is Coldhands, a black brother of the Night's Watch, whose counterpart in the TV show is the sapient undead Benjen Stark.
  • Although they are considered responsible for the Long Night in the world, no human can prove it's true. Some fans believe that the Long Night caused the Others to go south, rather than the Others causing the Long Night. The history and legends of the universe if Ice and Fire tell that thousands of years ago, the entire world was deprived of sunlight. Along with these stories, there are legends of other kinds of demons, besides the Others, coming from further east of Essos and the undergrounds of Yi Ti. In YiTish legends, the Bloodstone Emperor and his sorcery are blamed for the Long Night.
  • George R.R. Martin has made it clear more than once that he does not plan for his novels to end after a great final confrontation against the Others. Furthermore, Martin does not want them to be the final enemy and then simply have the ending.
  • In the upcoming sixth novel, The Winds of Winter, more history of the Others will be revealed, along with more of their kind. According to George R. R. Martin, it is currently unknown if the Others have their own culture.
  • In the TV series, Gilly and all her family from Craster's Keep are the only characters known to have siblings and sons who are White Walkers. It is possible that this might be the case for the novels as well.

External Links[]

Navigation[]

           A Song of Ice and Fire Logo Villains

Westeros
Beyond the Wall
The Others
Night King | White Walker Commander | Viserion | Wights

Giants
Mag Mar Tun Doh Weg | Dongo

Free Folk
Mance Rayder | Tormund Giantsbane | Styr | Rattleshirt | Orell | Craster | Varamyr Sixskins | Harma Dogshead | The Weeper | Alfyn Crowkiller | Ygritte | Hali

Night's Watch
Night's King | Alliser Thorne | Bowen Marsh | Othell Yarwyck | Janos Slynt | Olly | Karl Tanner | Dirk | Ollo Lophand | Clubfoot Karl | Chett | Rast | Brant | Derek | Stiv | Wallen | Rorge | Biter | George Graceford | Perkin the Flea | Rat Cook

The North
House Stark
Theon Stark | Cregan Stark | Arya Stark | Tom

House Bolton
Royce IV Bolton | Roose Bolton | Ramsay Bolton | Locke | Reek | Myranda | Little Walder Frey | Big Walder Frey | Bastard's Boys | Master torturer | Smalljon Umber

House Karstark
Rickard Karstark | Harald Karstark | Arnolf Karstark | Cregan Karstark | Arthor Karstark

The Vale of Arryn
House Arryn
Lysa Arryn | Mandon Moore | Marillion | Mord | Lyn Corbray

House Baelish
Petyr Baelish | Oswell Kettleblack

Vale Mountain Clans
Shagga

Riverlands
House Baelish of Harrenhal
Petyr Baelish

House Frey
Walder Frey | Emmon Frey | Aenys Frey | Walder Rivers | Jared Frey | Hosteen Frey | Symond Frey | Merrett Frey | Raymund Frey | Lothar Frey | Whalen Frey | Benfrey Frey | Ryman Frey | Rhaegar Frey | Big Walder Frey | Little Walder Frey | Edwyn Frey | Black Walder Frey | Tytos Frey | Leslyn Haigh | Harys Haigh

House Strong
Larys Strong | Alys Rivers | Larys Strong's prisoners

Brotherhood without Banners
Lady Stoneheart | Lem Lemoncloak | Tom of Sevenstreams | Morgan | Gatins

Others
Chett | Garse Goodbrook | Lysa Tully | Danelle Lothston | Lothar Bracken | Harren the Red

Iron Islands
House Greyjoy
Balon IX Greyjoy | Euron III Greyjoy | Victarion Greyjoy | Aeron Greyjoy | Asha Greyjoy | Yara Greyjoy | Theon Greyjoy | Dagmer Cleftjaw | Black Lorren | Stygg | Drennan | Adrack Humble | Red Oarsman | Lucas Codd | Torwold Browntooth | Harrag | Iron Fleet

House Greyjoy (historical)
Dalton Greyjoy

House Hoare
Qhored I Hoare | Hagon Hoare | Harwyn Hoare | Harren Hoare

Others
Joron I Blacktyde | Urrathon IV Goodbrother | Urron Greyiron | The Shrike

Westerlands
House Lannister
Tywin Lannister | Cersei Lannister | Jaime Lannister | Tyrion Lannister | Lancel Lannister | Amory Lorch | Ilyn Payne | Preston Greenfield | Shae | Lowell

House Lannister (historical)
Jason Lannister | Lann the Clever

House Clegane
Gregor Clegane | Sandor Clegane | Polliver | Rafford | The Tickler | Weasel | Mountain's Men

House Reyne
Ellyn Reyne | Roger Reyne

House Spicer
Rolph Spicer | Sybell Spicer

Others
Alfred Broome | Androw Farman

Crownlands
House Targaryen
Aegon I Targaryen | Visenya Targaryen | Rhaenys Targaryen | Maegor I Targaryen | Daemon Targaryen | Rhaenyra Targaryen | Aegon II Targaryen | Aemond Targaryen | Daeron Targaryen | Daeron I Targaryen | Baelor I Targaryen | Aegon IV Targaryen | Aerion Targaryen | Aerys II Targaryen | Rhaegar Targaryen | Viserys Targaryen | Daenerys I Targaryen

Greens
Aegon II Targaryen | Aemond Targaryen | Daeron Targaryen | Otto Hightower | Alicent Hightower | Criston Cole | Borros Baratheon | Jason Lannister | Unwin Peake | George Graceford | Orwyle | Jon Roxton | Larys Strong | Larys Strong's prisoners | Alys Rivers | Hugh Hammer | Ulf White | Hobert Hightower | Alfred Broome | Arryk Cargyll | Marston Waters | Perkin the Flea | Luthor Largent | Caltrops

Blacks
Rhaenyra Targaryen | Daemon Targaryen | Cregan Stark | Mysaria | Hugh Hammer | Ulf White | Luthor Largent | Bartimos Celtigar | Alfred Broome | Dalton Greyjoy | Blood and Cheese

House Baratheon of King's Landing
Robert I Baratheon | Joffrey I Baratheon | Cersei Lannister | Jaime Lannister | Janos Slynt | Ilyn Payne | Bronn | Sandor Clegane | Boros Blount | Meryn Trant | Mandon Moore | Preston Greenfield | Kettleblack Brothers | Robert Strong | Catspaw

House Baratheon of Dragonstone
Stannis Baratheon | Selyse Florent | Melisandre | Axell Florent | Richard Horpe | Clayton Suggs | Shadow Assassins

House Blackfyre
Daemon I Blackfyre | Daemon II Blackfyre | Aegor Rivers | Maelys I Blackfyre | Golden Company

House Kettleblack
Osmund Kettleblack | Osfryd Kettleblack | Osney Kettleblack

Faith of the Seven
Baelor I Targaryen | High Sparrow | Septa Unella | Faith Militant | Lancel Lannister | The Shepherd

City Watch of King's Landing
Daemon Targaryen | Janos Slynt | Bronn | Osfryd Kettleblack | Blood | Perkin the Flea

Alchemists' Guild
Rossart | Hallyne | Garigus | Belis

Others
Rorge | Biter | Arryk Cargyll | Bartimos Celtigar | Hugh Hammer | Luthor Largent | Ulf White | Marston Waters | Olyvar | King's Landing Rioters

Stormlands
House Baratheon
Robert I Baratheon | Stannis Baratheon | Renly Baratheon | Joffrey Baratheon | Richard Horpe | Meryn Trant

House Baratheon (historical)
Orys Baratheon | Borros Baratheon

Others
Criston Cole

The Reach
House Tyrell
Mace Tyrell | Loras Tyrell | Randyll Tarly

House Florent
Axell Florent | Selyse Florent

House Hightower
Lord Hobert Hightower | Ormund Hightower | Otto Hightower | Alicent Hightower | Hobert Hightower

House Peake
Unwin Peake | Amaury Peake | Mervyn Flowers | Gormon Peake

The Citadel
Pycelle | Orwyle | Qyburn

Others
Jon Roxton | George Graceford | Bronn

Dorne
Morion Martell | Ellaria Sand | Gerold Dayne | Nymeria Sand | Obara Sand | Tyene Sand | Wyl of Wyl | Vulture Kings

Others
Shagwell | Smiling Knight | The Little Birds | The Rat, the Hawk, and the Pig

Essos
Free Cities
Belicho Paenymion | Ben Plumm | Bloodbeard | Craghas Drahar | Daario Naharis | Second Sons | Doreah | Illyrio Mopatis | Jaqen H'ghar | Kindly Man | Malaquo Maegyr | Mero | Moqorro | Mysaria | Ollo Lophand | Pretty Meris | Tattered Prince | The old man | Tyanna of the Tower | Vargo Hoat | Varys | Sorcerer | Waif | Bianca | Triarchy | Saan Family | Band of Nine | The little birds

Golden Company
Aegor Rivers | Maelys I Blackfyre | Harry Strickland

Brave Companions
Vargo Hoat | Rorge | Biter | Shagwell | Qyburn

The Sorrows
Stone Men

Dothraki Sea
Dothraki | Drogo | Jhaqo | Mago | Moro | Qotho | Qhono | Qorro | Brozho | Rhalko | Forzho | Wine Merchant

Lhazar
Mirri Maz Duur

Slaver's Bay
Great Masters | Wise Masters | Good Masters | Hizdahr zo Loraq | Kraznys mo Nakloz | Grazdan mo Ullhor | Cleon the Great | Malko | Oznak zo Pahl | Prendahl na Ghezn | Razdal mo Eraz | Yezzan zo Qaggaz | Reznak mo Reznak | Skahaz mo Kandaq | Sons of the Harpy | Vala | Grey Worm | Unsullied

Qarth
The Pureborn | The Undying Ones | Pyat Pree | Warlocks of Qarth | Xaro Xhoan Daxos | Sorrowful Men

Collections of Countries
Old Empire of Ghis | Valyrian Freehold | Slaver Alliance

Far East Essos
Yi Ti
Bloodstone Emperor | Lo Bu | Jar Har

Asshai and Shadow Lands
Melisandre | Shadow Assassins

Across the Known World
Crew of the Silence

Dragons
Balerion | The Cannibal | Drogon | Meraxes | Rhaegal | Silverwing | Sunfyre | Vermithor | Vhagar | Viserion

Deities
Drowned God | Great Other | Horse God | Lion of Night | Many-Faced God | Old Gods | Old Ones | R'hllor | Storm God

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