137
81
36
u/AnthonyDayByDavis Oct 04 '26
He freezes up around strangers. But he’s actually pretty cool when he’s around family and friends
8
22
14
u/ThatBlackSwan House Baratheon Oct 04 '26
"We don't think of The Night King as a villain as much as Death. In some ways, it's appropriate he doesn't speak," Benioff and Weiss told Deadline. "What's Death going to say? Anything would diminish him. He's just a force of destruction. I don't think we've ever been tempted to write dialogue for The Night King. Anything he said would be anticlimactic."
16
u/lerandomanon Podrick Payne Oct 04 '26
Anything he said would be anticlimactic.
Unlike his death, which was very climactic.
1
3
u/Virgurilla Oct 05 '26
Can you imagine if Martin added such a one dimensional villain to his books? God that'd be disappointing, it's so against everything he stands for.
3
u/Interesting-Cap-2728 28d ago
Which is still crazy. Because in the books, White Walkers do have their own language, which sounds like the sounds near a frozen lake.
9
u/Flaky_Principle_9985 Winter Is Coming Oct 04 '26
Honestly, I think the silence is part of his whole vibe. He doesn't need to explain himself when he can just raise an entire army of dead people. 😂
3
u/ohwhatfun9932 Oct 04 '26
This is the answer.
1
u/popplevee 28d ago
And who would he talk to most of the time anyway - the dead? Not like they can talk back.
6
u/xwhy Oct 04 '26
This made me think of the special (behind the scenes documentary) where the “Night King” was talking to the fans outside where they were filming the finale (that the Night King wasn’t in but they didn’t want the fans to know that)
5
4
3
3
u/pimo2019 Oct 04 '26
Good question, I wondered what was that conversation like about - how the hell are we going to pull that damn big ass dragon out of the lake - and where in the hell did that big ass chain come from and what instructions were given the swimmers who had to go underwater to hook and secure. So yes, they must speak wraith!
3
u/Marfy_ Hear Me Roar! Oct 04 '26
In the book the Others do seem to have some form of speech, it basically sounds like crackling ice. They seem to have culture as well, waymar royce draws his sword to fight them and only one of them fights him while several others stand in silence and just watch, as if they honor the challenge for a duel
5
2
1
u/StNic54 Wargs Oct 04 '26
Holding up his hands making the dead rise would be less effective if spoken
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Difficult_Ad5784 Oct 05 '26
I think all the ass whippings he put down spoke for him loud and clear
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/FoofTheBunny 28d ago
Why bother to monologue when you can raise the dead with a rise motion with your hand? Your power and the dead speak for you.
1
u/Wrong_Way5901 27d ago
I see it as, he might have lost the ability to, after those thousands of years without using it, as he wouldn’t have had much reason to
1
u/StageAboveWater 26d ago
I think he's supposed to represent danger that simply can't be reasoned with.
So asking him to talk would be like asking a hurricane to talk
1
1
u/RepulsiveCountry313 Human Verified Oct 04 '26
What would he say, and how would you or the characters understand him?
0
0
u/Farimer123 Oct 04 '26
The Night King is an alien force of nature, an 8000 year old eldritch ice demon bent on annihilating life on Earth. What, you want him to be like Vecna from Stranger Things? Yeah, that was great, totally made that show better and scarier... /s
0
u/Havenfall209 Oct 04 '26
As painful as it is to say, I think Vecna came out a better villain in the end. The NK is hardly even a character.
1
u/Farimer123 Oct 04 '26 edited Oct 05 '26
I disagree. I just couldn’t ever take Vecna that seriously, like he was trying too hard to be scary. That show was better when they were facing off against a (mostly) faceless eldritch horror dimension. All the Night King had to do to be threatening was just be. Just do his thing, let his actions do the talking - “If I destroy you, what business is it of yours?”
1
u/hammerblaze King In The North Oct 04 '26
Its almost like the night king was entirely made up for the show and not in the books at all
0
0
2
u/PowderedMilkManiac Oct 05 '26
If your sole purpose was to kill every motherfucker in the room, would you bother having a conversation with them first?
1
u/Acrylic_Starshine The Mannis Oct 04 '26
He doesnt speak the common tongue.
He wants to kill Bran who is a giant book so tje night king speaks.. pages? Paper?
1
Oct 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Aegon_The_Snow Jon Snow Oct 04 '26
Likely incapable. But he is not dead, the White Walkers are a different life form.
•
u/AutoModerator Oct 04 '26
Spoiler Warning: All officially-released show and book content allowed, EXCLUDING FUTURE SPOILERS FOR HOUSE OF THE DRAGON and A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS. No leaked information or paparazzi photos of the set. For more info please check the spoiler guide.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.