These "Game Of Thrones" Theories About The Wall Are Pretty Damn Epic

It's going to be intense. Warning: contains minor spoilers and speculation.

Since the first A Song of Ice and Fire book came out in the '90s, fans have been speculating about the Wall and how it might eventually come down.

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With the show nearing its conclusion, the fall of the Wall is looking more and more likely. Especially because there's been some foreshadowing on the show.

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We know the show is gearing up for an epic battle between the living and the dead. Many believe the Wall coming down will trigger the final act that will at last pit the Night King's army against Jon, Dany, and the rest of Westeros.

As recently as the Season 7 premiere, Sansa dismisses the threat of the Night King due to the safety the Wall affords Westeros.

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But Jon is more cautious – and probably for good reason. There are a few possibilities for how the Night King might breach the Wall by the end of Season 7. Let's explore...

As some observant Redditors have noticed, the Wall and its surrounds look a little different in the Season 7 credits – almost as though the water near Eastwatch-by-the-Sea is freezing over.

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This is backed up by a line from the Hound's vision that was apparently deleted, in which he says "the waves are frozen" when referring to the castle where the Wall meets the sea.

But the idea that the White Walkers and their army could just walk around the Wall is not only incredibly unsatisfying, it also doesn't make a whole lot of sense. (Although it does make their name very appropriate.)

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If they could just freeze the water and walk around the Wall, why haven't they done so yet?

We know it's not just the size of the Wall that keeps the White Walkers out – it's also the magic that the Children of the Forest helped build it with.

HBO / Via quora.com

In the Season 6 finale, Benjen describes how he can't pass through the Wall because he's (un)dead, and "ancient spells were carved into its foundations" to prevent the dead from breaching it. And Benjen stops a fair distance from the Wall itself. It makes sense that this magic extends around its immediate boundaries and would stop the White Walkers from simply walking around it.

It seems the only way the Wall could possibly come down – or become so weak it could allow the White Walkers to pass through/around it – is magic.

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Many fans believe that because the Night King "marked" Bran in Season 6, which allowed him to break through the magic that was previously protecting the Three Eyed Raven's weirwood cave, the same mark will allow the Night King to defeat the Wall.

The theory goes that Bran passing through the Wall (as we saw him do in the Season 7 premiere) will either cause it to immediately start crumbling (which doesn't seem to be the case at this point), or will weaken its magic so much that it won't be able to stop the dead anymore (which might be more likely).

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Then there's the idea – which hasn't really been addressed in the show – that a mythical object known as the Horn of Winter will be able to bring the Wall down.

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In the books, the wildlings mention the horn, believing it holds the power to destroy the Wall. It's never been mentioned in the show – however, way back in Season 2, when Sam found the dragonglass at the Fist of the First Men, he also found a horn. It's never mentioned, and we haven't seen the horn since – but if the show were to introduce the Horn of Winter, this would probably be it.

Then there's another theory which, like the horn, hasn't really been foreshadowed on the show, but is there in the books: that an ice dragon will bring down the Wall.

georgerrmartin.com

In the books, ice dragons are a myth that Old Nan mentions, and which Jon Snow thinks about occasionally in connection with the Wall: "The wind was gusting, cold as the breath of the ice dragon in the tales Old Nan had told when Jon was a boy."

And long before A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin wrote a story called The Ice Dragon, which doesn't take place in the same world as Westeros, but which fans nonetheless take as a hint that an ice dragon might appear in Game of Thrones.

These details have given rise to a popular fan theory that suggests an ice dragon is lying dormant beneath or inside the Wall, and that something will happen to awaken it – perhaps an action of Jon's (tying into the Azor Ahai prophecy of waking dragons from stone), or the use of the Horn of Winter.

Again, there's been no evidence or foreshadowing of this on the show – but it would still be pretty damn cool, and provide a way more satisfying solution than the White Walkers simply walking around the Wall.