Game of Thrones fans still convinced Bran Stark is The Night King

'They hyped up The Night King for seasons upon seasons, and this is how he goes out? There's just no way'

**Spoilers for Game of Thrones season eight, episode three ‘The Long Night’ ahead**

The Battle of Winterfell has come to an end. While many fan-favourite characters remain standing, a few also perished at the hand of the Night King.

Of course, the Night King was eventually defeated by Arya Stark, who managed to stab the villain in the stomach with a Valyrian steel dagger (one we have seen multiple times before), turning his army to dust.

With the Night King dead, that seemingly puts a huge theory – that Bran Stark is the Night King – to bed. Yet, despite the seeming finality of the episode, some fans still believe that the White Walker leader could still be the young Stark.

The initial theory posited that Bran – now the all-seeing Three-Eyed Raven – would warg his way into the man who became the Night King leader in a bid to prevent the Children of the Forest from ever creating the army of the undead. The theory claimed that Bran’s transition into the Night King would occur when the Children of the Forest pierce the man’s heart with dragonglass, leaving Bran stuck inside his body.

This now seems untrue, as The Night King has been vanquished, and therefore Bran would not want to travel back to prevent something that is eventually prevented. However, some fans believe that there’s a chance Bran could still be the Night King.

“They hyped up The Night King for seasons upon seasons, years upon years and this is how he goes out? There’s just no way,” wrote one fan.

“Why else was Bran warged for so long? Could it be going back in time to prevent all this bloodshed? Could he have been making a deal with The Night King?

“When The Night King walked up to Bran, he looked like he accepted his fate. I just feel like The Night King is Bran, The Night King was going to kill Bran to destroy himself.

“I mean the way The Night King just looked at Bran, it felt like he had to do it when he didn’t want to. Arya ruined the plans for Bran.

“After all this and then they’re already going to battle with Cersei? Something just doesn’t feel right.”

Perhaps, then, should the final battle with Cersei go wrong, Bran may try to stop The Night King once again, as this would prevent the army of the North being so depleted. This could then go wrong, as the initial theory states, and Bran as the Night King would try to stop himself, only to be ruined by Arya.

While this seems hugely unlikely, there are still some fans convinced the theory could come true. And considering how many other unlikely theories have proven themselves correct, there’s still a slim possibility it could be correct.

‘The Long Night’ was a “gritty, epic and profoundly silly” episode according to our critic, who awarded the episode five stars. Meanwhile, the intense trailer for next week’s episode sees everyone turn their attentions to the Iron Throne and the fate of Cersei Lannister.

Our extensive ranking of every character in the series – from worst to best – is below.

The final season of Game of Thrones continues every Sunday. The show will be available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK.