Here’s How to Kill White Walkers & Wights in Game of Thrones
Episode 2 of Game of Thrones featured some of the series’ best moments in the form of much-needed fan-service before ending with a dire reminder that winter, the White Walkers, and their Wight army are on the doorstep of Winterfell. In case you’re wondering what our heroes are going to do about that, here’s how to kill White Walkers and Wights in Game of Thrones.
So far, the show has shown us two ways that the undead army can be killed and unfortunately, and as you’d expect, killing them is much harder than killing a man. Before going over how our heroes can actually kill these enemies, it’s important to note the difference between the White Walkers and the Wights.
What a White Walker Is
White Walkers are what most people call anyone they see with the icy blue eyes and frozen skin, and that’s fair. But to say that all 100,000 marching to Winterfell are White Walkers would be grossly incorrect.
That’s because, in reality, there are only 12 or at least 12 that we know of and have seen. They’re the more terrifying and dangerous of the undead army.
Identified easily by their ability to ride horses –which you won’t see Wights doing– White Walkers are also significantly larger than humans. They have features that set them apart from their Wights, (long hair, a crown of thorns, etc.) and have the ability to raise the dead.
What a Wights Is
A Wight is anyone raised from the dead by White Walkers. Unlike those who raised them from the dead, they are smaller (human-sized usually except in the case of giants) and look pretty similar to who they were before dying — they just have those trademark blue eyes and icy skin now.
In the forthcoming Battle of Winterfell, when our heroes refer to an army of 100,000, they’re referring to an army of 12 White Walkers and thousands and thousands and thousands of Wights.
How to Kill White Walkers & Wights
Despite their differences in abilities and size, White Walkers and Wights go down the same.
To defeat them, you need one of two materials imbued in the form of a weapon: Valyrian Steel or Dragon Glass.
Valyrian Steel is very rare in Game of Thrones because it was a special type of metal made in Valyria which has been destroyed for hundreds and hundreds of years. The art of making Valyrian Steel died with the city of Valyria so any Valyrian Steel in the show is something that’s been passed down through generations or obtained via happenstance.
Sure, we’ve seen a few Valyrian Steel weapons made, but the metal required is the real rarity here —so rare, in fact, that we likely won’t see more made in the show.
That’s okay, though, because fortunately for Winterfell, they have a surplus of Dragonglass thanks to Daenerys.
Dragonglass, like Valyrian Steel, can cut down a White Walker and Wight just as any sword or weapon would cut down a human on the battlefield.
Dragonfire Is Still a Wildcard
One of the most important assets of the Winterfell army is Daenerys dragons. Yes, the undead has what used to be Daenery’s third dragon, but even then, Winterfell still has one more dragon on their team.
Dragonfire is extremely powerful, but we aren’t quite sure if it can kill White Walkers and Wights yet. You would assume so, but assuming is never smart in Game of Thrones.
In Episode 2, someone asked if Dragonfire can kill the undead, to which Bran responded, “We don’t know. Nobody’s ever tried it.”
So, only time will tell. We’ll likely find out during the Battle of Winterfell.
That’s it for our guide on how to kill White Walkers and Wights in Game of Thrones, including what White Walkers are, what Wights are and how Dragonfire is a wildcard.
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