The White Walkers on Game of Thrones Don’t Really Matter
By Julie Kelly
Game of Thrones is trying, valiantly, to make its zombie angle work.
Game of Thrones has always been a series with a lot going on. It would be fair to say that at any given time there is actually too much going on, and plot threads are always in danger of being discarded — remember what happened to Dorne? Game of Thrones’ White Walkers have been a serious threat since the first episode of the first season, but they’re a threat that have been continuously pushed into the background. So much so that they only feel like a threat while they’re on screen, which isn’t often.
There was as time, mostly during the first season, in which the White Walkers felt like a genuine threat hovering over The Wall, and eventually, King’s Landing. They were eventually replaced by the, frankly, more interesting story of court intrigue. Not only has the battle for the Iron Throne gotten far more screen time than the White Walkers, it’s also a more interesting angle.
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Even though this season we’ve learned more about the White Walkers than we ever have, they’re still an indistinct enemy. They have no personality — there is no character development. As villains, they don’t work.
It’s a good thing that Game of Thrones has so many other villains to pool from, because the White Walkers don’t cut it. It almost feels a little silly that a huge army of undead soldiers have been waiting so long to make a move. Game of Thrones works best when it doesn’t focus on the White Walker plot, even though scenes with White Walker attacks tend to be well done. “Hardhome,” for example, was a chilling episode last season that showed the true horror of what they’re capable of.
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Perhaps this is all just another way of saying that characters have been talking about the White Walker threat for far too long for viewers to take them seriously. Game of Thrones is entering wrap up mode, and the White Walker plot needs to be resolved sooner or later.