Game of Thrones season eight promises to be the biggest and best yet, and fans will finally get the answers to their many questions.
Who is the Night King? Who will sit on the Iron Throne? How does this all end? These question and more will hopefully be answered in the last season of Game of Thrones.
In preparation for the final season, HBO released a teaser trailer which featured all three Stark children, Jon (played by Kit Harington), Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Arya (Maisie Williams) in the Stark crypts below Winterfell.
These crypts have always been shrouded in mystery, and it does seem as if they’ll play an essential part in the final season.
A YouTuber called Talking Thrones has dissected this teaser trailer and came up with a fascinating theory which connects the Night King to the Stark crypts.
The crypts contain fallen members of the House of Stark, and it’s full of statues of the deceased family members accompanied with their respective direwolves.
However, it’s also been hinted that the crypts hold a dark secret, something which the Starks have wanted to keep locked up for eternity.
It’s known that the White Walkers aren’t too good around fire, the sun, dragonglass and iron.
The Stark crypts are sealed with iron doors, which suggests there could be a link between the White Walkers and the Stark’s tomb.
It’s been heavily hinted at the Night King being defended from a Stark, so could the crypts hold the secret to the Night King’s true identity? Talking Thrones seems to think so.
In the book, A Song of Ice and Fire, Jon recalls going down into the crypts as a child.
“And then I find myself in front of the door to the crypts,” he says.
“It’s black inside, and I can see the steps spiralling down.
“Somehow I know I have to go down there, but I don’t want to. I’m afraid of what might be waiting for me.”
Talking Dead suggests that whatever’s been lurking in the crypts will be unleashed in the final season, and it could have something to do with the Night King.
The YouTuber notes that the iron doors which have been holding whatever’s inside for thousands of years are slowly rusting away.
Season eight could see those doors be blown wide open, and then all hell could break loose, as if it hasn’t already.
There’s a prophecy in one of the earlier books which hints at something like this happening.
“By ancient custom, an iron long sword had been laid across the lap of each who had been the lord of Winterfell to keep the vengeful spirits in their crypts,” the prophecy says.
“The oldest had long age rusted away to nothing, leaving only a few red stains where the metal had rested on stone.
“Ned wondered if that meant those ghosts were free to roam the castle now. He hoped not…”
Fans will have to wait and see what happens when season eight airs in April this year.
Game of Thrones season 8 will return to HBO and Sky Atlantic on April 14. Seasons 1-7 are currently streaming on NOW TV.