History Characters / GameOfThronesWhiteWalkers

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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:The White Walkers]]
!The White Walkers

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/White_Walker_2252.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"They swept through cities and kingdoms, riding their dead horses, hunting with their packs of pale spiders big as hounds."'']]

->'''Old Nan:''' ''"Oh, my sweet summer child. What do you know about fear? Fear is for the winter when the snows fall a hundred feet deep. Fear is for the the Long Night when the sun hides for years, and children are born and live and die, all in darkness. That is the time for fear, my little lord; when the White Walkers move through the woods."''

A legendary race from beyond the Wall. Eight thousand years ago, during the Long Night, they descended on Westeros with an army of undead warriors. In a conflict known as the War for the Dawn, they were eventually defeated and driven back into the north by the First Men and the Children of the Forest, leading to the construction of the Wall and establishment of the Night's Watch. By the time of ''Game of Thrones'', most people assume either that they're a myth or that they died out centuries ago. They didn't, and now they're coming back.
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* AchillesHeel: Dragonglass, or obsidian. Being stabbed with it causes their bodies to turn rapidly into ice, before shattering violently. After all, what's the opposite of ice? Volcanic glass.
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Inverted. The Book!Others are described as oddly beautiful, sort of ice-themed versions of TheFairFolk. In the show they are [[HumanoidAbomination Humanoid Abominations.]]
* AdaptationDyeJob: In the books, their armor is reflective and provides a sort of active camouflage. In the series, they don't wear much armor at all [[spoiler:with the exception of the Night's King's court]], and what little they do is pure black.
* AdaptationExplanationExtrication: The "Satan" figure of the Rh'llor faith practiced by Melisandre is called the Great Other, with Melisandre believing the Others to be related to him. Just by their names, this makes sense. However, in the series he's still called the Great Other while they're called the white walkers, making the Great Other's name vaguely ominous whereas before it made him sound like a god of the white walkers.
* AdaptationNameChange: Of a sort. They are also known as white walkers in the books, but "the Others" (which doesn't appear in the series at all) is much more common. Benioff and Weiss were afraid of viewers not realizing that "Others" was a proper term--"Which others are we talking about? The other whats?"
** Also, this name is much more [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast frightening]] and evocative of [[AnIcePerson what they]] [[ZombieApocalypse actually are]].
* AlliterativeName: '''W'''hite '''W'''alkers.
* AlwaysABiggerFish: [[spoiler:"Oathkeeper" shows that the White Walkers we've seen so far seem to serve a higher power: the Night's King.]]
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Their morality is undetermined to be either actively malicious or just [[BlueAndOrangeMorality completely alien]], but they are a horde of monstrous humanoids who pose a threat to life itself by the way they radiate cold from their bodies and are slowly turning the world into a graveyard of undead minions.
* AnIcePerson: One White Walker freezes [[spoiler: Samwell's]] sword then shatters it.
** Also, if you pay attention to the first episode's White Walker, you'll notice [[CoolSword his sword is made of ice]]. In "Valar Morghulis", the White Walkers are clearly wielding [[BladeOnAStick ice spears.]]
* ArmyOfTheDead: Invaded Westeros with an army of undead warriors during the Long Night. It is revealed in "Valar Morghulis" that they have a ''massive'' army of wights.
* BarehandedBladeBlock: White Walkers can not only pull this off, but freeze the blade and shatter it.
* BadassFamily: [[spoiler:An unknown (but large) number of them were culled from Craster's sons.]]
* BigBad: To the Night's Watch storyline, as they're responsible for both the Army of the Dead bearing down on the human realms and more indirectly the invasion of the North by the Free Folk.
* BiggerBad: To the War of the Five Kings and the villainous characters responsible for it (Tywin, Joffrey, Littlefinger, Balon, etc.). Their threat overshadows any other in the setting, but most factions aren't even aware of them and facing lesser but more immediate enemies. Commander Mormont lampshades to Jon that while the War of the Five Kings is beginning now, if the Walkers descend on the Seven Kingdoms, it won't matter who wins.
** [[spoiler:"Oathkeeper" might have just revealed the BigBad for the entire series: the Night's King.]]
* BladeOnAStick: The White Walkers in Valar Morghulis wield ice spears while mounted on dead horses.
* ConflictKiller: In "Mhysa", Stannis abandons his campaign in the South after learning from the Night's Watch that the White Walkers have returned, knowing that if they manage to break through the Wall, it won't matter who sits upon the Iron Throne, ''everyone'' in Westeros will be screwed.
* CreepyBlueEyes: Not for the faint of heart.
* TheDreaded: Gradually built up: the people of Westeros either believe they were all destroyed thousands of years ago and are long extinct (mainly in The North), or they believe they never existed as anything more than a myth to begin with (everywhere else). They definitely qualify as this for the Wildlings, however, given that they live with them as an ever impending threat. And once a Westerosi is finally convinced that the White Walkers are real, the horror they can inspire quickly takes hold.
* EvilIsDeathlyCold: Cold radiates from their bodies. It's currently speculated (some might say [[JustForPun feverishly]] hoped) that they can't survive in warm temperatures. Unfortunately for Westeros, ''[[ArcWords Winter Is Coming]]'', and it's likely not a coincidence their return coincides with the threat of a long winter.
** Also, notice that in their first two appearances, they wielded swords and spears made of ice. [[labelnote:From the books...]]These ice weapons can freeze and shatter swords during a fight, as observed in the fight between Wayman Royce in the first chapter.[[/labelnote]] In "Second Sons", one of them froze and shattered Sam's sword just by grabbing it for a few seconds.
* TheFairFolk: Despite the difference in appearance from their book counterparts, the Walkers here still bear a number of similarities to the faerie folk of myth, most notably kidnapping babies [[spoiler:to turn them into more of themselves.]]
* GiantSpider: According to Old Nan, during the Long Night they had "pale spiders big as hounds" along with their undead horses. We don't see them in "Valar Morghulis", but given the sheer amount of terror that they inspire in both characters and viewers, do you really want to make it more horrifying?
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Their eyes tend to glow brightly, and becomes especially notable in the dark.
* GodzillaThreshold: The last time they emerged from the Land of Always Winter, they did enough damage to Westeros to warrant the construction of the Wall and the formation of the Night's Watch just to ''try'' and keep them contained in the North. [[labelnote:From the books...]]According to legend, a previous Lord Commander of the Night's Watch was seduced and corrupted by a female White Walker and became the "Night's King", driving the King in the North to ally with the Wildlings to kill him and his Queen. [[/labelnote]] [[spoiler: As of "Oathkeeper", he's not dead.]]
* GrimUpNorth: And they are very grim.
* HellIsThatNoise: In-universe, the sound of '''Three''' Blasts from a sentry horn is [[MassOhCrap the cue]] for men of the Night's Watch to begin [[BringMyBrownPants soiling themselves]].
* TheHorde: More so than the Wildlings.
* HumanoidAbomination: Where as the Others in the books are described as "oddly beautiful", the White Walkers look like emaciated corpses which have been left out to freeze.
* LiterallyShatteredLives: When killed with dragonglass.
* MadArtist: They've arranged the corpses of their victims artistically twice. A group of wildlings were lined out to form some kind of symbol, and some of the Night's Watch's horses were chopped up and the chunks were placed in a spiral. We have no idea why they do this.
** One possibility is that they do this simply because they enjoy [[ForTheEvulz screwing with people]].
** Another is that these patterns are part of the magical ritual that animates corpses as wights.
* {{Necromancer}}: The touch of a White Walker can raise the dead as wights.They are, evidently, good enough at this to raise an enormous army of their undead servants, formed from the people they've killed. And the White Walkers have had a lot of time perfecting the art of killing.
* NoSell: Swinging a normal sword at a White Walker won't do a lot. It'll just freeze the blade and shatter it.
* NotSoExtinct: Just about everyone in Westeros thinks that the White Walkers are extinct, having gone the way of the dragons. They're about as extinct as the aforementioned dragons.
* OhCrap: The White Walker that Sam kills has this reaction after it realises it's been stabbed with dragonglass.
* OffscreenTeleportation: As demonstrated in "Winter is Coming", when the [[MadArtist pattern of corpses]] managed to vanish in less than a few minutes with no trace whatsoever, they can be surprisingly effective at this when they want to be.
* OffWithHisHead: Both the White Walkers and Wights seem to favour decapitating enemies.
* OutsideContextVillain: Most people assume they're all gone, if they believe they existed at all.
* RaisingTheSteaks: Old Nan said that they rode on undead horses. At the end of the second season finale we see that this is true.
* ScreamingWarrior: So far the only noise they have made are [[JustForPun bone chilling]] shrieks.
* StupidEvil: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]; a White Walker had the chance to kill Sam in "Valar Morghulis" but ignores him. Sam ends up killing the same Walker in "Second Sons" when it comes for Gilly's son.
* SuperStrength: One throws Sam's considerable bulk back several yards with a simple punch.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: But not in a good way.
* WasOnceAMan: [[spoiler:At least some were once human infants sacrificed to the White Walkers and converted to their race by the Night's King.]]
* WeaponizedWeakness: [[spoiler:The dragonglass blades at the Fist of the First Men.]]
* WalkingWasteland: They radiate cold from their bodies, and a blizzard follows them.
* WouldHurtAChild: Whatever they want with Craster's sons, it's unlikely to be nice. They might [[EatsBabies eat them]], or use them as some form of [[HumanSacrifice sacrifice]]. [[labelnote:From the books...]]Craster's wives believe they turn them into more of themselves, although Craster was also sacrificing his livestock to them as winter approached.[[/labelnote]]
** In "Oathkeeper", the truth is finally revealed with the last of Craster's babies. [[spoiler: A mysterious "King" of the White Walkers (or possibly even the Great Other) personally transforms it into a new White Walker. Confimed by HBO as the "Night's King", former commander of the Night's Watch and legendary enemy of the Night's Watch.]]
* ZombieApocalypse: They lead one during the Long Night thousands of years ago. And as of the second season finale, they're leading another straight against the Night's Watch.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Wights]]
!The Wights

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/game_of_thrones_wight_4082.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"They were touched by White Walkers. That's why they came back. That's why their eyes turned blue. Only fire will stop them."'']]

Corpses of humans and animals, raised by the White Walkers to act as their enforcers. Vulnerable only to fire.
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* ArmyOfTheDead: And it's heading straight for Westeros.
* CreepyBlueEyes: Not for the faint of heart.
* DemBones: Some of the more severely decayed ones are pretty much walking skeletons.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Their eyes don't glow like the White Walkers' do, but they do faintly glow.
* KillItWithFire: The only thing that can kill them. The Free Folk burn their dead to prevent their reanimation.
* MadeOfExplodium: They completely immolate in seconds when ignited. Good thing too or they'd be even more deadly.
* NightOfTheLivingMooks: On the way of becoming a full fledged ZombieApocalypse.
* {{Mooks}}: For the White Walkers.
* NoSell: Anything that you do will fail to hurt them, unless you burn them.
* OccultBlueEyes: The wights end up with this color, no matter what color their eyes were in life.
* OffWithHisHead: Seem to favour decapitating victims.
* OurWightsAreDifferent: They're invincible zombies (or in some cases, skeletons) capable of wielding weapons and working as an army, with fire being the only thing that can destroy them.
* ZombieGait: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]; Wights are almost just as fast in death as they were in life. The only thing humans seem to have on them is the ability to run, or so it seems. Completely skeletal examples have been seen running.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Spoiler Character]]
!The Night's King

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/468px_9278.jpg]]

->'''Ygritte:''' ''"We Free Folk have our stories, too. About how one of your King Crows found something... cold in the woods, with bright blue eyes. How he brought her home through your Wall and declared himself "Night's King."''

Thousands of years before the start of the series while the Night Watch was still young, the [[UnluckyThirteen thirteenth]] Lord Commander of the Nights Watch found a White Walker in the frozen forests of the north. He became entranced with her and took her to the Night Fort, where he became a king among the White Walkers. He began turning his brothers to their service and reigned as an EvilOverlord over the North committing unspeakable atrocities. An alliance of Wildlings and the Starks were finally able to end his rule, and all records of him and his true name were destroyed, his legacy fading into legend.

...That is, until "Oathkeeper" revealed he is still alive in the far north, and apparently still leads the White Walkers in rebuilding their army. He is not named in the episode, but HBO's official synopsis names him. [[{{Retcon}} Or did until the website was edited to remove mention of his title]]. His mere existence in the show however has massive implications for the book series, since he hasn't appeared in them yet and is presumed long dead.
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* AlwaysABiggerFish: Think ordinary White Walkers are terrifying? They're just the King's foot soldiers.
* AnIcePerson: The iciest of an entire race of Ice Persons.
* ArmyOfTheDead: Seems to be currently leading/directing one south. Unfortunately for every living thing in Westeros.
* BigBad: Quite possibly of the entire series, book and show alike.
* CreepyBlueEyes: Just like his foot soldiers.
* TheDragon: Possibly to the Great Other, which in the books is said to be the god of the White Walkers / The Others. And if he is, this is his field commander.
** DragonInChief: Even in the books, the Great Other does not appear to do anything except symbolize the futility of existence. The Night's King, on the other hand...
* TheDreaded: Almost more so than the "ordinary" White Walkers as he was both an unspeakably evil and sadistic tyrant while mortal, and a traitor to humanity and life itself due to him selling his body and soul to the White Walkers.
* EvilIsDeathlyCold: Has the power to turn a human baby into a young White Walker in seconds with a mere touch.
* EvilOverlord: Everyone was thinking that there are no remaining White Walkers in Westeros, and that the Night's King was dead. They're wrong. He even has a glowing green mountain of doom to call home.
* TheFairFolk: His minions capture human infants and he transforms them into new White Walkers.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: His eyes glow bright blue, just like the White Walkers.
* GodzillaThreshold: The last time he was seen, his presence and unspeakably evil crimes were enough to get both the Wildlings and the Starks to join forces and take him down, and also build a giant wall to keep him out.
* HumanoidAbomination: Moreso even than his minions given he is in charge of the world-ending army of wights and walkers and has powers even the White Walkers do not posses. This guy is basically an humanoid apocalypse.
* OccultBlueEyes: Just like the rest of the White Walkers.
* OutsideContextVillain: A meta example -- in the book series he was well-established in the backstory, but was presumed dead by characters and readers alike.
* ShoutOut: His horns greatly resemble [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Maul's]].
* TechnicallyASmile: His one appearance shows him smiling. It doesn't look happy or comforting.
** Though amusingly enough the baby he is holding seems both happy and comforted by it.
* TheUnexpected: ''No one'' has any idea that he is behind (or at least heavily involved with) the rising of the White Walkers. Not the Nights Watch, not Melisandre, no one. This is also a meta-example -- in the books, he was just a part of the series backstory, and readers had no way of knowing he would appear in the show.
** Though interestingly enough, The King of Winter, a character very similar to him appeared two years earlier in the ''Night's Watch'' supplement for the GreenRonin ''A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying Game''; the origin is different, being the monarch of the Others from before their fall, but his role as their Big Bad and king is essentially the same, and there's even a similar description regarding a deformity resembling a crown on his head.
* UnholyMatrimony: Finding a female White Walker in the woods and taking her home is what started him on his path to becoming the Night's King.
* UnknownRival: A slightly late contender for the War of Five Kings.
* WasOnceAMan: Was once a human Lord Commander of the Night's Watch who turned into a monstrous abomination, with the power to turn human infants into White Walkers as well.
* WalkingSpoiler: For both the series and the books, which he has not appeared in yet.
** So much so that it seems his identity was not even meant to be revealed so soon, given how hastily HBO removed all mention of him.
* WouldHurtAChild: He is shown converting a baby into a White Walker. However, hurt seems a little subjective, considering the myriad of far more terrible fan theories for what was being done to Craster's sons. The baby even appears more comforted.

[[/folder]]

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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/468px_9278.jpg]]

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nightking_4765.png]]

* OurWightsAreDifferent: They're invincible zombies capable of wielding weapons and working as an army, with fire being the only thing that can destroy them.

* WouldHurtAChild: He is shown converting a baby into a White Walker. Urgh...
** However, hurt seems a little subjective, considering the myriad of far more terrible fan theories for what was being done to Craster's sons. The baby even appears more comforted, than anything else.

* ZombieGait: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]; Wights are almost just as fast in death as they were in life. The only thing humans seem to have on them is the ability to run, or so it seems.

* AdaptationDyeJob: In the books, their armor is reflective and provides a sort of active camouflage. In the series, they don't wear much armor at all, and what little they do is pure black.

* AdaptationDyeJob: In the books, their armor is reflective and provides a sort of active camouflage. In the series, they don't wear much armor at all, and what little they do is fairly typical.

* AdaptationNameChange: They are most often referred to as "The Others" in the books, though "White Walkers" is occasionally used. The change is believed to have been made to avoid confusion with the... [[{{Series/Lost}} other Others]].
** That, and the fact that you can't hear the capital letter on TV, so it would sometimes be hard to tell whether characters would be talking about some "others" in general, or ''the'' Others.

* TheUnexpected: ''No one'' has any idea that he is behind (or at least heavily involved with) the rising of the White Walkers. Not the Nights Watch, not Melissandre, no one. This is also a meta-example -- in the books, he was just a part of the series backstory, and readers had no way of knowing he would appear in the show.

* AlwaysABiggerFish: [[spoiler:''Oathkeeper'' shows that the White Walkers we've seen so far seem to serve a higher power: the Night's King.]]

** Also, if you pay attention to the first episode's White Walker, you'll notice [[CoolSword his sword is made of ice]]. In ''Valar Morghulis'', the White Walkers are clearly wielding [[BladeOnAStick ice spears.]]
* ArmyOfTheDead: Invaded Westeros with an army of undead warriors during the Long Night. It is revealed in ''Valar Morghulis'' that they have a ''massive'' army of wights.

** [[spoiler:''Oathkeeper'' might have just revealed the BigBad for the entire series: the Night's King.]]

* ConflictKiller: In ''Mhysa'', Stannis abandons his campaign in the South after learning from the Night's Watch that the White Walkers have returned, knowing that if they manage to break through the Wall, it won't matter who sits upon the Iron Throne, ''everyone'' in Westeros will be screwed.

** Also, notice that in their first two appearances, they wielded swords and spears made of ice. [[labelnote:From the books...]]These ice weapons can freeze and shatter swords during a fight, as observed in the fight between Wayman Royce in the first chapter.[[/labelnote]] In ''Second Sons'', one of them froze and shattered Sam's sword just by grabbing it for a few seconds.

* GiantSpider: According to Old Nan, during the Long Night they had "pale spiders big as hounds" along with their undead horses. We don't see them in ''Valar Morghulis'', but given the sheer amount of terror that they inspire in both characters and viewers, do you really want to make it more horrifying?

* GodzillaThreshold: The last time they emerged from the Land of Always Winter, they did enough damage to Westeros to warrant the construction of the Wall and the formation of the Night's Watch just to ''try'' and keep them contained in the North. [[labelnote:From the books...]]According to legend, a previous Lord Commander of the Night's Watch was seduced and corrupted by a female White Walker and became the "Night's King", driving the King in the North to ally with the Wildlings to kill him and his Queen. [[/labelnote]] [[spoiler: As of ''Oathkeeper'', he's not dead.]]

* OffscreenTeleportation: As demonstrated in ''Winter is Coming'', when the [[MadArtist pattern of corpses]] managed to vanish in less than a few minutes with no trace whatsoever, they can be surprisingly effective at this when they want to be.

* StupidEvil: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]; a White Walker had the chance to kill Sam in ''Valar Morghulis'' but ignores him. Sam ends up killing the same Walker in ''Second Sons'' when it comes for Gilly's son.

** In ''Oathkeeper'', the truth is finally revealed with the last of Craster's babies. [[spoiler: A mysterious "King" of the White Walkers (or possibly even the Great Other) personally transforms it into a new White Walker. Confimed by HBO as the "Night's King", former commander of the Night's Watch and legendary enemy of the Night's Watch.]]

...That is, until ''Oathkeeper'' revealed he is still alive in the far north, and apparently still leads the White Walkers in rebuilding their army. He is not named in the episode, but HBO's official synopsis names him. [[{{Retcon}} Or did until the website was edited to remove mention of his title]]. His mere existence in the show however has massive implications for the book series, since he hasn't appeared in them yet and is presumed long dead.

!!Tropes:

* AlwaysABiggerFish: [[spoiler:"Oathkeeper" shows that the White Walkers we've seen so far seem to serve a higher power: the Night's King.]]

* ArmyOfTheDead: Invaded Westeros with an army of undead warriors during the Long Night. It is revealed in "Valar Morghulis" that they have a ''massive'' army of wights.

* BiggerBad: To the War of the Five Kings and the villainous characters responsible for it (Tywin, Joffrey, Littlefinger, Balon etc.). Their threat overshadows any other in the setting, but most factions aren't even aware of them and facing lesser but more immediate enemies. Commander Mormont lampshades to Jon that while the War of the Five Kings is beginning now, if the Walkers descend on the Seven Kingdoms, it won't matter who wins.
** [[spoiler:"Oathkeeper" might have just revealed the BigBad for the entire series: the Night's King.]]

** Also, notice that in their first two appearances, they wielded swords and spears made of ice. [[labelnote:From the books...]]These ice weapons can freeze and shatter swords during a fight, as observed in the fight between Wayman Royce in the first chapter.[[/labelnote]] In "Second Sons", one of them froze and shattered Sam's sword just by grabbing it for a few seconds.

* GiantSpider: According to Old Nan, during the Long Night they had "pale spiders big as hounds" along with their undead horses. We don't see them in "Valar Morghulis", but given the sheer amount of terror that they inspire in both characters and viewers, do you really want to make it more horrifying?

* GodzillaThreshold: The last time they emerged from the Land of Always Winter, they did enough damage to Westeros to warrant the construction of the Wall and the formation of the Night's Watch just to ''try'' and keep them contained in the North. [[labelnote:From the books...]]According to legend, a previous Lord Commander of the Night's Watch was seduced and corrupted by a female White Walker and became the "Night's King", driving the King in the North to ally with the Wildlings to kill him and his Queen. [[/labelnote]] [[spoiler: As of "Oathkeeper", he's not dead.]]

* OffscreenTeleportation: As demonstrated in "Winter is Coming", when the [[MadArtist pattern of corpses]] managed to vanish in less than a few minutes with no trace whatsoever, they can be surprisingly effective at this when they want to be.

** In Oathkeeper the truth is finally revealed with the last of Craster's babies. [[spoiler: A mysterious "King" of the White Walkers (or possibly even the Great Other) personally transforms it into a new White Walker. Confimed by HBO as the "Night's King", former commander of the Night's Watch and legendary enemy of the Night's Watch.]]

!!Tropes:

...That is, until "Oathkeeper" revealed he is still alive in the far north, and apparently still leads the White Walkers in rebuilding their army. He is not named in the episode, but HBO's official synopsis names him. [[{{Retcon}} Or did until the website was edited to remove mention of his title]]. His mere existence in the show however has massive implications for the book series, since he hasn't appeared in them yet and is presumed long dead.

!!Tropes:

* BiggerBad: At this point he is easily the strongest contender for the position given how massive a threat his armies are and his own nightmarish history. Of course so far he is just hiding in the furthest northern wasteland, biding his time and building his forces...for now at least.

* AchillesHeel: [[spoiler:Dragonglass, or obsidian. Being stabbed with it causes their bodies to turn rapidly into ice, before shattering violently. After all, what's the opposite of ice? Volcanic glass.]]

* [[spoiler:AlwaysABiggerFish: "Oathkeeper" shows that the White Walkers we've seen so far seem to serve a higher power: the Night's King.]]

* [[spoiler: BadassFamily: An unknown (but large) number of them were culled from Craster's sons.]]

* ConflictKiller: [[spoiler:In ''Mhysa'', Stannis abandons his campaign in the South after learning from the Night's Watch that the White Walkers have returned, knowing that if they manage to break through the Wall, it won't matter who sits upon the Iron Throne, ''everyone'' in Westeros will be screwed.]]

** Also, notice that in their first two appearances, they wielded swords and spears made of ice. [[labelnote:From the books...]]These ice weapons can freeze and shatter swords during a fight, as observed in the fight between Wayman Royce in the first chapter.[[/labelnote]] [[spoiler:In the last episode, one of them froze and shattered Sam's sword just by grabbing it for a few seconds.]]

* LiterallyShatteredLives: [[spoiler:When killed with dragonglass]].

* OhCrap: The White Walker that [[spoiler:Sam]] kills has this reaction after it realises it's been stabbed with [[spoiler:dragonglass.]]

* StupidEvil: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]; a White Walker had the chance to kill Sam in ''Valar Morghulis'' but ignores him. [[spoiler:Sam ends up killing the same Walker in ''Second Sons'' when it comes for Gilly's son.]]

* [[spoiler:WasOnceAMan: At least some were once human infants sacrificed to the White Walkers and converted to their race by the Night's King.]]

* GodzillaThreshold: The last time he was seen, his presence and unspeakably evil crimes were enough to get both the Wildlings and the Starks to join forces and take him down.

* [[spoiler: BadassFamily: An unknown (but large) number of them were culled from Craster's sons]]

** So much so that it seems his identity was not even meant to be revealed so soon given how hastily HBO removed all mention of him.

...that is until "Oathkeeper" revealed he is still alive in the far north, and apparently still leads the White Walkers in rebuilding their army. He is not named in the episode, but HBO's official synopsis names him. [[{{Retcon}} Or did until the website was edited to remove mention of his title]]. His mere existence in the show however has massive implications for the book series, since he hasn't appeared in them yet and is presumed long dead.