Highlights
- The Long Night was a terrifying period in Westeros where White Walkers, zombie-like creatures, invaded from the north, but was ultimately defeated by the alliance of the children of the forest and the First Men.
- Dragonglass was discovered as a weapon against the White Walkers, and the Night's Watch pushed them back, ending the Long Night and leading to the construction of the Wall, separating the Land of Always Winter from the rest of Westeros.
- In the TV show, the Long Night is depicted in a single night at Winterfell, with Arya killing the Night King, but in the novels, the events are yet to occur and are expected to be similar.
There was a period of time in Westeros that saw darkness completely blanket the skies. This was a terrible time for the living as it saw the rise of a nearly demonic race of monsters that were nigh impossible to kill. At the time, the living called these monsters the Others, but audiences know them better as White Walkers, the icy zombie-like creatures that reside in the far north of Westeros beyond the great wall. The Long Night lasted for a generation.
People within the A Song of Ice and Fire novels remember the Long Night, especially the Night's Watch. It was a terrible time that could have continued if not for the discovery of dragonglass and its zombie-killing properties. Much of Jon Snow's adventures throughout the novels become him trying to prevent a new Long Night from occurring, which even the red priestess Melisandre believes is coming.
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When did The Long Night Occur?
Don't confuse The Long Night for the third episode of Game of Thrones's eighth and final season. While that was an intense night filled with death and grief, there was a much more terrible Long Night that occurred eons before the events of the series. The show mentions it several times, but the novels explain it much better.
Quick Facts
- A period of time when a terrible darkness fell over the known world
- White Walkers invaded Westeros from the north
- Children of the forest and the First Men join forces
- Ended with the creation of the Wall, separating the Land of Always Winter from the rest of Westeros
- Also the name of season eight's third episode in the Game of Thrones TV series
The Long Night was a long-lasting event that took place eight thousand years, even before Aegon Targaryen conquered most of Westeros. To make things worse, it took place during a great winter that lasted for years, thus why all of Westeros always warns, "Winter is coming." This terrible event lasted for nearly 30 years.
While identically horrific, the TV show's episode "The Long Night" only lasted a single night and took place in Winterfell. The Stark homeland served as the last bastion for Westeros. If the defenses there fell, the White Walkers would have trampled through the remaining armies with ease as nobody listened to Jon Snow's pleas.
What Happened During The Long Night?
During the original Long Night, the White Walkers marched south from the far north of Westeros, referred to as the Land of Always Winter, and attempted to conquer the world. The children of the forest, Westeros's original non-human inhabitants, and the First Men formed an alliance to defeat the monsters from the North but were driven farther south than they wanted. Everything about the Others was cold, as they wielded blades of ice, and winter followed in their footsteps. Making them even more resilient, they raised the recently killed to fight the living.
The tides turned when the children of the forest and the First Men discovered weapons made from dragonglass permanently damaged and killed the White Walkers. The first order of the Night's Watch pushed the invaders back with this knowledge, initiating the Battle for the Dawn.
The events of the TV show saw Jon and Daenerys mount their dragons and engage the Night King in aerial combat as he rides on the back of a newly resurrected Viserion. An undead dragon is easily one of the most frightening beasts in the fantasy genre. The three eventually disembarked their dragons to engage in a more personal battle. However, the Night King isn't one to fight fair and raises the dead from Winterfell's crypts, forcing Jon to flee and find Bran.
When did The Long Night End?
The Battle for the Dawn marked the ending of the Long Night. The Others and the Night's Watch engaged an epic battle that pushed the White Walker back to the Land of Always Winter, the northern most region of Westeros. Brandon Stark, otherwise known as Bran the Builder, would go on to construct the monstrous wall that stretched the entire expanse of land from the Gorge in the west to the Shivering Sea in the east. The wall, made of ice, gravel, and magic, cut off the Land of Always Winter from the rest of Westeros and prevented the White Walkers from marching south again. From then on, the Night's Watch kept watch, occupying various fortresses spread out across the Wall.
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With the Long Night ended and dawn approaching, Bran the Builder went on to create House Stark and earn the title King of Winter. He would also build Winterfell and become the first king of the north. His name would live on through the years, and his deeds never be forgotten, especially by his descendants.
While HBO's Game of Thrones' Long Night events have yet to occur in the novels, many believe it will be similar. The TV series iteration of the Long Night ended when Arya Stark outwitted the Night King and stabbed him with a Valyrian steel dagger, forcing him and his army to disintegrate. The episode received a lot of criticism for being rushed, not as grandiose as it deserved, and being too dark in some parts, making it difficult to make out what was taking place. However, it was an intense battle that saw many significant characters, such as Theon, Jorah, and Melisandre, meet their end.
No matter how anyone feels about that episode of the show's final season, Arya had a great line just before killing the Night King. Melisandra echos the very same question Arya's old mentor Syrio Forel asked her: "What do we say to the God of Death?" Arya responds with:
Not today.
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones, based on the Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R.R. Martin, tells the sprawling story of warring families in Westeros. This includes the Starks, the Lannisters, the Baratheons, and the Targaryens. Along with human conflicts, Westeros is also threatened by the re-emergence of dragons, and an undead enemy from beyond the Wall.
