Summary

• The opening scene of Game of Thrones sets the tone for the series, highlighting the threat of the White Walkers and the supernatural elements.
• The circular pattern of bodies symbolizes the mysterious and sinister nature of the White Walkers throughout the series.
• The White Walkers foreshadow an existential conflict, pushing characters to unite against a common enemy beyond the political power struggles.

The very first scene of HBO's Game of Thrones, which adapts George R.R. Martin's novel Game of Thrones from the series A Song of Ice and Fire, opens with an eerie and tension-filled sequence beyond the Wall. The scene tells the audience how high the stakes are and introduces them to the supernatural threat of the series, known as the White Walkers.

The opening scene sets the tone for the fantasy series as members of the Night's Watch encounter dismembered Wildling bodies arranged in a mysterious, ritualistic pattern in the snow. It's soon discovered that the bodies are positioned in a circular pattern with a line through the center, resembling a symbol. The significance of the scene grows as the series unfolds, becoming a crucial moment for the themes in the show.

Introducing the White Walkers

The gruesome sight sets the stage for the supernatural elements throughout the series. There's a haunting undertone that gives fans the notion that a macabre entity is responsible for the arrangement of the bodies. There's a threat to humanity, with blue glowing eyes, though audiences won't fully understand what they saw until much later.

There's a sense of dread and anticipation as the story unfolds season after season. As the White Walkers continue marching south, the characters and fans feel the weight of their presence. Each episode adds tension to the show, letting fans know there's an inevitable collision between the living and the dead. There's a sense that time is running out, and every decision and every action plays into who will live and who will die. The White Walkers are more than villains. They represent the existential struggle at the center of the television series, reminding audiences that there are more harrowing threats in the world than conflicts between houses.

The Pattern of Bodies in Game of Thrones

These supernatural beings have an otherworldly quality; they're meant to represent everything that humans aren't. With their symbolic display, the scene establishes that the White Walkers are a formidable force and remain a mystery to the other characters in the series. The intelligence of these creatures is immediately established and communicates that they have a sinister purpose.

There are several instances throughout the series where the same circular or spiral pattern appears, suggesting a magical connection to the White Walkers. The symbol is seen again in the Season 1 finale, "Fire and Blood," as Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) decides to burn Khal Drogo's (Jason Momoa) body, the witch Mirri Maz Dur, her dragon eggs, and herself. The next instance would be in Season 3, Episode 3, "Walk of Punishment," Jon Snow (Kit Harington) sees the design, this time made up of dead horses, and learns that it's not the first time this pattern has appeared.

In Season 6, Episode 5, "The Door," Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) encounters the Night King for the first time and has a vision of how he came to be. Then, in Season 7, Episode 4, "The Spoils of War," Jon shows Daenerys the caves of Dragonstone, and similar shapes are seen in the paintings. He also reveals that the Children of the Forest used similar patterns, and the White Walkers copied their symbols.

In a behind-the-scenes interview with HBO for Season 7, Episode 4, David Benioff, the showrunner, confirmed the connection between the Children of the Forest and the White Walkers.

"One of the things we learn from these cave paintings is that the White Walkers didn't come up with those images; they derived them from their creators, the Children of the Forest. These are patterns that have mystical significance for the Children of the Forest. We're not sure exactly what they signify, but spiral patterns are important in different cultures in our world, and it makes sense that they would be in this world as well."

This was reiterated by Dave Hill, a writer on the series, who spoke about the symbol in an interview with the New York Post.

"As we saw with Bran and the Three-Eyed Raven, the spiral pattern was sacred to the Children of the Forest, who created the Night King by sacrificing a captured man in a spiral 'henge of stones.' The Night King then adopted the symbol as a sort of blasphemy, like Satan with the upside-down cross."

Foreshadowing The Last War in Game of Thrones

As the series progresses, the political side of the plot becomes more and more intriguing as Daenerys sets sail for Westeros to face Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) for the Iron Throne, which is what the entire series has been leading to. While the majority of the characters in the show are concerned with betrayals and power struggles, the White Walkers are getting closer to destroying the Wall, the only thing separating them from the Seven Kingdoms.

Their arrival is a forewarning of a deeper, existential conflict that transcends personal ambitions for the Iron Throne. They are motivated by their agenda and have no interest in the political scheming of men. As the danger posed by the White Walkers continues to grow, Jon pleads for the fighting to cease and urges the Seven Kingdoms to unite against the common enemy, the army of the dead.

The White Walkers become a catalyst for the formation of unlikely alliances, as realizing the threat they pose forces the key players to set aside their insignificant differences. Of course, this eventually leads to yet another backstabbing move from Cersei. However, the fight for a chair loses its relevance when humanity's survival is on the line. The entire Game of Thrones series is streaming on Max. The spinoff series House of the Dragon premieres its second season on June 16.