Game of Thrones season 8 theories: Will the Night King raise dead Starks in Winterfell crypts?

Those thinking they’re most safe during next week’s big Game of Thrones battle could be in more danger than anybody else.

The latest episode of the HBO series, titled “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”, put all the pieces in place ahead of the White Walker showdown that’ll mark the series’ longest ever episode next week.

We know that newly-appointed knight, Ser Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) will lead her own army, including Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Podrick (Daniel Portman), while a whole host of inexperienced Winterfell dwellers will fight to save Westeros from an icy fate.

The episode kept hammering home one thing, though: that the crypts will be the safest place to be. Gilly (Hannah Murray) will be there alongside all the children of Winterfell and, at the request of Daenerys (Emilia Clarke), she’ll be joined by her Hand of the Queen, Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage).

It turns out these characters could be in serious danger without realising it. Viewers would have noticed that, at the end of episode two, the White Walkers approached Winterfell with the Night King nowhere in sight.

One terrifying theory, from Reddit user The_Saucequatch, suggests that he’s sneaked off to the crypts to recruit all those dead Stark ancestors, including John’s mother Lyanna, to his army, much like he did Daenerys’ dragaon, Viserion, in season seven

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“The Night King, to invoke chaos, will raise the long deceased Starks of the crypt to attack and convert the women and children into white walkers,” the theory goes.

Backing this up is a moment in the trailer that sees Dany exclaim: “The Night King is here.”

If the crypt theory comes true, could fans see Sean Bean cameo as a White Walker? Considering its the final season, it's not completely off the cards.

The latest episode of the series featured a controversial Arya scene that actor Maisie Williams thought was a prank when she first read the script.

You can find our extensive ranking of every character – from worst to best – here and our definitive episode ranking below.

Game of Thrones is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK.