Game of Thrones' final seasons built up several big bads, but one of the biggest was the Night King. The leader of the White Walkers, his forthcoming invasion was a major plot thread and the resolution of the plot (Arya killing him) was a big disappointment to many viewers, one of many things that annoyed them about the show. The irony of the whole situation was that there were plenty of characters at the Battle of Winterfell who would have been better fighting the Night King.
Any of these other characters fighting the Night King would have been a lot cooler and could have helped salvage fans' perception of the battle.
10 If A Young Girl Had To Kill The Night King, It Should Have Been Lady Lyanna Mormont Of Bear Island
Lady Lyanna Mormont of Bear Island became a fan-favorite character in her first appearance and was one of the highlights of the last seasons. This preteen girl was tough as nails and a great leader, leading her House even after losing her family in the Red Wedding. She got a pretty good death in the Battle of Winterfell, but seeing her fight the Night King would have been amazing.
While it was doubtful she was going to survive the battle —the writers had fallen back on that old Game of Thrones chestnut of killing a fan favorite— her fighting the Night King and killing him before succumbing to her own injuries would have been much better than what they went with.
9 The Hound Could Have Used The Fight As A Warm-Up For The Cleganebowl
Everyone knew that Sandor "the Hound" Clegane was meant to battle his brother Gregor but seeing him get a warm-up against another undead enemy could have been pretty great. The Hound could match the Night King's skill and have a great fight with him. In fact, if the writers were determined to have Arya kill him, this would have still worked.
The Hound could have been losing the fight to the Night King when Arya got involved, saving her friend with a stealthy attack and giving them a cool double kill. It would have given Arya yet another hero moment and played into their relationship as well.
8 Samwell Tarly Had The Second Most Experience With White Walkers & A Valyrian Steel Blade
Samwell Tarly's arc throughout the series was realizing that he wasn't just the fat coward his family said he was. He was one of the only Night's Watchmen to survive the Fist of the First Men and even killed a White Walker. He stood up to his father, stole his family's Valyrian steel blade, found love with Gilly, and proved his worth.
A nice plot development, though, would have been him coming face to face with the Night King and standing his ground, using his ancestral sword to defeat the leader of the White Walkers. He would have a cool moment, one that showed that he wasn't the coward everyone said he was.
7 Jorah Mormont Could Have Met His End Saving Daenerys From The Night King
While the show made a lot of changes from the books, one of the things that didn't change was Jorah Mormont's betrayal of Daenerys. In the show, he made amends and they fought side by side at the Battle of Winterfell. Mormont pretty much had to die, so what better death than saving Daenerys from the ultimate evil?
While Jorah doesn't have a Valyrian steel blade, there were plenty of dragonglass daggers everywhere and the fight could have been great —the Night King beating him down, inexorably coming for him, and stabbing him. Thinking the fight is over, the Night King goes for Daenerys but Jorah stabs the wight from behind with a dragonglass dagger, saving the woman he loves and dying a hero.
6 Davos Seaworth Really Didn't Get Anything Cool To Do During The Battle
Davos Seaworth was a fan-favorite character and even though he was a knight, he didn't have any cool battle scenes to his name. He was at the Battle of Winterfell but his role in it was relatively minor and it would have been good for his fans, seemingly everyone, to get to see him do something cool in battle.
Letting Davos fight and kill the Night King would have given his fans a great moment that he lacked throughout his time on the show: a cool fight. Seeing Davos survive against the big bad would have been wonderful.
5 Tyrion Killing The Night King Would Have Shown He Is A Fighter Too
Tyrion was more known for his cunning and knowledge of history than his fighting skill, but that doesn't mean he couldn't fight. In fact, several times in the show, Tyrion proved that he could go if he needed to and another chance to prove that would have been in battle with the Night King.
Tyrion wasn't the most skilled fighter around but he was still pretty good and seeing him take down the Night King could have been a cool moment —a classic David and Goliath situation where a person not known for fighting is able to triumph over a more powerful foe.
4 Jamie Lannister Versus The Night King Would Have Showed Him Overcoming His Disability
Jamie Lannister was once of the greatest swordsmen in Westeros before losing his sword hand. However, he trained and trained, becoming proficient with his off-hand. This allowed him to survive the Battle of Winterfell but it would have been better if he got a chance to fight and defeat the Night King.
It would have shown that he regained his lost skill and would have been a nice capstone to his redemption arc, especially if he got to save Brand by killing the Night King, a nice full-circle moment for a character that fans had grown to love in spite of his terrible earlier actions.
3 Brienne Had The Valyrian Sword & The Skill To Take Out The Night King
Brienne of Tarth was one of the best fighters in the Battle of Winterfell, helping hold back the undead hordes. She was also armed with the Valyrian steel sword Oathkeeper and had some pretty great armor as well. Brienne felt underused in the battle, so putting her against the Night King would have been ideal.
She had finally been knighted the night before the battle, so seeing her survive to battle and destroy the Night King would have been a nice touch and played into her future role as leader of Bran's Kingsguard if she saved him from the undead horror.
2 The Night King Took One Of Her Dragons, So Daenarys Should Have Take His Life
Daenerys didn't get a lot of hero moments in the final season. In fact, she mostly got the opposite. Being a Targaryean, with their sordid history, worked against her but having her kill the Night King would have been an excellent moment for her character, one last high before the lows to come.
While she wasn't known as the best fighter, having her kill the Night King would have been fitting for her and made the way the North later rejected her even more hurtful. It all could have played into the inevitable end of her storyline and give her some revenge against Viserion's killer.
1 Jon Snow Needed Something Great To Do In The Final Season & Fighting The Night King Could Have Been It
Jon Snow got woefully little to do in the final season. Other than killing Daenerys, everything else he did was kind of underwhelming, at best. He was supposed to be the big hero but the writing was never there, so him killing the Night King would have given him something he desperately needed.
Jon Snow was such a huge part of the show and the final season underserved him in every way. Letting him take out the Night King would have been something cool to do that would have gone a long way towards justifying his character's role in things.
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