I think its pretty clear what this all means... there will be a dance off between the Others and the kingsguard.

I like the interpretation of Patchface's "the shadows come to dance my lord" to be a reference to the Others based off of Waymar's "let's dance" invitation to the one he fought.

It appears plausible/likely (to me, at least) that the Others are the "kingsguard" to the weirwood network, having been former children of the forest who weaponized themselves with magic to fight men. Unlike D&D's inability to adapt and write for magical characters, I think Martin intends to have the others triumph at Winterfell and make it to the God's eye, the central hub of the weirwood network. I think part of the resolution that men, the others and the children came to in order to end the long night is to have a weirwood tree in every godswood, so that the children/others could watch if man were being faithful to the resolution. I think mankind has done something to betray that resolution recently, and now the others have seen that and are coming to reclaim their sacred site. So, it's likely we'll learn something new at the God's eye about the origin of the others, the importance of the weirwoods, how the long night ended, and what the others truly want. In GoT, D&D made the others into the stereotypical zombie-like, semi-mindless, pure evil fantasy monster that Martin goes to great lengths to avoid. I'm looking forward to it (hopefully) in Winds of Winter.

Also.. Wymar's "Let's dance.." is so f'n badass. To have that much courage in the face of such terrifying foes... definitely bad ass.. lol..

LML: "if I tried to tell you what it all means, we would need another 20 minutes of video" Me: "Yes please" Oh well guess I'll re-watch the Moons of Ice and Fire videos while I wait.

Is it possible that the King's guard are described so similar to the Others so that the reader would begin to recognize the Others as being King's guards in their own right? A Night/Night's King has yet to be revealed, if ever but it would be fair to assume that someone is leading them. At the very least it could be suggesting that there is a hierarchy to the White Walkers and not just some evil entity without structure or culture.

One idea I haven't seen mentioned yet has to do with the degradation of the KG, with them starting out as a noble "band of brothers" sworn to protect the king while slowly over time becoming lazy, weak and self-interested. Maybe the Others originally served a noble purpose as well, protecting something (or someone) valuable which ensured the order of the world remain stable (much like the king is supposed to ensure the safety of his people and the realm), but over time they lost sight of that original purpose. Also I wonder if there is an intended parallel between the KG starting out as people who were picked based on their loyalty to the king but over time became more of a mechanism of nepotism (like the Lannister's appointing Sandor to the KG) and the Others having to rely on Craster for their offspring. Maybe the two things thing I mentioned, degradation of purpose and selection process of its members are somehow linked.

My conclusion: The Others have a King/Queen, and they are his/her elite guard. Is it the Night's King? His Corpse Queen? The important part is that the Great Other is real!

Throwing this out there, probably won't happen, but what if the final duel against the Others or even the not-Night-King leader of the Others mirrors the fight at the Tower of Joy? Jon plays the role of Ned. The Others are the Kingsguard with their leader filling in for Arthur Dayne. Lastly, Arya acts as Howland Reed, sneaking up and saving Jon by killing the Others with the Cat's Paw. Again, probably baseless nonsense, but it's a thought I had while watching this.

The way I feel about Waymar Royce is pretty much the very definition of grudging respect. He was a dick, but when the time came, he invited an ice demon to "dance with him". Pretty gangster.

I like to imagine the white walkers cold as dry ice, it would kind of explain why characters see them shimmering even in the cold north.

Could the Others be a 'kingsguard' themselves? Maybe they killed Waymar because he wasn't the king they are looking for ::cough::jon::cough:: . Kingsguard aren't supposed to marry or have children, so if the WW are a kingsguard, it would explain why they need Craster's sons.

Hell yeah, so glad you put this out! Every time I re-read the books and come across these passages, it’s so cool to know GrrM is dropping clues about the Others. They are the Kingsguard of the Weirwoods! 🥶

Ser Barristan and THE SERIOUS MOONLIGHT.❤

Definitely something worth thinking about. I always felt that it's just hard to describe the color white in a ton of ways, esp in a book with soooo many words. But GRRM is extremely deliberate with the stuff he writes.

Before watching: YES I’ve been waiting for this. Time to grab a beer and dig in. After watching: mind blown. I’ve never considered these parallels but it makes perfect sense. Lovely breakdown LML. As to what it all MEANS.... something something ice and fire. I really don’t know, but I’ll definitely be contemplating it for a while.

I think the Others are a group of “kings guards” but it is a Queen they serve. She is the Nights Queen of the old tales. They bring her babies to raise in her ice palace because she is so old and cannot have children of her own anymore. The Night King is being kept prisoner at the ancient prison that is now Winterfell. She is perhaps waiting for him to escape, planning a rescue herself come winter or maybe even waiting for a prophetic prince to join her and be her new King. This could be why GRRM shows such parallels with the kings guards of Westeros and especially why Dany’s Queens guard Barriston is shown to symbolically become a skeleton garbed in Ice that is 100% loyal and devoted to her. Edit : remember the idea that the Night Queen was from BARROWTON ... well look at SER Barriston name. It has the beginning “BARR” in it.

I would have liked the White Walkers to be depicted as having a frozen elven appearance, like having a fair cold deadly beauty like how frozen landscapes can have a certain fair beauty

You continue to produce the most interesting, thought-provoking content in the whole ASOIAF community (along with Quinn). Keep up the amazing work

Hey lml. Just recently read the books for the first time, and dove in to your channel, and I have a question: You've talked a lot about the symbolism surrounding the lightbringer monomyth in GRRM's world, and their connection to real world lightbringer myths about deities associated with "The Morning Star", (venus as it appears in the morning in December, signaling that winter is ending.) You've also shown the significance of the symbolism around House Dayne, their sword Dawn, and title "Sword of the Morning". The counterpart to The Morning Star is The Evening Star, which is also Venus, as it appears in the sky in June to signal, well, that winter is coming. Or I guess more accurately, that summer is ending. In some cultures the Morning Star and Evening Star are two separate deities who are opposite reflections, and in some it is a single deity of a dualistic nature. GRRM has created different Archetypal versions of Azor Ahai that reflect all of these different versions of real world Morning Star myths, as well as characters who embody all of these Archetypes. So, finally, my question: Have you already thought of House Tarth's symbolism as an opposite reflection of House Dayne, and Brienne as an embodiment of an Evening Star Archetype?

I had this old suspicion that the faith of the seven was connected to the the white walkers. This reminded me of it.

Great video LML. Probably one of the best regarding the problem of solving the puzzle that is asoiaf. I'm your recent fan. I had made the same connection while obsessing over the Others. Note that there were six of them in the prologue, maybe looking for the seventh - Lord Commander of the Godsguard? But more likely they were looking for the Nights King, and the seventh is some character we already know? Also, Mandon Moore... Maybe the seventh? There is almost certainly something more than him being ordered to kill Tyrion by Cercei. He seems to me like an Other somehow in human form, influencing Joffrey to make decisions that he made. "Mandon has pale grey eyes, oddly flat and lifeless" - sounds like someone else we know. Roose Bolton, my favorite vampire :) There is so much I wanna write right now, but so little time. But, as a conclusion, a Targaryen king (with two sisters preferably), with the seven of the Kingsguard - a frozen fire - OBSIDIAN. Also, a seven-pointed star is a regular heptagram {7/3} (Blue Star Wicca) - seven points with lines connecting every third. Seven against three. Keep up the great work my man.

I'll never get over grrm naming a kings guard Mandy Moore

I really enjoyed this, I took English literature in college and it’s so enjoyable seeing that analytical style being applied to my favourite literary work of all time. Thank you and keep doing what you’re doing!

I was too caught up with Barristan the Gandalf while reading his sample TWOW (how could I not? The siege of Meereen is very purposefully GRRM's own siege of Minas Tirith) so it's good to pay attention to some of the other semiotics associated to Selmy for a change. Good video!

Can you please make a "woman yelling at cat" meme, but it's you yelling at people who use your theories without permission or attribution? That would make my freaking day

If The Others are representative of the Kingsguard, we can look at the Tower of Joy to consider what they represent. What is a Kingsguard with no king to guard? With Rhaegar dead, they chose to stay and guard baby Jon Snow, the prince that was promised. Perhaps the "king" they serve may be more abstract, but is similarly gone, leaving them a grim duty that will play into their lost "king's" will. Bran's in there somewhere, maybe their king is the Weirdwood itself. Or maybe they're in a pyramid scheme, and each Other needs to get 3 babies to make 3 Others, who themselves must recruit 3 more each... This is symbolized by Dani's pyramid where we see Selmy. It's no wonder the First Men were so desperate to keep them out. This parallel's the Great Wall of China, as it also served to keep the Huns away.

I like that the idea that the Others are an extremely advanced shadow cast by Lightbringer, just like Melisandre's but so much more powerful - after all, the brightest light casts the brightest shadows, or so she says, and we have plenty of hints that Lightbringer is as terrible as it is bright

Thank you! The symbolism of the "Other King's Guard" implies many ideas simultaneously. To name a few, there's foreshadowing the the king-of-the-moment's death, the idea of sovereignty and control, the baby prince that was promised, the mirrored and chess-like kingships of life and death, etc. etc. etc. So rich.

I mean the fighting part could just be Georges style and taste of describing extremely good fighters...but that just takes care of one aspect of these parallels. Great content LmL.

This. THIS is why George's writing is so far beyond anything that most people can comprehend. You can read his books and enjoy them. Then you start reading the subtext and the true sense of dread starts creeping into you in a way it didn't before. And this is also why I extend a middle finger to anyone who's like "jUst fiNIsH tHe boOkS AlReadY" Also you are kinda like the asoiaf fandom's rafiki. Very clever and wise but also a massive goofball

I love how obvious the comparisons seem after you explain it but its all things I never picked up on during either of my read through. Mad analytical skill props!!!

Respect to Waymar Royce backing up his talk

GRRM is the best symbolic writer I've ever read in my life!! He's so damn good at it.. Thanks for this video, LML!

Not only is the content top tier (as always), but the editing made this so enjoyable to watch! I really appreciate your insight and knowledge paired with this unique editing style. Wishing you good health!

I will laugh if the Others are actually the heroes this whole time. I'm beginning to highly suspect GRRM to have been messing with us, and for him to flip the script in the last two books.

Excitedddd. Been waiting since he said this was coming

"Like milk-glass" is such an interesting description. I imagine glass suspended in glass like a fog so dense that it is opaque. On the other hand, wtf is milk-glass. George uses the term like we all grew up with it. The cool thing is that it doesn't matter if one has no idea. The description works regardless. That is expertise.

I like the idea that Dawn (with all its fiery sun imagery) is a sword made from ice magic steel and Ice was a sword made from Valerian/fire-magic steel

Thanks for all your hard work, enjoying the activity of the channel after such a long night when winterfell i missed u , love the short vids n the live streaming thank you

2nd comment: I always thought Jaime's kingsguard/others dream would've been an awesome season 8 promo trailer. Especially since it implies Jaime and Brienne will both fight the Others, but Jaime would die defending Jon in the process. An end most fans predicted for him I believe, even if they hadn't read the books. And it would've been a nice nod to the source material for the final season. But I suppose D&D chose to forego the opportunity because they knew the bricks were coming🤷‍♀️.

I'm amazed by the depth and breadth of knowledge that Lightbringer, and others, possess on this subject. I, myself, have read all of the books, but it's abundantly clear that he actually studies them in minute detail, poring over their pages like a Maester of the Citadel.

Your Thin White Duke - 'serious moonlight' line is much appreciated my good man 💜

Best channel on youtube ! Wish we could smoke a bowl and theorize about A Dream of Spring.

My questions , since I’ve kind of considered this before myself, are things like: will their king also have a direwolf? I imagine the white walkers are the 12 who died going in search of the COTF (according to the stories), but even his dog died. Was it a direwolf? Was this their king? Is Jon his successor?

God that Loros artwork is so beautiful. I think it just him having poetic fun with prose or maybe implying the others are the ‘kings guard’ of the great other or a higher being , but I think it just him having fun poetic prose

Honestly, why isn't this channel bigger? Thanks for the great content Lml

This was a video I was skirting around watching because for some reason I was thinking it would be far fetched, but the descriptive parallels you've shown are actually some of the most convincing work you've put out in my opinion. I've been completing the series for the first time using audio versions and these videos have convinced me I'll need physical copies quite soon so I can pour back over the words themselves.

All the work you have done for the series is so unique and eye opening. You have reveled many secrets and an overall understanding of ASOIAF, but I think more than that, you have discovered a way (Georges way rather) that each characters arc is laid out. And now that the story makes more sense we can guess at the many paths of the future ( when expectations are subverted it will be because their are so many options). Here's to your health!

I love your channel is growing stronger LML, you definetly have unique theories and some of the deepest analisys on ASOIAF.

GRRM does nothing by accident

Great new feel to the visuals in this vid!! Excellent theory too, of course 🌛🌜

I am so scared we won't get A dream of Spring ☹❤ Asoiaf is a masterpiece and my favourite series ever

I love your videos the Most, Scarecrow. ❤️ It takes me awhile to get through them because I am forever rewinding to gaze at the images and pausing to laugh at the jokes. Throughout, I have goosebumps as you peel back the layers to show the beauty and the secrets in the symbols, giving us a glimpse of the future and the past in the story. As much as I want the next book, I am so grateful to have this time to enjoy your content before I have Winds in my hand. My experience of the story is much enriched by your work. 🌳♥️🌳

what a great video to wake up to. Cheers LML!

Think I’ve watched this video about 3 times now 😆 Such a clever and an amazing parallel LML, thanks !

Love the tiny bit of shade at the beginning. It IS your theory. Delicious.

Great use of art. Thanks

I love everything you put out.

The opening of these videos are awesome!

Excellent video!

Your references were on point in this video. The mooninites have a direct line to my funny bone.

Awesome as always

You are my favorite - the perfect example of a person who is intelligent, organized, driven, creative and still a pot head. 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Yeeeah buddy I've been waiting!

Nice thing to pop up and looking forward to listening it. Been listening to all the Sacred Order of Green Zombies stuff, really cool. The Green Knight from Arthurian legend pops in my head now with all the green men and nights watch. Seems so plausible to me that the last hero and his companions are zombies and work with children or green men . Also makes sense the children of forest and green men involvement because skin changers be such great scouts.

wow - one of your best videos

The art of Selmy in the thumbnail is so handsome, my gosh! Kinda looks like a grizzly Henry Cavill

Great content

Has anyone thought about the significance of Waymar ROYCE being the first man to confront the Others? I mean GRRM could have made it anyone else, a northerner even, but he chose a Royce - who are a very old house of First Men descent. And their house words are “We Remember”. There’s some irony in that - like everyone has forgotten about the Others, even the Night’s Watch has forgotten their purpose. And suddenly they are forced to remember. The past has come again.

Good video, LML!

Nice, groovy baseline on the outro.

The frickin title made my head go boom...please...go on...

Damnnnnn LML coming THU with the content this week 🙌

Just when I thought I’d discovered all the fascinating speculation in these books, I came across this video! The kings guard guards the king, so maybe the night’s king is directing these guys in the books. We have to look at important instances of kingsguard events and try and draw comparison there, I feel. Maybe it’ll be another tower of joy like someone else mentioned. So much to look forward to in these books!!

@Lucifer means Lightbringer - Reading again through all the books, whilst writing a 'cheats guide' to Song, came across this, on his first night away from Harrenhal, returning to Kings Landing - Jamie dreams vividly, seeing the Kingsguard 'armored all in snow, it seemed to him, and ribbons of mist swirled back from their shoulders. The visors of their helms were closed, but Jaime Lannister did not need to look upon their faces to know them. Five had been his brothers, Oswell Whent and Jon Darry. Lewyn Martell, a prince of Dorne. The White Bull, Gerold Hightower. Ser Arthur Dayne, Sword of the Morning. And beside them, crowned in mist and grief with his long hair streaming behind him, rode Rhaegar Targaryen, Prince of Dragonstone and rightful heir to the Iron Throne...The shades dismounted from their ghostly horses...Prince Rhaegar burned with a cold light, now white, now red, now dark.' (From SOS part two, Jamie VI). Seems to be describing the Others, meeting Waymar..

In the latest post from GRRM he mentioned writing a barristan chapter. We might get even more info regarding this but ofcourse hes such an important charscter regardless

"Milky-white sword people who wield pale swords." Love it.

Hmmmm....The King's Guard was created to protect & basically be the personal army of a certain Targ King right? Um, I wonder what ancient historical figure with dark magical powers might have created The Others as his? 🤔

Here we go again with another great video I can get stone and learn from

Yeah, great breakdown!

Getting burnt out in the COVID-19 ward Bless you for putting this out

Great Stuff Guys! I would just add, that they pledge for Life, just like the Nights watch. No Wives, No Families. The Others are protecting someone or something, for life? Maybe?

I ended up here because I was watching a Netflix documentary about Free Masons. It reminded me that Lucifer meant the bringer of light. I'm glad I came back to this channel.

The Others are the warriors and creatures of The Great Other, the symbolic Oblivion in ASOIAF. Against The Great Other stands R'hllor, The Lord of Light, horrific in its own right, but ultimately a force for order, even if its servants burn children alive. Another level of Ice and Fire metaphor, beyond that of House Targaryen vs House Stark. But also the metaphoric battle that has been playing out in Westeros and Planetos back to The Bloodstone Emperor and The Dawn Age, if not earlier. Ice (stasis) must battle Fire (motion), and Fire must win or life dies. It echoes Nietzsche's Eternal Return and the religious mantra of Battlestar Galactica 2003 - "All of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again." The Metaphysical battle reenacts every aeon or so, that life may earn the right to continue. In being mirrors of the Others, assuming Martin ever finishes his saga, which I doubt, the Kingsguard would stand as warriors for Ice - for entropy, permanent coldness, and death eternal. They would stand against the champion of Fire and Light reborn, Azor Ahai and his Merry Band. Benioff and Weiss TRIED to portray a version of this in the atrocity called "Season 8," they had Martin's notes and overall plot intent. I'm quite certain "Mad Dany" was Martin's original intent, though that probably must be changed now. But damn are D&D bad writers and storyrunners once their minds have moved on and the source material has run out.

Great work, LML! Whenever I read about and consider the Kingsguard of Westeros, I am frequently reminded of the American Green Berets and their relationship with John F. Kennedy. Kennedy had a historically unique relationship with the Special Forces, and he effectively contributed to give them a status of 'mythical heroes' in our own world. To quote an academic paper that address this: "Kennedy portrayed the Special Forces as contemporary reincarnations of the mythic frontier hero (Gustainis 2009)". This seems quite similar to the status that the Kingsguard enjoy in Westeros, especially the old guard of Rhaegar. Also, the role of Barristan in Meereen on behalf of Daenerys is basically that of a SF operator traning and organising people to depose tyrannical rule . According to the myths surrounding the Green Berets, a few select of these soldiers supposedly swore to Kennedy that the Green Berets would aid the people in rising up against the American government if it went against the US Rule of Law. Perhaps George has drawn from more recent American mythology when creating the Kingsguard and symbolically link them with the Others? From LML's theory, it does indeed seem like the Kingsguard serves as metaphorical stand-ins of old heroes - namely the Others. What makes the Others heroes? Their role in protecting the Pact of the Isles of Faces.

Watching this, it reminded me of the Roman Praetorian Guard, something surprisingly not brought up. The Praetorian Guard were originally to protect the Emperor, but there were times when they would kill the Emperor and choose a new one, effectively making the Praetorians rulers of the Empire. With the Ice Others, they may very well be like a Kingsguar/Praetorian seeking out a king/emperor to elect and then rule over them.

✊✊✊Some of those that work forces .... Are the same who burn crosses ✊✊✊ love ur content lml...I’ve been an avid lurker since ur early work with history of Westeros ur essays are thoroughly inciting Nd are great to captivate the very best of GRRMs gardner style o’ writing ...(also fun fact I think it’s neat ur last name is beers mine too is ,but spelled Bier (singular not plural lol however it’s commonly mistakenly said Bier’s so I guess hats 🎩 off to us lol ) keep up the great content

LML, you have a keen eye for parallels and symbolism. The David Bowie reference clinched it.

The parallels of the Others and Kingsguard are very intriguing. Since both are described as “white shadows” and “white swords”, it begs question whether the Others are destined to clash with “black shadows” or “black swords”. Men of the Night’s Watch (not the institution at the Wall, but people who set aside everything in their life to fight for the humanity). I think these “black swords” or “crows” are thematically former “white swords” themselves. Fight steel with steel, as they say. Three Eyed Crow Bran Stark’s very own crow Kingsguard thematically, so to speak, dedicated to protect Winterfell and the people from the icy invasion. There are seven “crows”, seven protectors who will heavily engage in sword fight against the Others with Valyrian Steel, “black swords”. These candidates need to be major characters of our story, and given their “Kingsguard/Queensguard” arcs and eventual joining in the War for the Dawn, I think these characters fit well as “former white sword turned black”: Jaime Lannister - unlike the show, I think in the books the Kingslayer will be instrumental in commanding troops that battle the undead and become Jon’s right hand man on the battlefield (right hand, get it?). He is a white sword of King Tommen that will probably be stripped of his position once fAegon takes the capital. Ned already suggested that Jaime swaps his white cloak for black one. Brienne of Tarth - former white sword of King Renly and Lady Catelyn who will become Sansa’s sworn sword, and by extension, of House Stark. Her transformation into a black cloak will gradually happen once Starks prepare for the invasion of the Others. Plus, in the show, Brienne becomes Bran’s Lord Commander and has a “crow” sigil on her breastplate. Sandor Clegane - a former “white sword” of King Joffrey who will be eventually brought back to story to ally with Starks and go battle the undead in the North. Not sure if he gets Valyrian Steel weapon, but I hope so. Jorah Mormont - a former “white sword” of Queen Dany whose father was Lord Commander of the crows. It does not get any better than that. Also, Jeor told Sam to pass his last wish - Jorah to take the black. Tormund Giantsbane - a wildling leader who was a close companion of “King” Mance Rayder (a former crow btw). In some sense, he was Mance’s Kingsguard and friend. I think once the situation in the North settles down (once Starks retake Winterfell), he and the wildlings will go to the Wall and defend it like in the show, becoming “black swords” thematically. Theon Greyjoy - he swore his sword to King Robb and was one of his close companions and protectors before his fateful departure to Pyke. He also saved Bran’s life from Osha and the wildlings kinda like a white sword. At Winterfell Luwin told him to take the black. If the show ending is the same for him, I definitely see him as “black sword” protecting Bran Stark till the end. These six will be thematically “the crow Kingsguard” led by their commander Jon Snow in the battle against the White Walkers. Maybe 7 vs 7 combat, “white swords” clashing against “black swords”? All of these guys are disfigured, injured or maimed in one way or another. Might be the connection too. Except maybe Tormund, who MIGHT get injured in the upcoming battles? Let me know what you think.

Love the symbolism going on here.

This episode is really good at giving subliminal messages. Now, I just really want to drink some milk. Jokes aside, I never noticed all of these resemblances on their description. Although, I think Martin didn't try to connect them. Mostly, there is a pattern of contradicting descriptions between the Night's Watch and the Kingsguard. Then again, the Night's Watch is also described also as 180 degrees different, when compared to the Others. Suspicious.

Unrelated, but, it would appear you're a Bowie fan, as all with good taste in music are. Check out a little project called Princess Visits The Butterfly Museum. Long name, I know... Of further interest is their frontman, the actor who played a beloved morally gray serial killer for HBO, whose name was eponymous with the show. Wonder who that could be... But he had worked some with Bowie in life, and, after he died, wanted to make some similar music. It's good stuff, and even though Michael C. Hall is American, he even does the British accent well.

Speaking of White Shadows, the 1978 tv show "The White Shadow" starred Timothy Van Patten, who went on to direct shows for HBO, including the first two episodes of a certain fantasy series...

I swear George is making some kind of Barry white joke here 👀

I think all these similarities means... beyond the unconscious voice of the author working with simbols and themes ... that he is giving us already the answer of what the white walkers are: they are guards of something ... that something is what we need to know and i think it has to do with the island of faces pact.

Tha splashing bit made me LOL 😂

I love your video i love you my friend lml his the best of the best

So do you think the white walkers are some type of Kingsguard for the leader of the Others? One Group protecting the warrior of fire, the Other the warrior of ice? Mayhaps, but I've never been a big fan of the original Night's King still being alive, though, I guess it could be someone else

I think the splashing is a reference for Bruce Lee's "be like water" as is water dancing.