Are the White Walkers a problem for HBO's hit series? 

By using this site you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with our cookie policy.

This website uses cookies. Learn more.

TV guide: what you should watch this week

Strictly Come Dancing 2016: All the rumours you...

Game of Thrones: Will Jaime kill Cersei? Game of Thrones: Will Jaime kill Cersei?

GoT star: Battle of the Bastards will be "jaw-dropping" GoT star: Battle of the Bastards will be "jaw-dropping"

Here\'s what Natalie Dormer thinks of GoT \'sexism\' claims Here\'s what Natalie Dormer thinks of GoT \'sexism\'...

Walking Dead creator is disappointed in GOT\'s Martin Walking Dead creator is disappointed in GOT\'s Martin

The original, intended plot for Game of Thrones The original, intended plot for Game of Thrones

Everyone loved Denise Van Outen on Sunday Brunch Everyone loved Denise Van Outen on Sunday Brunch

Jane Horrocks: \'It\'d be odd if I wasn\'t in Ab Fab film\' Jane Horrocks: \'It\'d be odd if I wasn\'t in Ab Fab film\'

BB\'s Nikki: \'Charlie and Jason will reunite for money\' BB\'s Nikki: \'Charlie and Jason will reunite for money\'

Empire season 3 will feature much more of Xzibit Empire season 3 will feature much more of Xzibit

Love Island: Zara leaves due to family illness Love Island: Zara leaves due to family illness

Poll: What\'s been the best TV show of 2016 so far? Poll: What\'s been the best TV show of 2016 so far?

The Young Ones had a secret FIFTH housemate! ​ The Young Ones had a secret FIFTH housemate! ​

TV guide: what you should watch this week TV guide: what you should watch this week

Vote! What is the best reality show of ALL TIME? Vote! What is the best reality show of ALL TIME?

has got a problem. A big problem. A big, marauding stomping problem that eviscerates anyone or anything in its wake.

fan cries. "But the Night\'s King and his merciless hordes are brilliant! They\'re a terrifying force of nature! Unstoppable! Unbeatable! And they look

All of which may be true. But there are two very big reasons why HBO\'s hit fantasy might find itself stuck between a rock and a Hardhome when it comes to these baddies from Beyond the Wall.

First, they\'re only very tangentially connected to everything else that\'s going on.

Game of Thrones: who is this Lady Stoneheart anyway?

Xena: Warrior Princess - where are they now?

has been on the air for six years now – that\'s 60-odd episodes, and while the White Walkers were introduced as a threat in the

Keeping a threat on the outskirts of the action to build anticipation and a sense of menace is all well and good, but it feels more like the White Walkers feature so little because they\'re a difficult device to use effectively in the show\'s narrative.

is, of course, the Iron Throne, and who will end up sitting on it. The Lannisters? The Tyrells? The Boltons? The (few surviving) Starks?

The White Walkers have no stake in the game of thrones. The Night\'s King might appear to have a grudge against Jon Snow, but he\'s basically an equal opportunity warmonger.

The show mostly concerns itself with sprawling tales of subterfuge, deceit, murder and betrayal – extreme politics in a fantasy landscape – and the White Walkers have absolutely nothing to do with any of it.

They\'ll occasionally pop up, wreak some havoc, then disappear again. It\'s awfully fun when they do – \'Hardhome\' is unquestionably one of

\'s most spectacular outings – but looking at the bigger picture, like the events in King\'s Landing, Winterfell and Meereen, how much of an impact did the events of that episode actually have? On anything.

Perhaps it\'s not a question of avoiding using the White Walkers, though. Maybe the show\'s not wasting them, but

them – they\'re the ultimate adversary, casting a shadow over the entire series before finally rising up in the final act?

Game Of Thrones: see the stars with their body doubles – Daenerys, Cersei, Tyrion and more

But that in turn highlights another problem: as \'Hardhome\' proved, the White Walkers are pretty much indestructible.

Their wight hordes are essentially zombies – it\'s no coincidence that they share the "walker" tag with the monsters of 

– and there\'s a reason why very few zombie movies end with the human race extinguishing the undead threat and waltzing off into the sunset.

After all we saw in \'Hardhome\', it would feel cheap and unconvincing to have Jon and the Wildings somehow win a rematch. Even if you throw Daenerys and the Dothraki and her dragons in there, it still doesn\'t seem like a fair fight.

There\'s tens of thousands of these things – as many warriors as every land in the Seven Kingdoms could hope to muster. And if they kill one of yours, that\'s one more joining their side right there.

The only logical way to score a victory would be for someone – let\'s say Jon Snow – to strike a fatal blow to The Night\'s King, which in turn saps his armies of their life force, aka cutting off the snake\'s head. Y\'know, like Dracula and his vampires.

to finally unleash the White Walkers, full-force, in a battle for Westeros and beyond, how can our heroes (such as they are) possibly hope to overcome such a formidable force?

showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss clearly have a masterplan for the show, even without George RR Martin\'s source material as a template. So possibly they\'ve got this all worked out.

, as to be of very little actual narrative use. A bit like the Smoke Monster in 

Game of Thrones: so who IS this Lady Stoneheart the fans are all going on about?

Xena: Warrior Princess ended 15 years ago - Where are the cast now?

Game of Thrones: Will Jaime kill Cersei?

Here\'s what Natalie Dormer thinks of GoT \'sexism\'...

Everyone loved Denise Van Outen on Sunday Brunch

BB\'s Nikki: \'Charlie and Jason will reunite for money\'

Empire season 3 will feature much more of Xzibit

​The rapper-actor becomes a regular cast member. By

Love Island: Zara leaves due to family illness

Poll: What\'s been the best TV show of 2016 so far?

Game of Thrones? Line of Duty? Vote now! By

​The spark was "there from the very beginning"​. By

BB: Jason says that Charlie is \'massively jealous\'