This is not how it ends for the Army of the Dead, IMO

I think the NK and Army of the Dead are truly gone, but the Azor Ahai prophecy could still be true. From the books:

> “There will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him.”

The prophecy doesn't say anything about the WW specifically, just that a hero will "lead the people against the darkness". Now, considering the "cold breath of darkness" bit, it's easy to assume the prophecy is referring to the AOTD. But what if that's just a red herring? Maybe Cersi is the true Darkness, and the Hero will still need to sacrifice their loved one to create Lightbringer in order to defeat her. Then at least the prophecy isn't total bogus. But then again, maybe the lesson could be that prophecies can't be trusted.

It is a bit disappointing that the NK seemed to be a one dimensional character when we know George doesn't like black and white characters. I was also hoping for some sort of hidden relationship between the Starks and the WW. Maybe that was all too much to put in the TV show and we'll still get that in the books. Ultimately though, I think the NK is gone and he isn't coming back. The plot for the next episode is "The Battle of Winterfell is over and a new chapter for Westeros begins.", so it sounds like we are indeed moving on from the NK plot. Though I'm sure he'll still be talked about plenty.

/r/gottheories Thread