‘Game of Thrones’ Finale: The Re-Establishment of The Night’s Watch

This article contains spoilers for “Game of Thrones” Season 8 episode 6, “The Iron Throne”, read our review of the episode here.

The Night’s Watch, the shield of the realm and the house of the unfortunate, poor, and banished, has been a vital organization ever since the first season of Game of Thrones. Going back to season one, it was the Night’s Watch who first suffered a blow from the white walkers. At that point, no one believed them. And we all saw how that turned out. 

Aside from that, the Night’s Watch is also where we were introduced to a lot of beloved characters in Game of Thrones. These include Jorah’s father and previous lord commander Jeor Mormont, one of the last Targaryens Maester Aemon, and of course Jon’s buddies Sam and Edd. It was also a major part of Jon Snow’s life. It had a hand in shaping him to be who he became to be. He was literally killed and brought back to life in the very castles of the Night’s Watch.

The Night’s Watch Role in the Game of Thrones

After the Night King attacked the wall with an undead Viserion, the Night’s Watch fell. The surviving members of the watch retreated back to Winterfell to join the army of the living. And in the battle, we saw the current Lord Commander Edd die at the hands of a white walker. There were also no clues as to what happened to the other men. But, in this week’s episode, the finale of the Game of Thrones series, Jon Snow was sentenced to the Night’s Watch again for murdering Daenerys. This meant that it still existed despite seemingly having no purpose and no men anymore. Jon Snow was just as baffled as anybody else.

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The Night’s Watch sole purpose of creation was to keep the wildlings and white walkers at bay. That’s the very definition of their job as the shield of the realm. And in the beginning, members of the watch consisted of volunteers from noble houses seeking the honor of protecting the realm. But as times went by, it also became a home for criminals seeking absolution for their sins, orphans, social outcasts, and unwanted family members.

Now, the Night’s Watch is out of jobs. The Night King and his army are dead. And the wildlings have made peace with the people of Westeros. At this point, they seem useless. But, as Tyrion says while explaining Jon’s sentence, “the world always needs a place for bastards and broken men.” As it seems, the Night’s Watch has become a refuge to the unwanted, the broken, and the unfortunate. Because even if the wheel is broken and the slaves are free, there will always be those kinds of people. And even when chaos takes over the realm, the Night’s Watch is there for them to call home.