If you’ll remember, it was during the first episode of a Game of Thrones where we first met the White Walkers. White Walkers are mysterious and very deadly magical creatures that live beyond the wall.

They have very blue eyes and are known to be evil and supernaturally strong creatures that carry extremely deadly swords that look like they’re made out of crystal. They also appear to be impervious to the extreme cold conditions that exist outside The Wall.

Oh, and they can also re-animate the dead. As in, make them into walking, killing zombies.

In tonight’s Game of Thrones Season 2 Finale titled “Valar Morghulis”, the White Walkers close out the show. We see an older White Walker riding a horse leading an army of re-animated dead across a snow covered plain. Even the horse he’s riding is undead. Samwell Tarly, the lovable but completely out of his element Night Ranger see them and runs to hide behind a large boulder. But he’s too late – he’s been spotted by the leader.

Surprisingly enough, the leader pauses, looks at Samwell, and rides by. He then raises his sword in the air and gives a war cry, leading his undead army on toward The Wall.

I’m really glad the season finale ended this way because it reminds us that The White Walkers are magical and supernatural creatures. It also makes

it clear that we’ll be seeing more of them next season.

Sure enough, looks like we’re in for a treat!

D.B. Weiss, Game of Thrones Executive Producer and Writer had this to say about the show and the Season 2 finale in particular:

“It’s a fantasy show and there are elements of this world that are not elements of our world. I think they, the characters in the show, react to them in ways that are very realistic, and their ways are very similar to the way we would react if all of a sudden magic were to happen in our world and become a feature of our world.

The magic [in the show] tends to almost always come from the boundaries; the magic comes from the east, the far east, where Melisandre is from and where Daenerys has her dragons.

The magic comes from the north where The White Walkers are amassing an undead army. Its closing in on the center but the people in the center don’t know it yet and we’re ahead of many of the characters in the story on that front.

And of course the stuff in the north with The White Walkers, that’s in a way the ultimate threat that everybody faces whether or not any of them are willing to admit it yet. We just couldn’t think of any better way to end the season than that, and it’s gonna make it very, very clear to everyone exactly what ALL the people of Westeros are facing once the Winter comes.”

Yes, Winter Is Coming.

But we’ll have to wait until next April 2013 to see what happens with The Starks, Lannisters, Targaryens, Baratheons, Greyjoys, and The Night’s Watch, in particular, Jon Snow.

However . . .

Game of Thrones Season 3 will be based on the book A Storm of Swords. Check out the key plot points of the story in our review of A Storm of Swords for a quick preview. Or consider picking up a copy of the awesome book to get the back story on the characters that the TV show won’t give you: paperback | hardcover | Kindle