'Winds of Winter' theory: How Tywin Lannister would face the White Walker threat

The main focus of “Winds of Winter" is expected to be the invasion of Westeros by the White Walkers. A new fan theory looks at how this impending war would be fought if Tywin Lannister was at the helm of affairs in King’s Landing. The following article contains spoilers from the books already released in “A Song of Ice and Fire” series.

“What if Tyrion never climbed that ladder and killed his father?” a fan asked on Reddit. The advantage of having the character around is that Cersei would not be allowed to break the alliance built with careful planning, and Lord Varys would be much more cautious in his work. That means the Lannister-Tyrell alliance would be intact.

The big challenge Tywin would face involves two problems. In the North, there are threats of a White Walker invasion, and from the east, Daenerys is gathering an army to reclaim the Iron Throne. If the Mother of Dragons lands with her troops, she can win over allies like Aegon Targaryen and Dorne.

Commenting on the theory, some of the fans suggested that since Tywin was a practical man, he would choose a practical approach in an unwinnable situation. The fans suggested that he would gather what he can in terms of troops and wealth and head east across the Narrow Sea to carve out a new kingdom, which would be relatively safe from the White Walker threat.

However, another fan suggested that Essos is not safe from the Others. The Long Night will engulf both continents, so no kingdom will be safe when the White Walkers come.

While many fans agree that running away would be the most practical thing to do, others feel that Tywin would put up a fight. One fan suggests that he would send Jaime to the Wall and Tyrion to a choke point like Moat Cailin to halt the invasion. Meanwhile, he would have people mine for obsidian at Dragonstone and send ravens to Houses that have Valyrian steel weapons.