'Game of Thrones' Fans Get a Mini Series Reunion With New Episode of 'The Mandalorian'

Game of Thrones fans got a reunion of sorts this weekend if they were watching The Mandalorian. [...]

Game of Thrones fans got a reunion of sorts this weekend if they were watching The Mandalorian. The series already stars Pedro Pascal, who portrayed Prince Oberyn Martell on Game of Thrones. This week, Mando met up with Valin Hess, played by Richard Brake, who also played the Night King for a time on Game of Thrones. The fandoms on social media were intrigued by this little Easter egg.

Brake was at the center of the tension on The Mandalorian Chapter 15: "The Believer." He played a ruthless imperial commander who faced down Mando (Pascal) and Mayfeld (Bill Burr) in disguise. His sinister monologue about galactic conquest nearly matched his ominous silence on Game of Thrones Seasons 4 and 5. At the time, Brake played the Night King — the leader of the White Walkers who was first seen in Bran Stark's vision, and eventually marched south of The Wall to Winterfell.

"Of course the Night King got a job working for the Empire," one fan joked on Twitter. Another added: "That moment when you realize Oberyn came face to face with The Night King."

Brake played the Night King in his earliest and most ominous scenes, starting in Season 4 when Bran has several visions during an unsupervised communion with a Wierwood tree. He sees the Night King accept one of Craster's sons from an icy alter, touch the child, and turn his eyes blue — presumably converting him into a White Walker.

Brake returned in Season 5 for a fan-favorite action-packed episode called "Hardhome," where Jon Snow tries to evacuate the wildlings from one of their last remaining settlements north of The Wall. The White Walkers attack before they can get everyone out, and Jon faces the Night King himself momentarily before fleeing with the others.

Starting in Season 6, however, the Night King was portrayed by Vladimir Furdik. Furdik was already a stunt performer on the show, and would go on to become a stunt coordinator. Producers never revealed why Furdik replaced Brake at the Night King, although the character did begin taking up more physically taxing roles after that.

Some fans seemed to like Brake's work on The Mandalorian better — perhaps in part because of the controversial ending to Game of Thrones. Brake is best-known for action roles like playing The Interrogator in Kingsman: The Secret Service and Portman in Doom (2005.) He is also a frequent sight in horror movies, including Doom-Head in Rob Zombie's 31, and Enrikas Dortlich in Hannibal Rising.

The Mandalorian Season 2 comes to a close this weekend with Chapter 16, premiering on Friday, Dec. 17 on Disney+. The show has already been renewed for another season.

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