Are we going to empathize with the Others?

[King Adrian Storm]

I have long thought about the possible origin/motivation of the Others. Can we get a backstory for them that will make us understand why they are doing what the're doing.  So far it seems their mission is to bring destruction to Westeros. There will most likely be a twist on their true motivations, but what could it be? Were they created by the Cotf? Were they around since the beginning of time? 

We see in the prologue that they are intelligent. They seem interested in Waymar Royce, and there are theories that they could be looking for Jon Snow. But why? Are the Others waiting for a leader, another night's king. I would like to see Stannis as their leader. Since they can't speak the common tongue, how will they interact with the human characters? I don't see how they could negotiate and form a pact like they supposedly did in the past.

Are the Others meant to be more of a wake up call or concept than they are villains? I think the Others will be defeated 3/4 of the way through ADOS. I think their purpose could be to get our protagonists to realize that the iron throne and politics aren't important. Or they could be more of a concept, like a driving force to make men pay for their sins in the past.

I would like for them to be more independent, and less a hive mind. Maybe some of them don't want to fight, or have different goals than the others. I doubt we'll get to know them individually since they speak a different language.

Lastly, how can they be defeated in a satisfying way? Will Jon Snow wield a flaming sword? Will Dany's dragons overcome them? WIll Bran's weirwood abilities have something to do with it? It's implied the final battle could be around the god's eye. Does anyone have any ideas on a way they could be defeated that makes sense, and feels tonally consistent in the story?

TWOW will definitely fill in a lot gaps, but for right now, we know barely anything about them.

[Damon_Tor]

It's critical to remember that we have no reason to believe The Other cause the Winter. Correlation does not imply causation.

My personal hypothesis is that the Winter is a doomsday weapon created by the Children of the Forest, intended to cow the humans into submission and force them to accept their terms. The Others were the humans who refused to bend the knee, and instead used magic to transform themselves into the ice-creatures we see today, creatures who could survive in spite of the Winter.

The Winter is back because it's on a deadman's switch, a switch linked to a number of clauses in the treaty between the First Men and the Children. This is automatic, so if there isn't, for example, a Stark in Winterfell, the Winter starts again.

When the First Men agreed to the terms of the CotF and they called off the Winter after the war, the Others were forced North to survive. They're coming back now not to bring the Winter (it's coming regardless) but they're going to follow it South and try to reclaim what had been theirs, what was taken from them by what they see as a craven people who would rather prostrate themselves before their enemy and literally worship them as Gods than to make hard choices and live free.

[King Adrian Storm]

6 hours ago, Damon_Tor said:

It's critical to remember that we have no reason to believe The Other cause the Winter. Correlation does not imply causation.

My personal hypothesis is that the Winter is a doomsday weapon created by the Children of the Forest, intended to cow the humans into submission and force them to accept their terms. The Others were the humans who refused to bend the knee, and instead used magic to transform themselves into the ice-creatures we see today, creatures who could survive in spite of the Winter.

The Winter is back because it's on a deadman's switch, a switch linked to a number of clauses in the treaty between the First Men and the Children. This is automatic, so if there isn't, for example, a Stark in Winterfell, the Winter starts again.

When the First Men agreed to the terms of the CotF and they called off the Winter after the war, the Others were forced North to survive. They're coming back now not to bring the Winter (it's coming regardless) but they're going to follow it South and try to reclaim what had been theirs, what was taken from them by what they see as a craven people who would rather prostrate themselves before their enemy and literally worship them as Gods than to make hard choices and live free.

Hmm. I really like this theory. I too think that the Others do not cause the Winter. If the Ohters can transform Craster's sons into Others, then it would make sense that the, first men could have done the same.