Will: The Ranger of the Night’s Watch

Will was a Ranger of the Night’s Watch who went on a ranging mission with Gared and Ser Waymar Royce. The mission went awry as the group stumbled upon a group of dead wildlings. Believing something to be amiss, the ranger advised the mission leader, Waymar, that they should return to Castle Black. However, the proud former lordling refused to listen to the instruction of a commoner. Suddenly, mysterious beings appeared whose existence only lived on the pages of history books. Will’s excellent skills made him one of the best trackers in the Watch, and when he was about to leave for the ranging mission Lord Commander Joer Mormont wanted to assign him as the leader.

Biography

There is little information on Will’s younger life. However, he became a poacher before joining the Night’s Watch. He got caught skinning one of Lord Mallister’s bucks on his land by his free-riders. Upon getting caught, he got two choices; lose a hand or take on the black. He took the latter option. Before the events of A Song of Ice and Fire, he had been at the Night’s Watch for four years. As an experienced scouter and tracker, he was one of the most prized assets of the Watch.

Before King Robert Baratheon travels to King’s Landing, Will, Gared, and Ser Waymar Royce get sent into the haunted forest on a ranging mission. Though Will and Gared had years of experience over Ser Waymar, they got put under Royce’s command because he was a knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

Relevance in A Song of Ice and Fire

A Game of Thrones

Following their mission, Will, Gared, and Ser Waymar Royce track a group of wildlings for days. On the ninth day, the Black Brothers catch up to the wildlings. As no one can move as silently as Will, he checks the camp. Upon return, he reports he saw eight men and women but no children. However, something disturbs him about the scene because he claims the wildlings he found do not move. 

Waymar asks Will if he saw any blood, and he responds no; this makes him believe they are asleep, but he tells the young knight that no living person would sleep in the snow without fire, and the Black Brothers conclude the wildlings are dead. Gared and Will show disproval when Waymar says they have to investigate what happened to the Wildlings. 

Gared tells Waymar they should return to the Wall, but the young knight refuses and tasks him with staying with the horses. On getting back to the camp, the wildlings’ bodies disappear. To get a better view, Will climbs a tree. Suddenly, some powerful foes appear to fight Waymar. Being a courageous knight, he faces the enemies but quickly realizes they are not humans but creatures called Others. Though he fights bravely, he gets killed. After the Others leave, Will gets down from the tree but gets attacked and killed by Waymar, who turns into a wight.

Tyrion Lannister leaves the company of Robert’s envoy of Cersei Lannister, Jaime Lannister, Joffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella and arrives at the Wall. Jeor Mormont begs him to ask the Iron Throne for help. He tells him how he got forced to make Ser Waymar the leader of the scouting mission.

Relevance in Adaptation

In HBO’s Game of Thrones, actor Bronson Webb portrayed Will. He appeared in season 1, episode 1. His role got switched with Gared as he got beheaded by Lord Eddard Stark. After entering the Haunted Forest on a ranging mission, Will comes across the ritualistic death scene of a group of wildlings. When he tries to alert the others, he sees Gared getting beheaded by a White Walker. He runs away but later gets captured and beheaded by Ned Stark, who takes his children, Robb Stark, Bran Stark, and Jon Snow, with him.

Will: A Sad Story

Will is one of the people in A Song of Ice and Fire with a sad story. He was born poor in a brutal world and had to serve all his life. If he had an iota of noble blood, he would have never died as he would be the leader of the scouting mission. However, his story showed life can be difficult without a good family background, as one would miss many opportunities.

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