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Lots of spoilers for Game of Thrones, Season 7 Episode 6, "Beyond the Wall" here:

After Daenerys escapes from the Night king, the undead army pulls the fallen dragon out of the lake. To achieve this, they use chains.
Where do they have tons of chains from? Would that imply that the Night King has a "base" (or castle or whatever) somewhere? If they can't enter water or have troubles entering the water:

Who organized the chains

and put them on the dragon?

Liath
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vanguard2k
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    Relevant on MTVSE: How did Wights get a chain? – Aegon Aug 22 '17 at 12:45
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – Edlothiad Aug 22 '17 at 13:03
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    I think it's a plot hole. Metal is very scares north of the wall. The wildlings make "armor" out of bone. An ax could buy you and your men shelter at Craster's keep. So huge metal chains just lying around are highly unlikely. – Dima Aug 22 '17 at 14:24
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    We do know that the white walkers can use ice to make things -- https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/158743/how-did-the-white-walkers-get-their-weapons-and-armor –  Aug 22 '17 at 17:00
  • could wight have walked around on the ocean floor until they found a ship and taken chains from there? – Clint Eastwood Aug 23 '17 at 15:24
  • @ClintEastwood With the evidence we have no but maybe. We know they can survive underwater i.e. them coming out of the hole and grabbing Tormund. – TheLethalCarrot Aug 23 '17 at 15:28
  • @Dima: The wildlings make do with what they have available to them. However, both the wildlings and the wights/walkers are known to also scavenge. The wights have metal weapons after all. These chains could have been left beyond the wall at any point in the past. Before the Wall was erected and even before the Walkers were created, the region may have been inhabited. The chains could even have been stolen from equipment from the Night's Watch during an attack (e.g. from a drawbridge). – Flater Aug 24 '17 at 13:39
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    You could just ask why the Night King didn't re-animate Viserion and let him get out of the lake himself. He doesn't have to physically touch corpses as we know from Hardhome. – TheMathemagician Aug 24 '17 at 21:48
  • @TheMathemagician Absolutely, thats why (in a previous edit) I noted that maybe it has something to do with the size or spirit of the to-be-re-animated. Meaning that he can do it with a wave of his hand for normal wights, but larger creatures maybe not so. Otherwise, it wouldnt make sense. Because if he had indefinite reach he could raise half of westeros. – vanguard2k Aug 25 '17 at 06:44

1 Answers1

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The same question was asked and answered on our sister site Movies &TV. I am using the answers there to inspire my own here.

The answer provides evidence that the lake on which the scene takes places seems to have old structures there. This would indicate a previous settlement, most likely by the Night's Watch during the construction of the Wall. Iron forging is only known south of the wall, and therefore makes it unlikely to be a Free Folk settlement. The purpose of this settlement was possibly to be an ice farm during the construction of the wall. If chains were used (and subsequently abandoned) this gives us one option for the Army of the Dead to obtain the chains.

A second option is that the chains came from Hardhome

Hardhome sits on a sheltered bay and has natural harbour deep enough for the biggest ships afloat. Wood and stone are plentiful near there. The waters teem with fish, and there are colonies of seals and sea cows close at hand. A great cliff looms above the settlement, pocked with cave mouths.

Hardhome was close to becoming the only true town north of the Wall.

If Hardhome was supporting trade and large ship, it is likely they would have chains at the docks for anchors, cargo loading, or other maritime activities. Since the Army of the Dead has recently sacked that settlement, they may have also found chains there.

One method I generally discount is that the chain was made from ice. While it is known the White Walkers have certain ice magic to create their swords and spears, these weapons are rough looking and blueish in color. The chain does not share these qualities.

Now how they got the chains on... I think it is as simple as the dead cannot swim properly and sink. However, since they are dead already they can still move. Basically the same as what the crew of the Black Pearl did in Pirates of Caribbean.

Skooba
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  • I personally believe the second option is more likely. Especially given it's description and the show shows them attacking it. However, we know nothing for certain and probably wont find out. – TheLethalCarrot Aug 23 '17 at 13:26
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    In addition to these points it is also important to realize that the Night King set a trap. He trapped them and just happened to have both spears for killing the dragons and chains to retrieve them. While he may not have known for sure that dragons existed still and were coming they existed the last time the white walkers attacked and he was hoping to get one this time. Maybe he understood that their best hope at survival was someone coming with a dragon to rescue them. I don't think he knows about the squabbling down south... He is just making moves and counter moves to better his hand. – Odin1806 Aug 24 '17 at 02:42
  • @Skooba Any indication as to how they put them on the dragon? – vanguard2k Aug 24 '17 at 07:22
  • @vanguard2k added to my answer... they stole the idea from Disney :P – Skooba Aug 24 '17 at 13:17
  • @Skooba But if they could still move, why didnt they cross to the island underwater? Because they surface was covered in ice and they couldnt get out close to the island? – vanguard2k Aug 24 '17 at 14:10
  • @vanguard2k that and I would say they would need something walk up to be able to get back out... so enter at shore and exiting at shore is fine because there is likely a gradual slope. The island probably didn't have that. and even if Night King had to leave a few wight beneath the water forever... well thats the price to pay for a dragon. – Skooba Aug 24 '17 at 14:28
  • @Skooba Well thats acceptable I guess (if we ignore the question whether the wights are intelectually capable of doing such a thing). Thanks for the nice answer! Personally, I would go with the hardhome interpretation. The "contraption" looks more like an old cart to me. probably used to transport the chains. Which at least is another indication that the dragon capture was planned all along... – vanguard2k Aug 24 '17 at 15:31
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    ..which hints at NK being a greenseer IMO. Bring on season 8!! – Mathieu Guindon Aug 29 '17 at 02:32
  • @Mat'sMug My friend has read all of the books (I have not) and he mentioned that the Night King is the antitheses to the 3 Eyed Raven. He can see through time the same, which is how he could see Bran each of those times. In that case he KNEW dragons existed, the buildup between Jon and Dany, and the whole plan makes even more sense. – Odin1806 Aug 31 '17 at 21:08
  • "If Hardhome was supporting trade and large ship, it is likely they would have chains at the docks for anchors, cargo loading, or other maritime activities. Since the Army of the Dead has recently sacked that settlement, they may have also found chains there." Chains were very prominently shown on the beach at Dragonstone, and I do wonder whether that was a deliberate (albeit, let's face it, failed) attempt to get this general notion into viewer's minds. – Lightness Races in Orbit Feb 16 '18 at 13:17