POP! Television: Wight (Game of Thrones)

Game of Thrones is a bona fide phenomenon these days. I guess it’s the closest thing us millennials will ever get to their own “Who Shot J.R.?”. People are likely to keep the fandom going for years – even decades – after the show and novels eventually wrap up.

But I didn’t really buy this figure because of an interest in the series or the books. I read the first four books around the time the series was debuting; the first three were quite good. And to cut a convoluted story short, I then had a bit of a nervous breakdown and kind subsequently missed the boat on the show…now it just feels like too many episodes to catch up.

So why did I buy it then? Well, you may recall that I bought the Ash Funko POP about a year ago. Funko released a Deadite to go with him, but it was a little underwhelming, considering all the wild designs and characters that are on display in the Evil Dead universe – and still yet to be merchandised. So really, this Wight has been bought as a de facto Deadite, one of the many medieval background players in Army of Darkness.   

It’s a job he does admirably; he’s distinctive enough in his design that he stands out among the POPs, while still not stealing the show, due to his muted colour scheme. The paintwork is surprisingly good, showcasing some impressively subtle touches; though initially appearing to be quite similar, the decomposing skin on the face has a semi-glossy/waxy look, while the exposed skull is matte and speckled to distinguish it as bone. It could be a little neater in spots, but overall it effectively conveys a withered and rotted corpse, brought back to fight for an evil master. As a bonus, he even looks like the poster zombie from Zombie Flesh Eaters, admittedly sans worms. I’m sure the homage isn’t entirely accidental -- and if so, then this is likely as close as we’ll ever get to an official POP from THAT film.

The Wight is still reasonably readily available, and I imagine will grab the attention of fans of the show. He’s not an essential character like Joffrey or anything, but he has some nice touches and serves as a good figure for horror fans too. Unlikely to be my favourite purchase for the year, but my collection is better for having him.