Saturday, August 12, 2017

Game of Thrones S7E5 Preview: Why is Bran So Cold? Why is Littlefinger Worried?

Why is Bran so cold? To answer this question we need to go back to episode three and the Bran and Sansa reunion. Bran freaks Sansa out a little bit when he tells her "it was so beautiful that night and you were so beautiful I'm sorry it had to happen here I'm sorry it had to happen to you," and he's talking about her wedding to Ramsay. Now he says I'm sorry it had to happen, not I'm sorry it happened, and he says had to happen twice, which implies some kind of a purpose to Sansa's wedding to Ramsay. And why is he watching her wedding to Ramsay? Mostly the things that Bran has seen in his vision are of major importance to the larger story.

I made a video about my theory on brans time travel at the end of season six after the Hodor reveal and death scene. Since then I've learned that there have been other community people who have come up with a similar theory and word has even gotten to the actor who plays Bran Stark....Because he mentioned it in an interview.The theory is that all of the bran starks we hear from old nan and stories in the histories of Westeros are the same bran, and he is being reincarnated over and over again to accomplish a specific task. Some of these Bran's have lived long enough to inherit the duties of the previous 3 eyed crow, who were all themselves former incarnations of bran who learned from a predecessor to use the wierwood net and see the past and future.  Brandon the builder, Brandon the 13th Lord commander of the night watch, and many other Brandon Starks have been reincarnations of the same Brandon's stark who built the wall. I think that he's trying to correct a mistake he made during the long night, and that the night's king is actually one of the incarnations of bran gone wrong.
We've got major confirmation of some or all of these ideas in the last two episodes. When bran tells Sansa that the three eyed Raven taught him to see the visions,  but also that he is the three eyed Raven, he's telling the truth literally, because Brendan's can be reincarnations of bran too, especially if they have stark blood.
If you're a book reader you know that three eyed Raven that bran meets in the cave is Brendan Rivers, one of the great bastards who took part in the black fire rebellion. Brendon was the son of the Targarean king and a woman of house Blackwater. This house is in the far north of the River lands and has a history of marrying Starks, with at least one confirmed marriage between the two houses and a history of stark first names in their lineage, such as Robb and Bran and Brenden.
So it's probable that Brendan Rivers was one of the many incarnations of bran. There has likely been a history of brans passing down their knowledge to the next bran for a long time, and that tradition may have been broken by the nights king when he abandoned the original cause and chose to lead the white walkers. Since that time, or at least since the time of Brendan Rivers, Brandon Starks has had a horrible habit of dying before they reach adulthood to become the green Sears they were meant to be. In fact the last one was burned by the Mad king, which is part of what started off Robert's rebellion.
So it's very possible that the reason that the three eyed Raven led bran to the abandoned watchtower at the beginning of the series was because he actually wanted bran to be crippled, so that he wouldn't be able to join Rob's war and die before his prime.
We get further confirmation of this in episode four when bran tells Mira that he's not really bran Stark... that he remembers being brand stark but he remembers so much more since he became three eyed Raven.
This is why he's being so cold- he's not only Sansas and aryas brother, he is also their earliest ancestor that anybody can member. So he doesn't feel more connected to them than any of the other hundreds of thousands of stark brothers and sisters that he's had over the past 2000 to 10,000 years. And he's been seeing them and being connected to them since they were born, because he's been watching it all and even sending them messages. he doesn't feel the relief of seeing them again like they do, because his visions are no less real what his body experiences. he's been with them all along.  It's hard to be excited about something you've seen and done 1000 times. Sansa the aria and even John are mere mortals to bran, and their concerns are trivial compared to the big picture that only he can see.
Some of you may be saying but wait I thought the children of the forest created the nights king and the white walkers because we saw a scene of that in a previous season. Well, it seems from Dany and John's conversation underneath Dragon stone that the white walkers have been around long before the children of the forest began fighting against men. In fact, they may not have begun fighting men until the Andals came...which may have been thousands of years after the First men.
Maybe what we saw in the scene with the children of the forest planting obsidian in the heart of the human was not the birth of white walkers, but the birth of the night's king, a first Man named Brandon Stark. There is indication from legend in the song of ice and fire books that many heroes of legend were saved from Zombification or grayscale or drowning by the kiss of one of what I call fairy folk. This includes children of the forest, the female white walkers we have never seen but heard about in myths, and various creatures of the sea or water such as the merfolk and squishers of Westeros folk tales. I've done a series of videos entitled is game of thrones prehistoric fiction wherein I discuss the connection between these creatures and the legendary heroes they saved and transformed. But the gist of the idea is this - perhaps a former incarnation of bran was saved from white walker infection by the children of the forest, but unlike Benjen Stark and many other legendary heroes of myth who continued to fight on the side of humans after receiving a similar gift, this particular bran chose the side of the white walked He decided that the only way to save the world would be the utter destruction of mankind. The kiss that the drowned god, the Salt King, the Last hero, and the Drowned God give or receive wasn't actually a literal kiss, but the obsidian implant that allows consciousness to remain even after Ice has taken the flesh.
All this goes back to the fact that humans are receiving visions from an unknown source throughout the game of thrones books, and George Martin has a long history of using this idea in his previous science fiction. In many of his stories, man is sort of a disease, at odds with the rest of the universe, because he's developed an ego and free will, whereas most other organisms act in the interest of a collective mind or universal consciousness governed by the universe. So man is at war with his very environment. The alien intelligences in who oppose mankind in these stories often send psychic visions to humans in order to bring about their destruction. Preston Jacobs has an excellent series of videos on this called the minds of wolves and Robins, so there's no reason for me to get in depth with it now.
But I do want to speak for a moment about episode three in his series, which includes the evidence that Ramsay Bolton received the same vision that bran and JoJen received concerning Theon's capture of Winterfell. Though Ramsay is known only to hunt with dogs, he is found in the Hornwood on a hunt with the original reek, the one who proceeded Theon in that position and was killed in Clash of Kings. It's common knowledge that a battle is taking place in the Hornwood, but Ramsay decides to go hunting in it. Hhen the stark forces find Ramsay he has already switched clothes with reek so that the two would be mistaken for one another. And these aren't just hunting clothes, but some of Ramsay's finest garments. No one mentions that Ramsay stinks, although reek is impersonating him and is known to smell horrible.
The only explanation for all this is that Ramsay had the original reek take a bath before they went hunting because he planned to get captured by the Starks. Doing so makes no sense unless Ramsay somehow knew that the iron men were about to take winter fell. He spends his time in a cell until Theon gets there, and then his plan takes shape.
Later on when Dion sets out on a search for bran ann Rickon, there is no question that the boys will be found, as they've only just left and are on foot. But somehow Ramsay knows they will not be found, because he stuffs a bag full of Brandon and Rikkins clothes before they ever leave Winterfell and is later the one to suggest killing the Miller's boys and dressing them up.
So this gives us a clue as to why Ramsay and Sansa's marriage HAD TO HAPPEN. Someone is trying to bring Ice and Ice together, instead of Ice and Fire. The Bolton's, like the Starks, are descended from First Men and were equal kings of the North at one time. They were called the red Kings and once wore the skins of starks as trophies, ruling over the part of the Eastern half of the North. Thir Kingdom was ceded to the Starks after a Red King's defeat and the Bolton's swore fealty to House Stark in order to oppose the Andals. Bolton Wards were sent to Winterfell, which could be a hint that a marriage or bastard between the two Houses may have taken place before. Remember we also have several hints in the TV series indicating Sansa may be pregnant.
Nonly is our second great villain of a song of ice and fire receiving visions from either the night's king or the three eyed Raven, but so was our first great villain, Joffrey. The show alludes to this twice with quick cut scenes of Joffrey's eyes being almost supernaturally blue. The actor who plays Joffrey in bravos also exhibits these strangely luminous blue eyes when he enacts the boy King's death by poison. And we may have gotten another hint of Joffrey's dream-induced insanity in this last episode.
Littlefinger must have given bran the dagger, Cat's Paw,  for a reason, as Sansa says. To me this seems like a big indication that little finger had nothing to do with the assassination attempt on bran. He gave the dagger to bran to absolve himself, but also to direct brans attention to the enemy behind the assassination attempt. Someone very wealthy, as bran says. The first guess might be Circe and Jaimie because they certainly had motive by not wanting bran to divulge their secret romance in the tower. Previously, Littlefinger involved Tyrion, telling Catelyn that the dwarf won the dagger from him in a bet. But there's also been a lot of community speculation about Joffrey being the one who hired the killer, being young and dumb enough to steal Tyrion's dagger to try and cover the trail. After all Joffrey was already angry at his uncle at the party in winter fell, right before the attempt happened. If we have two Brandon Starks at odds with one another, each fighting for a different cause and each with the ability to send visions to human beings, this makes perfect sense. The three eyed Raven incarnation of Bran wants our current bran to inherit the mantle of three eyed Raven, but the night skiing incarnation of Bran wants our current Bran to die like all of the other brans. That way he can continue to live forever in white walker form with no successor, and eventually, bring about the end of mankind itself.
At the end of last season, I did a video concerning Euron Grayjoy's pact with the white walkers. Euron also seems to know things he shouldn't, such as the perfect time to meet his brother on a bridge, the perfect time to return to Pyke to seek the throne,  the whereabouts of Asha Grayjoy's fleet, and he's able  to sneak through that fleet in perfect silence and RAM the lead ship with his own, completelyundetected. When he strikes, it's always during a storm, as if He is the Storm, just as he told his brother. In the books, his use of omens and magic are more in the forefront and he has imprisoned warlocks for their knowledge. he drinks shade of the evening to enhance his own magical powers, and possesses a legendary horn said to either bring down the wall, enslave dragons, or both.
Most of these things have not been introduced in the television series yet but I think a few of them will be before the end of this season, and Eurons atrocities will grow to epic proportions in the beginning of season eight. The story of Eurons rebirth at sea when he tied himself to the mast during the storm and afterwords cut all of his men's tongues out parallels many of the stories of Heros in the past who were saved by, once again some form of fairy folk. Also in our own legends of Odysseus and the sirens of the enchanted isles. Something from beyond the knowledge of men spoke to Euron or saved him in that storm and turned him into a vassal of the night skiing, the great other, and/or the drowned God.
In the end, Euron will betray mankind to the white walkers and even Cersei will be shocked. That's probably when she'll finally do something for mankind instead of doing things only for herself.... but her choice will be the wrong one and I believe that's when Jamie the Valenqar will have to take her life.
A lot of readers have given up hope of Euron's horn showing up in the television series, but I think it can still happen and probably will. I see the warlocks from the house of the undying being introduced again very soon, seeking revenge on the Dragon Queen by joining Cersei's side via Euron, and presenting the magic horn as a gift. Euron will accept, but just as in the books, he will enslave and torture those warlocks for their knowledge. This should escalate him to Joffrey/Ramsay level hatred pretty quickly, along with the other depraved things he's about to do.
My reasons for believing that each of the arch villains in the series are being led by the nights king or the great other are not only because of foreshadowing and Easter eggs but because of the aesthetics of story itself.
At present the white walkers are a  vague threat that nobody really hates- we just think they're kinda scary. But a great writer knows that his villain is just as important as his protagonist. So right under our very noses, Martin has been defining his antagonist while at the same time misleading us in the understanding of their nature in order to maintain their ominous Mystery.
We've been getting to know the white walkers all along through Joffrey, Ramsay, and very soon Euron Grayjoy. From a literary perspective, there's very little chance that those three guys, the most hated villains in our story, were just douche bags we happened to meet along the way. They are of such importance to the drama that they also must be important to the greater plot. The last great villain has to reveal this, and also has to explain to the audience the reason for the white walkers invasion.
Another reason for this theory is that I knew the hobbit reference crossbows weren't going to be enough to provide a serious challenge to the dragons. Neither is the golden company. The bad guys need more power to make the struggle between the two queens more interesting. Capturing a Dragon would do just the trick.
What does Littlefing  fear? In episode three the new master of winter fell mentions to sansa that master Lewin kept records of every Raven and this seems to worry Littlefinger. My guess is that it's the original letter that started the war, sent by Liza Erin to Caitlin to let her know that her husband was murdered by the LAN esters. Now, Sansa already knows that Lysa killed her own husband, because she confessed it in the Erie when she tried to throw Sansa through the moon door. A rereading of Game of Thrones chapter 1 shows that there may have been something in the letter that Caitlin did not tell Ned before she burned it.
Now if you're interested in Caitlin's strange actions when that letter arrived, and a greater plot that she may have been involved in, I recommend the series of videos why Caitlin sucks parts one through three.
Caitlin seems to have engineered Jon's being sent to the wall in order to protect her children, the only reason for this would be that she believes that John has a better claim to winter fell than her own or might become a challenger in the future. This is probably not because she knows R plus L equals J, but there's good evidence that Ned may have been married to Ashara Dane before being wedded to Caitlynn. the powers that be annulled the marriage because a union between Stark and Tulley had been promised, the intended groom had been killed by the mad king, and the Daynes had suffered disgrace by being on the loosing side of the war.
We may have a busted fan theory in this episode too.  Because photos were leaked of aria with the dagger catspaw, Many have speculated that aria obtained the dagger by killing little finger when he's caught betraying the Starks in some way. Though it will happen a little different than theorized, I think it still possible. There's another leak showing of aria with a knife to little fingers throat.
If you're wondering about the worried looks Sansa and little finger exchange when aria is fighting Breanne in season four, it's likely because Sansa fears that she is on aria's list and sees that her personal guard may not even be able to save her from her sister. Now, this will likely come to nothing between the two. I think that aria has long since taken Sansa off of her list, but Sansa feels guilty for playing a part in the death of arias friend and the loss of the Nymeria at the crosswaters. Aria is also the only stark who knows that sansa lied about her father being traitor in court in order to save her marriage to Joffrey.
I think the writers will play this drama up, and that little finger will try to inflame suspicions, but in the end they will catch him and he will be the one to loose, bringing aria and Sansa closer together in the eyes of the audience, to everyone's relief.
Switching gears to Dragon stone for a minute now - did anybody catch Davos's reply to John when he speaks about having "less" men in the North? Davos comments "fewer."
This is the same comment Stannis made to Davos in the first season when Davos uses the same incorrect grammar. This showed stannis to be very meticulous, and I daresay a bit anal, because the dramatic difference between less and fewer is quite nitpicky. But coming from Davos's lips, it shows growth of character and increased understanding, as well as a remembrance of his past roles and mistakes.
But one thing no one has really asked is, why is their so much dragonglass at Dragonstone? It was there before the Targareans...how about the dragon carvings? If dragonglass comes from dragons, then some of those stone statues may not be carvings at all. Remember that Azor Ahain is supposed to "wake dragons from stone," and this could be literal. If Euron or the nights king get their hands on one of Dany's dragons, then we're probably going to need more dragons for the climax. And we all know now that ice Dragons are real, and that one might very well be sleeping under Winterfell, and simply resting in cold pool form in its Godswood
I've also seen a great video by the community which puts forth the theory that Jorah and Sam are the keys to saving Westeros from Zombification. Sam is told three or four times that grayscale is easy to cure in children but nearly impossible in adults. In my is Game of Thrones prehistoric fiction series I have detailed the similarities between grayscale victims, the stonemen, and the zombies of the white walkers, as well as parallels between the myths concerning the two. Could vaccinating the children of Westeros against grayscale also work against the powers of the white walkers? Could being vaccinated for grayscale keep someone dead and unanimated despite the magic of the night skiing? Could it even cause infants to resist being changed into an actual white walker?
If this is the case, then Jorah is the key to its discovery. Those who  have seen the leaks know that Jorah is going beyond the wall with John and the brotherhood without banners, ostensibly to retrieve proof that the white walkers exist. I think somehow Jorah is going to resist being turned into either a white walker or a zombie because of his brush with grayscale. Notice we see him also in leaks of a meeting in the Kings Landing Arena, presumably well after this expedition beyond the wall takes place.
I want to sum up with the last scene from episode 4? What will happen to Jaimie and Bron?
That water Jamie was sinking looked awful Deep at the end of the program, being that he was so close to the shore,. He didn't even look to be trying to swim. Now, of course, he's probably in a state of shock thinking a second before that his life was over due to Dragon breath, and he'd likely just gotten his wind nocked out when Bron tackled him into the water. But mostly I think the sinking scene was for dramatic effect, to emphasize the cliffhanger ending.
I think they'll both be captured. We'll get some banter between Jamie and Braun, with Jamie accusing the mercenary of caring about him after all, whereupon Bron will use the excuse that he lost his bag of gold in the battle and needs a Lantusstir to pay his debts again. But ultimately, I think Bron is going over to Dany's side by the end of the season. After all he was Tyrion's bodyguard and friend first and is a practical man.
Jamie, on the other hand, has gone through yet another rebirth in this drowning scene and the scene with the queen of thorns. He is questioning the rationality of his own love for  Cersei at the moment, and when Dany lets him go to deliver his sister a message, he will doubt it even more. This will put him back in the perfect position to become the Valenqar and save West rose from his sister.
Thanks for reading, please share if you got anything out of these speculations and I hope you'll bookmark my blog, we've got much more going on in the weeks to come.

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