‘Game Of Thrones’ Bran Stark Could Turn Everything Upside Down
Game of Thrones is full of fascinating characters and characters whose importance in “the final game” may not have been thoroughly considered by many GOT fans. One of those characters is Bran Stark. He has been on quite a journey in the last six seasons. From Jon Snow’s half-brother, or so we thought then, whose sister embarrassed him when she proved she was a better shot with a bow and arrow than he was to The Three-Eyed Raven with the power of prophecy and the ability to see the past.
HBO’s Game of Thrones has hinted at some other abilities. And he admittedly is not yet in full control of the abilities he does have. But as we near the end of Game of Thrones, we will likely see him grow, mature, and learn to be more thoughtful and responsible about his power. What could that mean? What implications could that have for this last stretch of the battle for the Iron Throne? And what could it mean when the war we’ve been waiting for since Season 1 happens – the battle against The White Walkers?
Let’s go back to Season 1 of Game of Thrones. That fall from the tower after seeing Jaime and Cersei engaged in, well, you know. Pushed by a Jaime Lannister who was much colder and much more blind to who Cersei really is. Someone over at iDigital Times has suggested that maybe Bran being there at that moment wasn’t coincidence. Maybe he told himself to go there. Here’s how that makes sense. Check out this scene from Season 6.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMCI8OETFCQ
At about 0:23 in this Game of Thrones scene, Bran calls out, “Father,” as a young Ned Stark runs to the Tower of Joy. And Ned stops and turns toward his voice. He can’t see him, but he can hear him. The Three-Eyed Raven steps in front of him and stops him from pursuing his father, then brings him out of the vision. The Three-Eyed Raven has told Bran before that the past is already written, but it seems that this may be more of a warning than a fact.
Consider this scene next. Sorry. I know. It’s one of the most heartbreaking Game of Thrones scenes so far, but it illustrates a point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Poy6h2zJCJ0
The mystery of how Hodor got his name is solved and we learn something about Bran. It appears that he actually can alter the past. Wylas fell to the ground in convulsions, repeating “hold the door” over and over only because he had warged into Hodor. Wylas became known as Hodor because of that scene. Time loops and such get more complicated than my mind can follow most of the time, so we’ll leave that there. But the point is that Bran apparently already has changed the past, as illustrated by that scene.
Since Game of Thrones has shown us that Bran can be heard by people in his visions and that he can alter the past, it’s possible that his future self went back in time and told his younger self to climb that tower, knowing that Jaime would try to kill him in order to hide his incestuous secret. But why would he do that? Because it seems that the gift of prophecy is given to those with less than stellar health. Other Game of Thrones characters who have had this gift include Jojen (who was constantly sick), the warlocks of Qarth (who physically abused themselves), and Patchface (who actually died when he drowned and then came back to life). So if Bran didn’t go to that tower, he wouldn’t fall and become crippled, wouldn’t have sought out The Three-Eyed Raven, and wouldn’t have been able to fulfill his purpose in events we have not yet seen on Game of Thrones but will in the last two seasons.
When you consider that Bran can change the past, the implications are huge. Movie Pilot makes some interesting points about things he may have already done prior to the point in time at which HBO’s Game of Thrones begins. Like many, many years ago. They suggest that the name Bran is so common in the Stark family ancestry because it really is Bran reappearing at various times in history to act in a way that will protect the Starks for the time when winter finally comes. For example, Bran the Builder lived about 8,000 years ago. He was the first Stark. He built Winterfell and the Wall. The lesson of that heartbreaking Game of Thrones scene with Hodor is that Bran very well may have created the present in which he and everyone else is living. By choosing, at some point, to either change the course of events or to let them play themselves out.
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What could this mean for the last two seasons of Game of Thrones? He could change anything. But he has to be very careful. One change could have unintended consequences. Can he change something related to the White Walkers? It seems like if he could, he would have by now in some previous incarnation since they apparently have been a threat for thousands of years. We’ll see what Benioff and Weiss give us when Game of Thrones returns in the summer of next year.
Want to hear more perspectives on the Bran time travel theories? Check out the video below.
[Featured Image via HBO]
