This chapter opens with us seeing what is happening inside Brans mind. He is envisioning himself falling from a great height, above the world, and he is having a conversation with a crow as he falls. Initially Bran is convinced it’s a dream and that he will wake up before he hits the ground.
The Crow isn't so certain and suggests that Bran try flying.
As Bran falls he notices a great number of things, one of which is a golden face from the mists that says “The things I do for love” which is clearly a memory of Jaime Lannister prior to tossing Bran from the broken tower.
The Crow not only tells him to forget that, but also tells Bran he is gonna teach him how to fly. Bran argues that he’s not flying but just falling. The Crow in true mentor fashion says that every flight begins with a fall and instructs him to look down. Bran sees the following, Maester Luwin looking up practicing astronomy, his brother Robb practicing swordsmanship in the yard, Hodor the stable boy bringing an anvil to the blacksmith.
All of these things could easily be explained. Bran could be hearing things though the window or perhaps his brain is visualizing remnants of conversations he heard in his subconscious and putting images to them. Luwin may have mentioned the new lens that arrived while tending to Bran and/or commented on some positioning of the stars while in the same room. The same thing could be happening with sounds. After all Robb at practice with his sword will make a definite sounds Bran would be familiar with. Hodor is also not all that bright so Bran could also be hearing the voice of Mikken the Blacksmith giving Hodor some instructions. All of which are logical and rational explanations for what Bran is experiencing.
However it’s what he sees next that logically, being in a coma he shouldn’t be able to know. Bran sees his mother upon a ship, with the knife the assassin was wielding heading for Kings Landing and Ser Rodrik getting sea sick. Bran also notices a storm ahead of them that neither of them seem to see.
He also has visions of his sisters and his father. He sees his father arguing with the King, Sansa crying herself to sleep and Arya keeping her secrets, with shadows all about them. One of the shadows has the face of a hound so a reference to Sandor while another is armored in gold like the sun and beautiful. This could be Cersei who not only uses her wealth but also beauty and power as a form of armor. Clearly the events of the prior chapter are being represented here. But most ominously is what looms over the shadow hound and the golden armored shadow.
“Over them both loomed a giant in armor made of stone, but when he opened his visor, there was nothing inside but darkness and thick black blood.”
This is a clear reference to The Mountain that Rides; Ser Gregor Clegane who has yet to appear in the series. The looming presence and the stone armor point to Gregor for not only his nickname but his physical height. Later on the “thick black blood” is a foreshadowing of his condition after his duel with Oberyn Martell who uses poison as a weapon. Lastly that he is over both his brother Sandor “the Hound” and Cersei is also suggesting the three have a fate that is somehow linked. If you are sure what I’m talking about just google “Cleganebowl”.
Bran also sees out to foreign lands and sees dragons stirring. So perhaps a bit of foreshadowing here as well since we know that Daenerys was presented with Dragon Eggs at her wedding to Drogo.
When Bran looks North he sees his half brother Jon Snow sleeping in a cold bed with his skin growing pale and cold as the memory of warmth flees him. This may be foreshadowing the attack upon him in A Dance With Dragons.
Lastly Bran sees what lies far beyond the wall and the evil that awaits far to the north. He sees mountains that are rising up and these could be the Frostfangs which are beyond the wall and stretch all the way to the Lands of Always Winter.
Bran does manage to fly and notices the Crow has three eyes, and that the third eye is full of a terrible knowledge. The crow begins pecking at Bran’s forehead and after a bit it seems that some sort of veil has been lifted from Bran and this suggests he has been opened in some way to the supernatural.
At this point Brans sequence ends and he awakens startling a serving girl. His direwolf hops on the bed and Bran notes how large he has grown. When Robb enters the room the chapter ends with Bran telling Robb the name of his direwolf is Summer.
If the author was hinting at a link between the Stark children in prior chapters he outwardly screamed it here with Bran. Clearly it’s something Robb is aware of on at least an intuitive level a he was knew that Bran needed to hear the wolves howling. Additionally Ghost seems to know what Jon is feeling when he went at Tyrion previously, the same can be said of Nymeria and Arya. Nymeria did nothing as Arya and the butcher's boy played, but once Joffrey came at her with intent to hurt Nymeria attacked.
Which brings us to the odd person out in all of this, Sansa, who unfortunately lost Lady in the last chapter due to the Queen's desire. The lack of a direwolf suggests that her story will not have a great deal of elements of magic or the supernatural and instead will be more involved with real world things.
This seems to be the case as Arya on her upcoming adventures both in Westeros and in Braavos encounters people with strange and amazing powers. Jon ventures beyond the wall and has to deal with the Others, Brand additionally we see having a heavy amount of the supernatural in his storyline as he becomes a warg. Further hints at the supernatural and what lay in store for Bran is that when he looks upon the weirwood tree in the Godswood it looks back at him knowingly. Even Robb who doesn’t have a POV chapter is influenced by the supernatural in that Stannis and Melisandre use blood magic on him.
Sansa's story however is devoid of all these things. Her tale revolves around political intrigue and there is a notable lack of magical influence on things that occur with her. Her tale seems very rooted in real world things. This storyline devoid of the supernatural and magic in a world full of the two sets up an interesting juxtapose.
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