Game of Thrones: Chapter 17: Bran AKA All My Dreams are Ever What they Seem

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.

Game of Thrones: Chapter 8: Bran AKA Things I do for love

This chapter opens with Bran reflecting that nearly everyone has gone off hunting and on the futures of the Stark family. He is excited for the opportunity to travel south and in many ways to live out his childhood dream of becoming a knight and perhaps even a member of the Kingsguard.

It’s likely that many of his dreams have been fueled by stories from Old Nan. He list off his heroes from the stories he has heard. Serwin of the Mirror Shield, Ser Ryam Redwyne, Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, the Twins Ser Erryk and Ser Arryk, the White Bull Gerold Hightower, Ser Arthur Dayne the Sword of the Morning and Barristan Selmy who is commonly referred to as Barristan the Bold are all brought to his memory.

This may offer some insight as to Bran’s aspirations for the future. He certainly sees himself as becoming a great knight and maybe even a member of the Kingsguard. In addition it may also offer some foreshadowing as we know the author likes to use this sort of thing as a literary tool.

So lets take a look at these heros of Bran and what themes and virtues young Bran may be aspiring to embody as a young boy.

Serwin of the Mirror shield slew a dragon and also saved a princess from giants. Ser Redwyne was notable in tournament victories. Ser Aemon was noted for not only his swordsmanship but also for his noble character. Ser Arryk and Ser Erryk were brothers who tragically ended up killing one another in a duel over a differences in a war over royal succession. Ser Hightower fell to Eddard Stark and several allies at the Tower of Joy during Robert’s Rebellion, but prior to doing so he demonstrated unwavering loyalty and courage in not fleeing when Ned showed up with allies and he and the rest of the Kingsguard who fell were outnumbered. Another knight who also died at the Tower of Joy and is an apparent hero to Bran is Ser Arthur Dayne who Brans dad had so much respect for he returned the fallen knights sword to his family after his defeat. Ser Arthur was also known for defeating the outlaw band the Kingswood Brotherhood by winning over the the small folk of the kingswood by addressing the grievances and bring them before the king.

So we can see the following themes embodied by Bran’s heroes: Facing the supernatural, courage, skill, dedication, nobility of character, loyalty, resolve, justice, a sense of duty, even sacrifice and willingness to die for what one believes in. In short many of the qualities in what one would consider a truly heroic knight.

We also learn a bit about the order. There are only seven members of the Kingsgurad and like the Night’s Watch they have no wives or children and are considered to be the finest swords in the land.

Bran even got to see a few of the Kingsguard who accompanied King Robert to Winterfell. Ser Boros, Ser Meryn, and Ser Jaime Lannister. However he notes that Ser Boros and Meryn don’t look like what he pictured as Kingsguard. He does think that Jamie seems to him what a member of that order should look like.

This is a nice reminder that Bran is still a young lad and perhaps a bit naive when it comes to judging books by their covers. His brother Rob even tells him that Jamie should not count as a Knight as he slew the Mad King and thus broke his vows as a member of the Kingsguard.

Further we also learn that Bran has yet to give his direwolf a name. We also learn the names of the other direwolves. Rob named his Grey Wind, Rikkon named his Shaggydog, which Bran thinks is a kind of stupid name.

Interestingly enough that that all the others have named their wolves, and if we assume that having named the wolf somewhat suggests that a foreshadowing of the corresponding Stark then this could suggest to the reader that the Brand’s future is uncertain.

Bran, after giving up on teaching his wolf to play fetch, decides to go for a climb up the weirwood tree in the godswood, across the castle and up the broken tower. Again we get a description of Winterfell and learn that it’s not all built on a level field. There are passages and gaps within the walls where he can pass through. Again if Martin based aspects of Winterfell of the Roman hypocaust systems then this explains these passages that are seemingly unused.

Bran recalls his father's comments that Bran is a squirrel when he was once found sleeping in a tree. This is in a sort of humorous way at foreshadowing events for Bran in A Dance with Dragons.

While on his climb of the broken tower he hears voices discussing the appointment of Ned as Hand of the King. From his vantage point Bran can only hear the two speaking and can’t tell whom it is. It turns out to be Jamie and Cersei Lannister and we get a bit of reflection from them on Roberts decision.

Essentially Cersei doesn't like the idea and wishes it was Jamie who was appointed to the position. Cersei seems concerned that Eddard is planning on making a move against the Lannisters.

Jamie, for his part doesn't want the job citing it would be too much work and to be fair as a Knight and member of the Kingsguard it’s not really his area of expertise.However he is glad that Robert named an honorable man as opposed to someone who is more ambitious like either of the king's brothers or Littlefinger.  

This provides some insight to the mentality of Jamie and is also one of those sentences that can be taken in multiple ways. Lets get the full quote:

Jaime Lannister: "We ought to count ourselves fortunate", the man said "The King might have as easily named one of his brothers, or even Littlefinger, gods help us. Give me honorable enemies rather than ambitious ones, and I'll sleep more easily at night."

Now this could imply that Jamie is grateful to have someone of honor as the Hand of the King, who will at least be trustworthy and do the honorable thing instead of be more deceitful and cunning in instances where they don't agree. On the other hand it could also mean that as Ned is honorable he will be much easier to predict and manipulate as his honor will prevent him from using underhanded and less than noble tactics. Or perhaps he means both.

The conversation then turns to Lysa Arryn and they seemed concerned that she may have been told something that her late husband may have learned. Further she is concerned that as Lysa has fled to the safety of the Vale with her child she may be emboldened to reveal what secrets her late husband may have shared with her. Cersei goes as far to state that her silence would have been ensured had her son been fostered at Casterly Rock as a sort of hostage.

Bran decides that he needs to see the people speaking and moves along his climb to get a better view. It’s at that time when he witnesses Jamie and Cersei beginning to commit incest. (Or Twincest as it’s become commonly referred to.)

Bran slips but catches himself. Jamie pulls him up preventing him from falling to the ground. After pulling Bran up and asking his age Jamie says with loathing:

Jaime: “The things I do for love.”

And then shoves Bran back out the window, who falls to the ground below.

Clearly from the beginning the writer is establishing the Lannisters as the loathsome family that is to be seen as the villains of the tale. From a literary standpoint this is a nice method to hook the reader into the story. Ned's disgust with them and referring to them as an “infestation”, the mysterious message from Catelyn’s sister, Joffrey actions in the practice yard, and finally Jaime and Cersei not only plotting in secret but cuckolding the king and partaking of incest. This clearly is the family to hate.. Well perhaps with the exception of Tyrion, who is the next POV character in the next chapter.

Fun fact the first 8 Italicised words of this chapter provide the following "Stay on ground level, that best you listen.” While it’s unlikely the author intended this it is sort of funny that this is the sort of advice Brans mother wanted him to follow.