A Game of Thrones, Chapter 17, Bran
Summary
Bran finds himself in a strange dream. He’s far above the world and he’s falling. He is accompanied by a crow. They have strange conversation. At one point Bran gets a glimpse at entire world, a detailed vision. He sees all his relatives, sees places far away and among many, he sees things taking place in the North, way behind the wall. He can see what has awakened. Three eyed crow tells Bran to fly, which he finally does.
Quotes
“Are you really a crow?” Bran asked.
Are you really falling? the crow asked back.
“I’ll wake up when I hit the ground,” Bran told the bird.
You’ll die when you hit the ground, the crow said.
He saw Sansa crying herself to sleep at night, and he saw Arya watching in silence and holding her secrets hard in her heart. There were shadows all around them. One shadow was dark as ash, with the terrible face of a hound. Another was armored like the sun, golden and beautiful. 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.
Now you know, the crow whispered as it sat on his shoulder. Now you know why you must live.
“Why?” Bran said, not understanding, falling, falling.
Because winter is coming.
Commentary
Very strange chapter. I’m usually not a fan of the mystical “dreaming experiences”, but this chapter managed to raise the hair on my neck more than once. The three eyed crow is trying to explain something to Bran. He’s showing him visions, or maybe he just accompanies Bran through the visions he creates himself? He’s trying to wake the power that sleeps in him, his third eye.
What I have not been able to figure out is who is the third shadow in the vision with Sansa and Arya (see quote above). The one with the hound is obviously Clegane, the one armored like sun is Jaime but the third one, in the stone armor, I don’t know. Is it Ser Ilyn Payne, the description fits him best but is he significant enough to appear in a vision? I don’t think it’s Barristan or Renly, surely not Robert?
The last thing I wanted to touch on in this chapters commentary are the Stark words uttered by the crow. “Now you know why you must live. (…) Because winter is coming.” This not only reinforces the new meaning of the words, but also suggests that Bran will play a key role in the fight against “winter”.
Tags: Bran
