Jaqen Fett

The Alchemist is Jaqen and now Jaqen is Pate. Either the FM wanted access to the entire Citadel (maybe something to do w/ relics?) or Jaqen is there to assassinate someone. I find the agenda of the FM one of the most interesting unknowns of the entire series

Not sure if this was already brought up, but I find it interesting that the maseters represent science and empiricism in general, but their views seem to be rendered backwards by the re-awakening of magic (dragons, greenseers, Others, Mel, Thoros). It's not often you see the rational/logic based point of view being questioned, but then again this is a fantasy series so this may not be too surprising (or the maesters know more than they let on...).

Got it...CH did not have the burning blue eyes so he's very much not just a "rouge wight" Does anyone else hoping to learn more of the Others through CH or the 3EC? I just find it kind of odd that Martin would have a purely evil force in these novels (even the Lannisters have good traits) considering his tendency to shy away from pure villains and heroes that are so typical in a lot of fantasy writing. Also, the Others seem to be shaping up to be a pretty important part of this story and Mel being at the wall screams out to me that there will be some sort of fire vs. ice battle going down with possibly the Great Other facing off against R'Holler. I would love it if Martin twisted it such that the Others weren't all bad and that eradicating them would not benefit Westeros because of upsetting the balance between ice and fire, or something along those lines.

Frst off, great chapter. Thanks for the summary. This Bran chapter has raised my hopes for ADWD. Does anyone know if this chapter mentioned CH's eyes? Are they blue like the wights created by the Others? If so, the only way we are positive that wights can be created are by being killed by the Others. Since CH has the black hands, we could assume that he is a wight who has somehow retained what seems to be an ability for abstract thought/free will. This could raise some interesting possibilities. Here are just a few potential explanations. Please feel free to shoot down any of these as there is absolutely no evidence for any of the following: 1. If CH is Bloodraven, he could have escaped the typical wight (zombie-like) fate through some mystical ability of his and then hooked up w/ the 3EC after reanimation. 2. If CH is Benjen, the 3EC could have taken an interest in him and bent him to his/her will and sent him to help Bran. The timeline could work: Benjen was right around the time Bran was crippled (and the 3EC took an interest in him). Right around the same time the 3EC could have assumed dominion over dead Benjen 3. It would be really cool is somehow the 3EC or CH was the Great Other. Since the Others have always been presented as an purely evil force, I could see GRRM tweaking this one-dimensional view (nothing is ever black or white in these novels) and showing that the Others are somehow necessary to maintain balance in the world (with the other side of the spectrum being Mel's R'hollor (sp?)). 4. The 3EC could be a warg of the Children and Bran is being recruited by the Children to help them in some way (he does have blood of the First Men in him and worships the same gods). For instance, the Children could be preparing for the imminent threat of the Others or the Children. I know these idea are going way overboard w/ speculation but it would be cool to get a glimpse into the intentions/background of the Others or Children through the 3EC and Bran's interaction with it.