Beheading Bran

[Aegon VII]

So this one is definitely a long shot but I think it's a fun idea so I thought I'd share. My theory is that Bran will in fact be able to skin change dragons. I think the dragons will be used to win the fight against the others, but in the end, both the others and the dragons will need to die by the end of the series. So after the others are defeated, Jon, Bran, and Dany will be in positions of power and authority, and a decision will be made by at least Jon and Bran and possibly Dany that the dragons have to die. Perhaps two have already died in the battle and only Drogon survived. At this point, Drogon is so powerful, they would be unable to kill him by normal means. Instead, Bran will have to skin change into him so that he can be killed. It could also be that Bran's actual body is killed in the fight against the others and he is already permanently a dragon. I think it makes more sense that he chooses to skin change into him for his execution, so I will stick to it for my theory. So I think Bran will take control of Drogon and pretty much lay down and extend his neck out so Jon can decapitate him. 

I've had this idea (I won't call it a theory quite yet) for some time now, and never thought it really had anything to support it, so I didn't put to much stock in, just something I kind of hoped for. Recently, however, it occurred to me that the first thing in the first chapter of GoT is Bran watching a beheading. I started to wonder if this could be foreshadowing for Bran later being beheaded. This would have his (and our) story both beginning and ending with an execution. Bran is watching ned stark execute a man who deserted his role to protect the realm. If my theory is true, bran would die by being executed by jon stark, though for bran he would be choosing this death, sacrificing his life to protect the realm. 

Let's review the first chapter for more evidence.

        "Bran’s bastard brother Jon Snow moved closer. “Keep the pony well in hand ,” he whispered. “And don’t look away . Father will know if you do.”

We have a direct reference to controlling animals right before Ned's sword drops. Also, don't look away would be appropriate advice in the future if Bran is having to stay in Drogon's mind until the last second. He needs to keep looking through the eyes of the dragon.

        "His father took off the man's head with a single sure stroke. Blood sprayed out across the snow, as red as summerwine. One of the horses reared and had to be restrained to keep from bolting. Bran could not take his eyes off the blood. The snows around the stump drank it eagerly, reddening as he watched."

Hopefully this means Jon will get through Drogons neck in one swing. I think the horse rearing and being restrained would apply to Bran's struggle to control Drogon through the execution. Bran is unable to take his eye's off the blood which will also be the case when he is beheaded. After the sword falls, Bran will be stuck in Drogon's head and will be forced to watch the dragon bleed everywhere as he dies. Finally, the snow and stump drinking the blood is reminiscent of the blood sacrifices that were once popular amongst the followers of the old gods. 

Soon after this Ned rides up behind Bran and they talk about if a man can be brave and afraid. They then discuss the old ways and how you owe it to the person you sentence to death to swing the sword. This is taken one step further if Bran is sacrificing his own life to execute Drogon. We then have this quote,

        "One day, Bran, you will be Robb's bannerman, holding a keep of your own for your brother and your king, and justice will fall to you. When that day comes, you must take no pleasure in the task, but neither must you look away. A ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is."

I think this statement fits especially nicely with my theory. Justice will literally fall to Bran and Jon to kill the last dragon in order to protect the realm. Ned reminds him once again not to look away. I find this one a bit peculiar, because if Ned's statement about the future is taken literally, Bran will be the executioner, so it might be more accurate to say, "You must swing the sword" instead focusing on not looking away could be further foreshadowing of Bran needing to maintain control of Drogon, continuing to look through his eyes until the execution is complete. And finally, with Bran giving his life to kill Drogon, he will certainly not forget what death is. The sentence following this is Jon reappearing to announce the Direwolves. I think the fact that the beheading is the first scene of the book, and Ned's advice not to look away come right before the uber significant finding of the wolves, suggests that this scene is very important to the series.

That end's the, albeit limited, textual support. There are a few separate theories that, if true, would support this theory.

Those are:

1) Bran must die

2) The dragons must die

3) Bran will warg dragons

I will let you form your own opinions about these three theories, but will briefly mention points that support them or that I find pertinent.

1) BR tells Bran he will not become an old man in a tree. Some argue this foreshadows his death.

2) I personally came to this conclusion before ever thinking of bran being beheaded. I think just narratively it makes sense to have Dragons come back into the world in the beginning of the story, and leave at the end. Also, similar to lotr, I think part of the bittersweet ending is the disappearance of a lot the magic that has been returning. The biggest reason I think the dragons are doomed is that I believe they are too powerful to coexist with men. They are the nukes of westeros, and whoever has them has absolute power. I'm not saying dragons are invincible, but people view them as such and in the minds of the people, dragons are absolute power. As Vary's says power is just perception, and whoever has the dragons, is perceived as all powerful. Dany's rise to power has been ridiculously easy, and solely possible by the dragons. Aegon conquering Westeros was the same way. The ghiscari and Braavosi hate the dragons because they saw what happens when people exploit their power. I think there's a good chance the maesters and FM are trying to kill dragons for this reason as well. I think Jon and Bran will recognize that as long as dragons exist they present a threat to mankind if they were to fall into the wrong hands. For this reason, the will decide to kill any remaining dragons.

3) Bran always loved the story of Aemon the Dragonknight and he arguably sees a dragon rise over WF. Also, BR tells him "You will never walk again, Bran," the pale lips promised, "but you will fly.""

 

So that's my theory. I know there's not much to support it but it's fun and it's entirely possible.

[Magnar of Skagos]

I highly doubt ANYONE is going to convince Daenerys to kill one of her dragons. If you want to theorize that they might fall in battle, I can understand, but willingly kill? No. That would not happen. They are children too her.

[Adam Yozza]

3 hours ago, Maelys I Blackfyre said:

I highly doubt ANYONE is going to convince Daenerys to kill one of her dragons. If you want to theorize that they might fall in battle, I can understand, but willingly kill? No. That would not happen. They are children too her.

This. But also, I highly doubt Jon would be willing to kill his brother for one thing and second

6 hours ago, Aegon VII said:

Hopefully this means Jon will get through Drogons neck in one swing.

even for Gregor Clegane this would be impossible by the end of the series. Dragons grow to huge sizes and Drogon; being free to fly around; is growing the most. By the end of the series he would be far too big to be able to behead in a single stroke.

[Tijgy]

Personally I actually think the whole point of Bran watching the execution has more to do with Bran's learning to become the next Stark in Winterfell. It wants to show a part of Bran's identity: a Stark. Just like the finding of the direwolves later introduces us to another part of Bran's identity: being a warg. I think you are far-reaching a bit with seeing this as a foreshadowing of Bran's beheading. 

About some of your arguments: 

7 hours ago, Aegon VII said:

1) BR tells Bran he will not become an old man in a tree. Some argue this foreshadows his death.

This just says Bran will not become like BR and would not bounded like him to a tree. It does not directly Bran will die. 

2) Yeah, I also think the dragons should die. But I am not really sure which role they will pay in the future, if they might be essential to the future of the realm/defend the realm from the WW. 

7 hours ago, Aegon VII said:

3) Bran always loved the story of Aemon the Dragonknight and he arguably sees a dragon rise over WF. Also, BR tells him "You will never walk again, Bran," the pale lips promised, "but you will fly.""

I am not really sure how this proves Bran will skinchange dragons. I also always the "fly" should not be taken literal. Bran can essential walk, when he wargs Summer or skinchanges Hodor. I do think fly should be more seen as in a figurative way and it does relate more to the fact Bran will be able to control his magical powers.

[Lady Blizzardborn]

The ideal way to kill a dragon is actually not decapitation, which would be difficult with a standard blade but Lightbringer might manage it. The gold standard is to shoot it through an eye. Still works better if the dragon is holding still as a result of skinchanging though.

I don't agree with the other posters that Dany would never allow her dragons to be killed. I think it's possible she might not even be alive at this point.

I don't think Drogon would be easy to skinchange. Doesn't mean Bran couldn't do it, but this would be a bit more plausible if it was Viserion instead. He's the most easy-going of the dragons and thus less likely to put up much of a fight. Jon skinchanging a dragon would actually perhaps be a stronger argument with him being a skinchanger and most likely half-Targaryen. Bloodraven is the best bet overall, because of his bloodlines in combination with his experience. I think that would be a highly appropriate second-life for him.

[The Lord of the Crossing]

On 9/30/2016 at 11:21 PM, Aegon VII said:

So this one is definitely a long shot but I think it's a fun idea so I thought I'd share. My theory is that Bran will in fact be able to skin change dragons. I think the dragons will be used to win the fight against the others, but in the end, both the others and the dragons will need to die by the end of the series. So after the others are defeated, Jon, Bran, and Dany will be in positions of power and authority, and a decision will be made by at least Jon and Bran and possibly Dany that the dragons have to die. Perhaps two have already died in the battle and only Drogon survived. At this point, Drogon is so powerful, they would be unable to kill him by normal means. Instead, Bran will have to skin change into him so that he can be killed. It could also be that Bran's actual body is killed in the fight against the others and he is already permanently a dragon. I think it makes more sense that he chooses to skin change into him for his execution, so I will stick to it for my theory. So I think Bran will take control of Drogon and pretty much lay down and extend his neck out so Jon can decapitate him. 

I've had this idea (I won't call it a theory quite yet) for some time now, and never thought it really had anything to support it, so I didn't put to much stock in, just something I kind of hoped for. Recently, however, it occurred to me that the first thing in the first chapter of GoT is Bran watching a beheading. I started to wonder if this could be foreshadowing for Bran later being beheaded. This would have his (and our) story both beginning and ending with an execution. Bran is watching ned stark execute a man who deserted his role to protect the realm. If my theory is true, bran would die by being executed by jon stark, though for bran he would be choosing this death, sacrificing his life to protect the realm. 

Let's review the first chapter for more evidence.

        "Bran’s bastard brother Jon Snow moved closer. “Keep the pony well in hand ,” he whispered. “And don’t look away . Father will know if you do.”

We have a direct reference to controlling animals right before Ned's sword drops. Also, don't look away would be appropriate advice in the future if Bran is having to stay in Drogon's mind until the last second. He needs to keep looking through the eyes of the dragon.

        "His father took off the man's head with a single sure stroke. Blood sprayed out across the snow, as red as summerwine. One of the horses reared and had to be restrained to keep from bolting. Bran could not take his eyes off the blood. The snows around the stump drank it eagerly, reddening as he watched."

Hopefully this means Jon will get through Drogons neck in one swing. I think the horse rearing and being restrained would apply to Bran's struggle to control Drogon through the execution. Bran is unable to take his eye's off the blood which will also be the case when he is beheaded. After the sword falls, Bran will be stuck in Drogon's head and will be forced to watch the dragon bleed everywhere as he dies. Finally, the snow and stump drinking the blood is reminiscent of the blood sacrifices that were once popular amongst the followers of the old gods. 

Soon after this Ned rides up behind Bran and they talk about if a man can be brave and afraid. They then discuss the old ways and how you owe it to the person you sentence to death to swing the sword. This is taken one step further if Bran is sacrificing his own life to execute Drogon. We then have this quote,

        "One day, Bran, you will be Robb's bannerman, holding a keep of your own for your brother and your king, and justice will fall to you. When that day comes, you must take no pleasure in the task, but neither must you look away. A ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is."

I think this statement fits especially nicely with my theory. Justice will literally fall to Bran and Jon to kill the last dragon in order to protect the realm. Ned reminds him once again not to look away. I find this one a bit peculiar, because if Ned's statement about the future is taken literally, Bran will be the executioner, so it might be more accurate to say, "You must swing the sword" instead focusing on not looking away could be further foreshadowing of Bran needing to maintain control of Drogon, continuing to look through his eyes until the execution is complete. And finally, with Bran giving his life to kill Drogon, he will certainly not forget what death is. The sentence following this is Jon reappearing to announce the Direwolves. I think the fact that the beheading is the first scene of the book, and Ned's advice not to look away come right before the uber significant finding of the wolves, suggests that this scene is very important to the series.

That end's the, albeit limited, textual support. There are a few separate theories that, if true, would support this theory.

Those are:

1) Bran must die

2) The dragons must die

3) Bran will warg dragons

I will let you form your own opinions about these three theories, but will briefly mention points that support them or that I find pertinent.

1) BR tells Bran he will not become an old man in a tree. Some argue this foreshadows his death.

2) I personally came to this conclusion before ever thinking of bran being beheaded. I think just narratively it makes sense to have Dragons come back into the world in the beginning of the story, and leave at the end. Also, similar to lotr, I think part of the bittersweet ending is the disappearance of a lot the magic that has been returning. The biggest reason I think the dragons are doomed is that I believe they are too powerful to coexist with men. They are the nukes of westeros, and whoever has them has absolute power. I'm not saying dragons are invincible, but people view them as such and in the minds of the people, dragons are absolute power. As Vary's says power is just perception, and whoever has the dragons, is perceived as all powerful. Dany's rise to power has been ridiculously easy, and solely possible by the dragons. Aegon conquering Westeros was the same way. The ghiscari and Braavosi hate the dragons because they saw what happens when people exploit their power. I think there's a good chance the maesters and FM are trying to kill dragons for this reason as well. I think Jon and Bran will recognize that as long as dragons exist they present a threat to mankind if they were to fall into the wrong hands. For this reason, the will decide to kill any remaining dragons.

3) Bran always loved the story of Aemon the Dragonknight and he arguably sees a dragon rise over WF. Also, BR tells him "You will never walk again, Bran," the pale lips promised, "but you will fly.""

 

So that's my theory. I know there's not much to support it but it's fun and it's entirely possible.

The dragons dying will create an imbalance, unless all of the direwolves also die.  The direwolves need to die in order to have balance.

[Weirwood Ghost]

Trying to behead a dragon as big as drogon is the same effect of sticking needles in a pin cushion. It was Tyrion that pointed out that the only way to kill a dragon was through the eye into the brain. I'm entertained by your fan theory and would probably find it very amusing to read about or watch

[Lady Blizzardborn]

On 3/18/2017 at 4:46 PM, Lame Lothar Frey said:

The dragons dying will create an imbalance, unless all of the direwolves also die.  The direwolves need to die in order to have balance.

Do you perhaps mean that the dragons are part of an existing imbalance? Cause it's pretty clear someone or something screwed up all the forces of nature long ago, hence the funky seasons.

The direwolves may not need to die. They're not as overtly magical as the dragons are, in fact there were direwolves on earth once upon a time and those ones were not remotely magical. The Others definitely need to go though.

[Joey Crows]

So, it's nearly impossible to hold your head underwater in order to drown yourself because the will to live instinctively takes over at some point. For that reason alone I can't imagine Bran warging into Drogon to let himself be killed. He, or the part of Drogon that would still be inside there, would not be able to overcome the drive to live.