The 3-4(-5) main plots all kicking off in the pilot episode - justified in-universe or just narrative convention?

[Pink Fat Rast]

Alright so assuming that:

1) Varys entirely orchestrated Daenerys' marriage, incl. the dragon eggs, and picked this time because of the impending Winter, and

2) Littlefinger kicked off the political tensions, and also picked the moment based on the approaching Winter,
 

we're still left with Bran falling out of the window, which seems like it was necessary to kick off his "quest" arc (though not so much the war thing as I'm sure LF would've found other ways to fan the flames),
and Jon Snow deciding to go to the Wall not because of what the deserter told, but in connection to Ned's departure apparently.

I suppose Bran's storyline could've been altered into, I don't know, him getting crippled while escaping Theon, way AFTER the visions started - in connection, again, with the Winter and the WW reappearence. Or, he somehow finds the direwolf pups with psychic instinct, and then the warging starts.
And Jon Snow's motive could've been a combination of Eddard's departure and the scary rumours.

However, as it stands,
-Jon's arc (ultimately revolving around the WWs) is somewhat indirectly kicked off by the political plot (Ned's departure and Catelyn's attitude), and
-Bran's arc is kicked off by a COINCIDENCE as an even less direct consequence of the political plotline (the decadent Lannisters arriving in WF), plus
-the direwolves are also found coincidentally.

And that all DESPITE the fact that the plot starts off with the deserter's execution, who brings the news about the WWs, in full presence of both Jon and Bran, AND the direwolves are found right after that on the way back home - but, aside from a vague suggestion that it's an omen, and Benjen somewhat humorously mentioning WWs and DWs in one sentence, the connection is never really made.


 

And without the assumptions that the War and Daenerys plotlines were kicked off by Varys and LF as a reaction to the impending winter, it seems like the plot starts by several storylines kicking off at the same time by sheer coincidence. So am I missing something here? Or is this circumstance lampshaded somwhere, and supposed to be resolved at some point?

[Pink Fat Rast]

Thought I should expand on the Direwolves a bit:

Them finding the 6 whelps, while also conveniently having 6 matching kids, right at the beginning of the story (while on their way back from Will's execution, no less), which then go on to play a significant role in the story, always seemed kooky to me - if it hasn't already been "lampshaded" somewhere, it'd be really cool if this coincidence were given an explanation somewhere down the line, probably magic-related or maybe not entirely.

Dany at least got the eggs from Illyrio who turned out to be a major player.

[Lucius Lovejoy]

Probably not the answer you want to hear, but I think that all of these coincidences lined up because they needed to for GRRM to tell his story.  So just narrative convention.  But I'll bite the bait and try to justify it.

I'm not sure that Jon Arryn being poisoned by Littlefinger through Lysa has any connection to Winter, and may just be because Littlefinger saw an opportunity with Robert and Cersei's marriage in shambles, Stannis and Jon Arryn figuring out that Joff/Tom/Myrcella are Jaime's and Renly trying to make a move to get Robert hooked up with Margaery, so he may have thought "fuck it, time to take down the Lannisters by framing them and see how I profit."  Maybe.  Either way not sure if it's because of winter.

Varys' plans with Dany are likely due to her being of age and the timing being right given the shitstorm LF is trying to brew, also not necessarily related to winter.

The 3ER/3EC/whatever-three-eyed-bird-he-is may have been trying to reach Bran for awhile, and only able to really access him when he is in a coma or after he has bonded with his wolf.

6 direwolves is definitely an omen.

Jon left partly because of Ned's departure (I wouldn't have wanted to stick around with Cat) but also because he had reached adulthood and Uncle Benjen was there so the timing was right.

I have no answer for the dragon eggs.  When in ADWD the Golden Company or Griff (I can't remember which) keep complaining about "the fat man keeps changing his plans, what's his plans today?" I think that GRRM is winking at the readers about how it is him changing his mind and making up new purposes/stories for Illyrio and Varys.

[Pink Fat Rast]

3 hours ago, Lucius Lovejoy said:

I'm not sure that Jon Arryn being poisoned by Littlefinger through Lysa has any connection to Winter, and may just be because Littlefinger saw an opportunity with Robert and Cersei's marriage in shambles, Stannis and Jon Arryn figuring out that Joff/Tom/Myrcella are Jaime's and Renly trying to make a move to get Robert hooked up with Margaery, so he may have thought "fuck it, time to take down the Lannisters by framing them and see how I profit."  Maybe.  Either way not sure if it's because of winter.

Ah shite I completely forgot that LF wasn't the "prime mover" in terms of killing Jon Arryn... fuck.

Stannis initiated the investigations into the incest thing, so the real question should be to what extent *that* was connected to his messianic/WW plans - don't remember that connection being addressed anywhere?

Also weird for the show to change that and have him discover the incest through Ned - one would think that kind of thing is a bit important to just change?
 

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Varys' plans with Dany are likely due to her being of age and the timing being right given the shitstorm LF is trying to brew, also not necessarily related to winter.

Well as long as it's caused by LF's schemes, or even directly by Stannis' investigations which might destabilize the situation, it would be one less coincidence.

 

 

 

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Probably not the answer you want to hear, but I think that all of these coincidences lined up because they needed to for GRRM to tell his story.  So just narrative convention.  But I'll bite the bait and try to justify it.

 

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The 3ER/3EC/whatever-three-eyed-bird-he-is may have been trying to reach Bran for awhile, and only able to really access him when he is in a coma or after he has bonded with his wolf.

6 direwolves is definitely an omen.

Jon left partly because of Ned's departure (I wouldn't have wanted to stick around with Cat) but also because he had reached adulthood and Uncle Benjen was there so the timing was right.

What kind bugs (or intrigues?) me about this whole part here, is how easily those elements could've been connected by making the characters witnessing them aware (if they weren't) of it and slightly tweaking their motivations:

They hear the story from Will, and then see the "omen" on their way back home - weird enough for Benjen to raise at least one eyebrow, right?
So, Jon Snow hears the WW account, and this reinforces his interest in going to the Wall and prove himself (or fills him with fear). Then they see the Direwolves on their back, and he comes to think this can't be a coincidence, cementing his decision to go to the Wall (or reverting the fear from before).
Then the worldly events start to unravel, Ned has to leave for KL, Cat doesn't want him around, and he "realizes" that this is fate telling him to go to the Wall - to look out for the mythical creatures that just both suddenly turned up on the same day, and also prove his worth as a bastard (the reason Cat wanted him gone, too).

Bran could've made similar observations and uh, I don't know - some kind of other reason for him to climb the wall again against Cat's last admonition, maybe? When he fell there was a Direwolf nearby - so maybe he saw one of the direwolves do something weird, or go somewhere with a purpose and he climbed the walls to see where he was going? Inspired by the recent events, he could've been intrigued to maybe observe something mystical going on with the direwolf, but then before he gets there he's distracted by something slightly less mystical going on (which, unbeknownst to him is "connected" to the Winter via Stannis, see above^^) and the rest is history as they say.

 

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Probably not the answer you want to hear, but I think that all of these coincidences lined up because they needed to for GRRM to tell his story.  So just narrative convention.  But I'll bite the bait and try to justify it.

So yea, right now I'm not even sure if I've missed some details that could account for these coincidences, but if they ain't there I'm still not buying the idea that GRRM "needed" them to tell his story.

He either made them into coincidences to later explain them with "fate" and maybe have characters wonder why they didn't make the connections back then, or he didn't think these coincidences were problematic, or the story wasn't written as "grounded" as it could've been, at least in those initial chapters.
But yea, whatever connections weren't there, could've been made easily.

[A Bong of Ice and Fire]

Finding the direwolves wasn't a coincidence. It was a gift from the Old Gods or Bloodraven, who knew what was coming.  Bran's fall may also have been tied to Bloodraven. It had to happen then so that Bran could go unconscious for a while and start his psychic journey to combat the enemy. It was enduced, or it was destiny.  

[Pink Fat Rast]

 

3 hours ago, A Bong of Ice and Fire said:

Finding the direwolves wasn't a coincidence. It was a gift from the Old Gods or Bloodraven, who knew what was coming.  Bran's fall may also have been tied to Bloodraven. It had to happen then so that Bran could go unconscious for a while and start his psychic journey to combat the enemy. It was enduced, or it was destiny.  

Well any coincidence can be eventually explained with destiny or psychic control - as long as it's actually addressed at some point.

Though I was also wondering if there were any more direct links, such as character motivations or cause and effect.