Brad Stark

It will be nice to have another show while we wait for a book that may never be published. I don't think it is important Dunk be a doofus, the story works even if he has a different personality. I'd like to see someone tall, as that is probably the most basic aspect of his character, but I don't even think that is necessary. I don't want Chris Hemsworth, or anyone else that high profile, but especially not someone so old. Dunk's relationship with Aegon is essentially being like a big brother, in many ways more so than any of his biological brothers. Casting someone old enough to be his father changes the story entirely, not to mention he'd be an old man when he dies at Summerhall if the show ever gets that far. Dunk is about 17 at the start of The Hedge Knight and Aegon is about 9, I'd really like to see the show keep those ages. I'd love to see a martial artist. There is a good chance that without dragons this show just falls flat. Upping the choreography to give us better battles and fights is one way to keep the show interesting. Just having a medieval setting for the show, and a bunch of betrayal and sex is dangerously close to a soap opera. Dunk in the books is not a technical fighter, and mostly relies on size and strength and street fighting experience over his knightly training, but I do want some good fight scenes. Even though this is a lead role, it should be very easy to cast. Dunk is not especially handsome, charming, or clever, nor is he well spoken, and even though he'd be on camera the whole time, he doesn't talk much or have difficult lines or complicated relationships with other characters. Really any teenage male actor can pull off this role better than someone like Chris Hemsworth. Aegon will be much harder to cast. He pretty much has to look Targaryen, although shaving him bald helps make the features fit. He has much more complicated lines and emotions, is just as central to the story, and you have to cast a little boy believing he can grow into the role.

Where did we get the idea Jon's real name was Aegon? Is this from the show? This makes no sense, given Rheagar had another son Aegon already, who was probably still alive when Jon was born. I always suspected his name was Aemon, like the dragonknight he specifically thinks about and looks up to.

I've always thought future Bran lured past Bran to the tower - so Bran is responsible for what happened even though it wasn't a coincidence. I can't believe the dagger was chosen because it was the least conspicuous in Robert's collection. Lots of people today carry a knife on them wherever they go, knives are everywhere, and in Westerous would be even more prevalent, and in Bran's condition, he could have been killed with a spoon. Either the employer had access to the dagger and happened to grab it because it was convenient, or more likely, with the intent of framing someone. I've always thought Bowen Marsh was manipulated by Melisandre, although not in a magical way.

Catelyn does not recognize the dagger as anything special, but Rodrik Cassel does. A non-expert at arms would probably get the same reaction Catelyn did - just a sharp knife with nothing special about it. If this was an attempt to use a dagger traced back to anyone, it was someone who knew Rodrik would examine the dagger and know what it was. Probably someone close to House Stark or actually in Winterfell. Why use a priceless dagger (yours or someone else's) when it is likely to be cast aside as just another knife?

I've actually considered 3) and 4) for Maester Ludwin himself. He's clearly against magic and Bran's association with it, but emotionally attached to the Stark children as well as loyal out of his job. If he already saw Bran as a problem, and now saw killing him as a mercy, he has motive. He knows what is going on better than anyone, and his reaction to Catelyn returning to Bran when she did seems to fit. The knife doesn't fit at all - Ludwin has no motive to frame anyone and is unlikely to pick up this dagger by chance.

I don't see it as that simple. Assuming you are right about the employer not anticipating Catelyn's return or the assassin getting caught, that still leaves the question of why use this knife? Do you go along with the idea that the knife was intended to frame someone? If not, why not just use a cheap kitchen knife? If you agree the knife was intended to frame someone, who was it intended to frame? and who was the employer? And why kill Bran? I do agree this is highly unlikely to be a faceless man. I disagree with your logic - not looking, sounding or behaving like a faceless man is exactly what faceless men do best. The killer was almost certainly contracted after Bran fell, and it is a real stretch to see someone rushing to Bravos and hiring a faceless man, especially for an unconscious boy. And then why impersonate someone who looks like a common criminal instead of Ludwin, a servant, or anyone else? And a faceless man would not fail this badly to get away or kill Catelyn on discovery.

I can't see Ned turning on Robert, not without more substantial evidence, and Cersei likely knew it. I believe Tyrion speculated that Joffrey wanted to impress Cersei and Jamie by killing Bran. I don't remember where this was mentioned, but it is possible, especially if the dagger wasn't distinct or distinctly associated with Joffrey. Cersei or Jamie might know the dagger was Joffrey's even if no one else did. The motive is questionable - if Joffrey considered the Starks a threat, or thought Cersei or Jamie did, killing Ned would make sense. Killing Bran is just going to make them a bigger threat, and going after a cripple, and not even doing it yourself is not exactly the best way to prove you are anything. Another argument against Littlefinger - He claimed to have lost the dagger to Tyrion. If he planned this from the start, it would have made much more sense to make people aware of this story before the incident.

I believe Jamie when he admits to throwing Bran but denies hiring the catspawn. She has by far the strongest motive of anyone else to want Bran dead. This fits the theory of the dagger happened to be "close at hand" with the assumption the catspawn would not get caught. I don't see her doing this if the dagger was in any way connected to Joffrey, as she's too clever and Joffrey is her main motive for everything at this point.

He tells Catelyn "You aren't suppose to be here". Did the employer intentionally mislead the catspaw so he'd get caught? Or did the employer expect the assassination to be successful without anyone finding the blade? I don't believe the catspaw was told to leave the knife behind, it would be too easy to say he left the knife and someone else must have taken it. The assumption everyone (readers and characters) seem to make is that the employer is the owner of the dagger. To me, it seems obvious that it is someone else. The dagger was too valuable to gift to the assassin, especially if this was a poor man desperate for food. Stealing the dagger from someone else makes a lot more sense. The problem I have with Littlefinger as a suspect, is it seems the employer intended the catspaw to get caught by Catelyn, leading to a very real risk that Catelyn would die. I don't see Littlefinger wanting her dead, and might even be plotting against Ned in hopes of winning her over, especially at this point in the story. It seems entirely possible that Littlefinger never owned the dagger, but made up the story about losing it to Tyrion to set the Starks against the Lannisters, and the employer stole it from Joffrey with the intent of framing him. Varys seems a likely suspect, if for no other reason than we can rule out most of the other people with motives. Another alternative is the dagger was stolen without any intent to frame, but happened to be "close at hand". If that's the case, then the catspawn was not intended to be caught.

I was almost certain I was the only one still lost on who and why gave the Catspaw the dagger to assassinate Bran. Theories are all over the place though, so I am surprised this has been barely discussed over the years when so many less important questions have been repeatedly beat to death on this board.

Not supposed to discuss the show, but this was a minor change that only affects the timing of the TV episodes. In Fire and Blood, Cole kills Lonmouth during the tournament the next day, possibly on purpose, possibly by accident. The show just moved the death up a day and made it clearly on purpose - probably for no other reason than to give us a clear and dramatic ending to the episode instead of starting the next episode with Lonmouth's death. The show might also skip this tournament altogether.

The dagger's significance in the books is to figure out who wanted Bran assassinated. I haven't really figured it out myself, although Littlefinger is my prime suspect. It is an odd choice of weapon, why hire an assassin and give him such an expensive weapon? Grrm is involved in HOD, so I doubt it would take on so much significance for the show if it isn't important in the books. However, the books talk about a Lightbringer sword, so this has to end up the central legendary weapon.

Rhaenyra and Daemon are very much how I pictured them in Fire and Blood. Alicent is very different, and I don't like the changes.

I thought they did a wonderful job with House of the Dragon. Fire and Blood provides a skeleton for the story, and I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the novels, but the actors really bring the characters to life. So much better than the last few seasons of A Game of Who Cares how this ends we all just want to wrap it up and move on.

My answer to the riddle of the Valaryian Sphinx. Firewryms and Wyverns are naturally occurring creatures, dragons are not. Thousands of years ago, skinchangers took control of Firewyrms and Wyverns among other creatures. They created a dragon by combining parts of the two, along with the mind and spirit of a human skinchanger. I can't find the quote, but GRRM was asked if we'd see anyone warg a dragon. He didn't answer yes or no, but said there were things about dragons people have long forgotten making this much more difficult than skinchanging other creatures.