"The Winged Wolf" A Bran Stark Re-read Project - Part 1: AGOT

[BearQueen87]

Great analysis, Illuminated by Fire!

On Jojen's "harshness" in confronting Bran with his skinchanging nature, I want to say that it may seem harsh from the perspective of Bran, for whom this magic stuff is all new and unsettling and disturbing to his previous way of thinking about his identity and future. However, I actually think that our little grandfather actually shields Bran from the full measure of what his gifts might mean, and he does so consistently; it's part of what makes him a "little grandfather." I see Jojen as bearing a terrible burden, and can only imagine what it must be like to have knowledge of the future, to have seen terrible things yet to come, to know that they will come, irrevocably. If Jojen is in some respect throwing into Bran's face that Bran is a monster of sorts, he withholds just how monstrous and awful these abilities might actually be.

I have to wonder what Jojen was like before he got sick and then got the sight. I think you're right that its' a terrible burden that has been placed upon Jojen (and Bran, of course). But prior to his sickness, I imagine that he was just another high born boy. He and his sister were close like Bran and Arya, the was learning to lead from Howland. How do you wake up one day and come to grips that your whole life has changed?

I can't help but to wonder if we might not see something like this in Bran's narrative, where he gets foreknowledge of something to come and does everything in his power to prevent it. I just wonder if he'll succeed.

Good question. I'd say he would not succeed, though perhaps not because of preordained fate but because you cannot predict and control the actions of every human that will somehow play into what is about to happen.

[Hrafntýr]

I have to wonder what Jojen was like before he got sick and then got the sight. I think you're right that its' a terrible burden that has been placed upon Jojen (and Bran, of course). But prior to his sickness, I imagine that he was just another high born boy. He and his sister were close like Bran and Arya, the was learning to lead from Howland. How do you wake up one day and come to grips that your whole life has changed?

Good question. I'd say he would not succeed, though perhaps not because of preordained fate but because you cannot predict and control the actions of every human that will somehow play into what is about to happen.

On the first point, I suppose that Bran's narrative to some extent answers this question, insofar as Bran wakes up one day to find that his whole life has changed. I suppose that a difference between Jojen's and Bran's experiences might be that Jojen seems to be in a family/culture that takes magic more seriously, or at least considers it a part of lived reality. At least I think we're supposed to surmise that from what we glean of the Reed's upbringing and of Howland's own past and his teaching of his children. Jojen and Meera show up at Winterfell to serve this sort of role for Bran, to help mentor him through his crisis, but they have to do some serious crunching, and unload a lot of information to Bran that is new to him but that might have been part of their normal worldview. But I think that Jojen is withholding the worst of it. And so far, I don't think that Bran has been plagued with the sort of foreknowledge with which Jojen must grapple. I guess we don't know yet what kind of information about the future Bran is going to access with his new connection to the weirnet, so perhaps he won't have to bear the heavy burden that Jojen does.

On the second point, I'm inclined to agree. Again in the Indian tradition, one way of understanding "fate" is really what is sometimes referred to as causal determinism, basically having an omniscient (god-like) understanding of the trajectories of each and every causal strand active in the universe, as expressed in the figure of Laplace's demon. The thing is, though, that there's kind of the suggestion that the weirnet might provide this sort of omniscience, though I wonder if a human mind can accommodate all that information. But that's getting way ahead of ourselves, I suppose!

[BearQueen87]

On the second point, I'm inclined to agree. Again in the Indian tradition, one way of understanding "fate" is really what is sometimes referred to as causal determinism, basically having an omniscient (god-like) understanding of the trajectories of each and every causal strand active in the universe, as expressed in the figure of Laplace's demon. The thing is, though, that there's kind of the suggestion that the weirnet might provide this sort of omniscience, though I wonder if a human mind can accommodate all that information. But that's getting way ahead of ourselves, I suppose!

Ahhh, I really want to talk about this but I feel like it's too soon in the re-read! But maybe if I tread carefully? The idea of an omniscient being is certainly intriguing when we look at Bran and his future Odin Yoda/Old God figure. But then we come to the difference between omniscience and omnipotence. You can know all the things--past, present, future--but if you are powerless to interfere, to change, to correct, ect, then omniscience doesn't do you a lot of good. You're still crippled in what you can do. And wouldn't that fit so perfectly Bran's entire arc. The boy knows stuff--long before Eddard Stark learned Cersei and Jaime's secret, long before Stannis sent out his famous letter in ACOK, Bran knew that Cersei and Jaime were engaging in sexual relations. But the knowledge led to him being crippled and storing that information in a place where he "wouldn't need it." Look at the 3EC; it obviously knows exactly what is coming and what has come before--but doesn't it feel like he's powerless to do anything about it himself. He's invading the minds of young boys--Euron, Jojen, Bran--to try and find someone who can do something because for whatever reason the 3EC cannot do it (ignoring what we learin in the future about the 3EC).

It seems like all the gifts in ASOIAF are tainted somehow. Bran's a very powerful warg, but it leads him to make some seriously morally questionable decisions wrt to Hodor. So to take the beginning question to its next conclusion, if Bran somehow gain omniscience but is still "chained" and unable to prevent some event, then what will he do instead?

ETA: or to bring this back to our current chapter, look at Jojen. He obviously has some serious knowledge of what is to come, as you have pointed out. But he doesn't try to change it. He knows that he is going to die, but he doesn't try to prevent his own death; he accepts it (even when Meera cannot) and instead tries to follow the path that he is "supposed" to follow...oh but if he had never left House Reed and gone North...wheels within wheels. Would Jojen still die at some point in the future? So then is he really responsible for his own future demise?

GAH!

[Hrafntýr]

Ahhh, I really want to talk about this but I feel like it's too soon in the re-read! But maybe if I tread carefully? The idea of an omniscient being is certainly intriguing when we look at Bran and his future Odin Yoda/Old God figure. But then we come to the difference between omniscience and omnipotence. You can know all the things--past, present, future--but if you are powerless to interfere, to change, to correct, ect, then omniscience doesn't do you a lot of good. You're still crippled in what you can do. And wouldn't that fit so perfectly Bran's entire arc. The boy knows stuff--long before Eddard Stark learned Cersei and Jaime's secret, long before Stannis sent out his famous letter in ACOK, Bran knew that Cersei and Jaime were engaging in sexual relations. But the knowledge led to him being crippled and storing that information in a place where he "wouldn't need it." Look at the 3EC; it obviously knows exactly what is coming and what has come before--but doesn't it feel like he's powerless to do anything about it himself. He's invading the minds of young boys--Euron, Jojen, Bran--to try and find someone who can do something because for whatever reason the 3EC cannot do it (ignoring what we learin in the future about the 3EC).

It seems like all the gifts in ASOIAF are tainted somehow. Bran's a very powerful warg, but it leads him to make some seriously morally questionable decisions wrt to Hodor. So to take the beginning question to its next conclusion, if Bran somehow gain omniscience but is still "chained" and unable to prevent some event, then what will he do instead?

ETA: or to bring this back to our current chapter, look at Jojen. He obviously has some serious knowledge of what is to come, as you have pointed out. But he doesn't try to change it. He knows that he is going to die, but he doesn't try to prevent his own death; he accepts it (even when Meera cannot) and instead tries to follow the path that he is "supposed" to follow...oh but if he had never left House Reed and gone North...wheels within wheels. Would Jojen still die at some point in the future? So then is he really responsible for his own future demise?

GAH!

Great stuff here, BearQueen! And I think your last paragraph is spot on, insofar as this chapter we're now discussing is setting up these issues by conveying Jojen's own sense of knowing but feeling that action can't stop the forces that are in motion. You're right of course, that the very sense of fatalism might be part of what brings about the fate, insofar as acting in accord with what you've seen will be the thing that brings it about. It's interesting, then, that we see Meera opposed to this fatalistic mindset, since we're guessing that Bran is going to be confronting these very issues himself, and may be swayed by the opposing views of Jojen vs. Meera on these points.

[SacredOrderOfGreenMen]

So guys, this is a really awesome thread, you've gotten going on here, and the fact that's even being done (when a large part of the fandom, unfortunately, finds Bran to be "boring"), and another meta in the heresy threads helped inspire some thoughts in me about how to characterize Bran's narrative. BearQueen's comment in particular about how stationary Bran's story is how other forces compel him to move also got me thinking. The meta linked below was the result:

I believe that Bran's story is essentially defined by a series of forced "marriages" or unions to the three narrative entities that together represent House Stark: Winterfell, Wolf, and Weirwood.

To quote my work here:

Bran’s character arc is composed of a series of “marriages”: he is “wedded”, against his will, to a series of other entities and life-forms, each time being more traumatic than the last. In every case, an older, wiser male presides over the“wedding.” While Bran’s bonds to these other entities run concurrently and deepen over time, I’ll put them in rough chronological order.

1. Bran is bound to Winterfell as its lord and ruler, and this marriage is presided over by Maester Luwin.
2. Branis bound to his direwolf Summer as an active warg, rather than just a passive experiencer of dreams, a marriage presided over by Jojen Reed.
3. Bran is bound to the weirwood tree as a greenseer, a wedding presided over by The Three-Eyed Crow (also known as Bloodraven and Brynden Rivers)

He has other entities grafted onto him in order to build, stone by stone, his identity as a Stark.

In order to make room for these other entities and roles, Bran the Boy is literally broken and taken apart.

This is accomplished by Bran being progressively "broken" by the narrative: first his crippling, then the loss of his family, and then being cast out from his home to the wilderness (temporarily). His own body increasingly powerless in his present circumstances, Bran is more or less forced to accept the power that these other entities that are grafted onto him as his only solace: the respect his place as "The Stark in Winterfell" brings him, his freedom and strength in Summer's body, and then the power of the Weirwood trees. Bran the Boy is being subsumed into the soon-to-be Mythical Bran the Rebuider.

It is a purpose for which he has been groomed for his entire life:

This is in turn brings me to my final point: In the same way that Arya has had Braavosi training her in the arts of the Warrior since AGOT, and Sansa has had Baelish’s eye on her since the Hand’s Tourney, Bran has been groomed as the Old God’s special chosen, the heir of House Stark, and as a sort of sacrifice since the moment he fell from the tower, and perhaps since the very beginning of his life.

This is partly why I have never believed “Jojen-Paste” theory. The sacrifice has already been made; no other is needed. Bran is the sacrifice. By being grafted onto Winterfell, wolf, and weirwood, the three symbols that represent everything that House Stark is, Bran is the body and the blood being given to the tree in order to give it new life and new power; power that he will use after the war is over to rebuild his family and home. Without Bran, Winterfell would have no lord experienced in its governance; without Bran, Summer would just be another animal; Without Bran, the weirwoods would soon have no human greenseer to use their power to protect the world against the Others. This is the nature of the symbiont: a life form that partners with another for mutual benefit, in the same way that the weirwood is a symbiont.

I hope you all find the meta useful to your re-read project and that if you want to discuss my work's ideas that you read the whole thing carefully. In any case, I hope that you enjoy it and good luck with the re-read!

Also important his theory about Bran and Co. using Gorne's Way to return to Winterfell in TWOW.

[Tannim]

Welcome to the Re-Read project! Nice thoughts here. It's interesting that the Westerosi Maesters (and others) take such a view on magic as you've outlined. Dragons were still in the 7 Kingdom less than 200 years ago. I wonder if once the last winged-dragon died out the Maesters began teaching that this meant magic itself had died out (which brings up an interesting question of did magic really die out? was it just "asleep' and if it's the latter what woke it up?)

As to your last question, I wonder the same and especially with Jon. Though, I like the idea of only Bran having the Third Eye amongst the Starks

Thank you for having me, and have wished to participate in the re-reads ever since I discovered them, and my main reason to go active on the board.

Jon is likely to go through a similar spiritual quest Bran has survived. Bran was given aid/direction by another, so that mayhap points to Jon receiving aid by Bran??!? Just a thought as a marker for the future. As for the Starks Skinchanger/Greenseer ranking, Bran stays on top, but second a tie between Jon and Arya, then Rickon, with Sansa last to awaken, my opinion. No point narratively to give another character the same powers as one established without reason.

The maesters likely took advantage of the lessing on magic in Westeros to solidify their own station and influence. IIRC they only displaced the pyromancers in the Targaryen court after the dragons died out in Westeros. And I can't remember or find the quote, but I believe Martin had said magic has lessened in the world, but would grow stronger as the series continued. :dunno:

[Tannim]

A Clash of Kings: Bran V

The dream was green, Bran, and the green dreams do not lie.

Thank you for the insightful summation... pardon, couldn't resist.

What else stood out for me in the chapter was the varied reactions to an act of prophecy. All shown, from dismissal, mockery, concern, misinterpretation which brings it about, to near paralyzing fear of what was foreseen. In the middle is Bran, confused, dealing with something beyond his childhood experience. The ancient Greek story of Cassandra immediately springs to mind. Warning everyone of what is to come, but no one will believe. Seems that might be the purpose of this chapter, regarding visions and prophecies throughout the series. The question for Bran, and anyone whom is involved in visions in the series is, do you believe? And what can or will you do about said vision. Since the majority of readers aren't familiar with the concepts of self-determination versus predestination, Martin could set up and use this chapter which showed that conflict in bold terms.

[BearQueen87]

[snip]

Very interesting insights!

When I get a spare moment more than what I have, I want to try and read your essay more. :)

Thank you for the insightful summation... pardon, couldn't resist.

What else stood out for me in the chapter was the varied reactions to an act of prophecy. All shown, from dismissal, mockery, concern, misinterpretation which brings it about, to near paralyzing fear of what was foreseen. In the middle is Bran, confused, dealing with something beyond his childhood experience. The ancient Greek story of Cassandra immediately springs to mind. Warning everyone of what is to come, but no one will believe. Seems that might be the purpose of this chapter, regarding visions and prophecies throughout the series. The question for Bran, and anyone whom is involved in visions in the series is, do you believe? And what can or will you do about said vision. Since the majority of readers aren't familiar with the concepts of self-determination versus predestination, Martin could set up and use this chapter which showed that conflict in bold terms.

Cassandra is a very interesting case to bring up. Prophecy is tied to Apollo and while the myths differ as to how Apollo "gifted" Cassandra with second sight, it's Apollo that gives it to her is the takeaway. And of course ,most know him as the sun god and we have Bran who remembers Jaime as a golden man.

[Tannim]

A really quick dive...

Bran and Cassandra

Bran, Prince of the North; Cassandra Princess of Troy

Two means Cassandra received the gift of prophecy, together or separate, depending on the interpretation, both while sleeping in two separate temples; 1) as a child, snakes licked her ears clean so that she was able to hear the future, 2) as a young woman, Apollo taught her the arts of prophecy with an ulterior motive, to win her affections, and though she accepted Apollo as a teacher, rejected him as a lover. Spurned, the god cursed her so no one would believe her visions, hearing lies instead. Thus a seeming wonderful blessing upon a mortal becomes instead a terrible curse.

Also, in Greek myth, snakes of Apollo appear in many different myths and versions, often allowing people to foresee the future and understand the language of animals. Bran's Third-Eye is opened, mayhap by the coma/spiritual journey, but always with the 3EC as guide and facilitator. The crow replaces the snakes, with the question, who is the 3EC?

Another quick dive, this time into the Apollo myth, turns up several correlations seeming relevant to Bran, or that influence him. Hellenistic Apollo/Helios is the Titan god of the Sun, while his sister Artemis/Selene, is the Titan goddess of the moon. Arya, Bran's sister, as strong links to the moon, and her entire arc in the last two books is dominated by moon symbolism, under the shadow of a titan in Bravos. Some quick Apollo attributes, those relevant to the series at least, as there are dozens more; lawful punishment of crimes, not revenge, justified revenge, prophecy, patron of priests, poetry/music, medicine/healing, reason/inspiration, magic/divination, ravens, woodlands, springs, and spiritual goals gained in the use of the arts. An argument could be made that Bloodraven is a subverted version of Apollo, with much influence on the entire Stark clan, but that gets ahead of the current chapter

Thus far, to this point in the series, the role of Cassandra is split between Bran and Jojen. Jojen has foreseen the fall of Winterfell/Troy, as Bran attempts to warn those around him, and is ignored for a range of reasons. The future of the Trojen War is well known, and the parallels to current/near future events in Winterfell will play out in the coming chapters.

edit/format corrections

[Illuminated by Fire]

I have to wonder what Jojen was like before he got sick and then got the sight. I think you're right that its' a terrible burden that has been placed upon Jojen (and Bran, of course). But prior to his sickness, I imagine that he was just another high born boy. He and his sister were close like Bran and Arya, the was learning to lead from Howland. How do you wake up one day and come to grips that your whole life has changed?

I think he was always very intelligent for his age. Keep in mind that he is only thirteen years old. He says in the fourth Bran chapter that he had his near death experience and the first visit of the crow 'when he was little' and he says that to Bran who is barely nine years old at that time. If I needed to guess I would say that he was six years old at most when that happened. There was most likely never a time where he was just the heir to Greywater Watch. After his greensight emerged he needed to learn to deal with those dreams and what they contain and realized that they always come true. That alone is a heavy burden, given how the greendreams tend to be. And then he had a vision of his own death. Based on the information we have I think that Jojen is most of all desillusioned. I agree, he is still a child, and more so as he was younger. What dreams did he have? Being a warrior like his father? Ruling the Neck one day? Traveling through Westeros? Maybe visiting Oldtown and the Citadel? Whatever he dreams he did have, all of them were crushed with the vision of his own death.

And that has to do a lot with Bran. Jojen does not only share some powers with him, but in a way he did go through what Bran does go through now. Bran is in a position were his reality was turned upside down, where all his dreams became tragic, impossible ones. Jojen does not only have more arcane knowledge than most, but he does also understand which personal problems Bran goes through. His harshness and brutal honesty here are in my opinion rooted in the fact that he knows that you need to face reality, that wishful thinking is ultimately futile. But I'll cut myself short here, we will see more of this in future chapters.

Edit: That is why I partially disagree with Hrafntýr. Because of the reasons outlined above I do not think that he would withhold information because of how brutal it is. But it could be that he withholds information that he thinks is irrelevant for Bran.

[MoIaF]

A Clash of Kings: Bran V

The dream was green, Bran, and the green dreams do not lie.

Great job IBF!!!! :thumbsup:

This is an interesting chapter because we see sort of the conversions of the theme of magic vs. "reality". Bran access that there is magic and tries to get other to see it as well but people have lost belief of such things and they mostly mock it or ignore it. We've discussed in the Dany re-read whether the series endgame is that there will be no more magic in ASOIAF but as e see now for all intense and purpose most people already believe that the magic is all gone, erroneously of course. The Children are in their last leg of existence but in contrast the Others see to be re-emergining newly empowered. It's something we need to think about whether Bran will be there to tell us of the end of magic or of the complete return of it.But that's a discussion for a future chapter.

Re: Jojen. I think as IBF said he's been disillusion by the knowledge that he has, whatever dreams he might have once had where dash away by the revelation of his ultimate fate. That's an extremely tough burden for a child to have and I don't think he hinds things from Bran more than he waits until Bran is ready to receive the information. He's just trying to ease Bran into what awaits him which is probably more than Jojen ever got. Jejune perhaps understands Bran better than most in that he knows the burden that awaits him.

I'm glad that Jojen sees warning/skinchanging as not a good thing. I'm very leery of that power because it depends really in the subjugation f one been by another. A lot of people think it's cool because the Starks have the gift but I think as we'll see with future chapter it is a gift that can be easily abused. Also o keep in mind is that the Other's are probably using a form of skin changing to control the Wights. But that also is a topic for later discussion.

Re: The usefulness of Bran's ultimate abilities. I am of the belief that the will actually be very useful to him and others during the WfD. His abilities will allow him to see what is going on in the present in different locations (at least the North) and be able to warn those fighting of what is coming their way. I think the tragedy of this will be that he that even as he can help some he won't be able to help all. He will probably also outlive all those he loves and have to see them all die with time.

[BearQueen87]

I think he was always very intelligent for his age. Keep in mind that he is only thirteen years old.

I would agree. I think if we were to met Jojen before everything he would be one of those people described as being "born old" or an "old soul."

What dreams did he have? Being a warrior like his father? Ruling the Neck one day? Traveling through Westeros? Maybe visiting Oldtown and the Citadel? Whatever he dreams he did have, all of them were crushed with the vision of his own death.

Nice contrast to Bran. Bran still clings to his knightly dreams whereas Jojen is really trying to tell him to let it go. (unintentional Frozen reference works shockingly well for Bran Stark)

I'm glad that Jojen sees warning/skinchanging as not a good thing. I'm very leery of that power because it depends really in the subjugation f one been by another. A lot of people think it's cool because the Starks have the gift but I think as we'll see with future chapter it is a gift that can be easily abused. Also o keep in mind is that the Other's are probably using a form of skin changing to control the Wights. But that also is a topic for later discussion.

Ah, keep this in mind when we get to next week. Part of my analysis of Bran VI is looking at skinchinging mythos and how it's viewed in myth and literature.

[DarkSister1001]

Bran IV: Dreams and Magic

“I don’t want to. Anyway, it’s only dreams. Maester Luwin says dreams might mean anything or nothing.”

“Did your master-at-arms teach you net-fighting?” “My father taught me. We have no knights at Greywater. No master-at-arms, and no maester.” “Who keeps your ravens?” She smiled. “Ravens can’t find Greywater Watch, no more than our enemies can.” “Why not?” “Because it moves,” she told him.

Sorry, I am fashionably late. Great analysis! I guess the bolded part answers our earlier question, if Ned ever heard back from Howland when he had sent letters. Looks like they never made it to Greywater.

A Clash of Kings: Bran V

The dream was green, Bran, and the green dreams do not lie.

“The things I see in green dreams can't be changed.”

That made his sister angry. “Why would the gods send a warning if we can't heed it and change what's to come?`”

“I don't know,” Jojen said sadly.

Other Observations

• when Rodrik comes back he actually considers Jojen's vision, but sadly takes the wrong turn of action by deciding to ride out against the Ironborn, thus leaving Winterfell weakly defended

• except for Alebelly, no one else takes the vision seriously, and even he takes it to literally by refusing to bath

the whole Ramsay/Hornwood situation is in the background as of now, but will turn out to be quite relevant

Conclusion

The plot begins to thicken in this chapter. With the appearance of the Reeds many things that went on in the background and become now more clear and there is a sense of impending danger after Jojen's two dreams.

I was a bit short on time, so the comparison between Jojen and Luwin will come at some point later, even if some points were included here.

Nice job! I share Meera's disgust in the knowledge Jojen has and in his seemingly nonchalant attitude toward his death and the greendreams. Why send them when nothing can change? All I can think of is that it's important for Jojen to THINK they can't be changed. The reason for Rodrik leaving and in doing so leaving WF so weakly manned is bc of the greendream. Had no one mentioned it Rodrik and the guardsmen would have remained and had a better chance of keeping WF from falling into Theon's hands, thus changing the outcome of everything. Robb seeking solace with Jeyne. Red Wedding, etc. And suppose they catch Theon and the IB in the act and thwart it, Bran would've been surely confined to WF with an even lesser chance of getting out and getting to the 3EC.

Everyone has covered everything else so beautifully, I got nuttin' else. :)

[BearQueen87]

Nice job! I share Meera's disgust in the knowledge Jojen has and in his seemingly nonchalant attitude toward his death and the greendreams. Why send them when nothing can change? All I can think of is that it's important for Jojen to THINK they can't be changed.

If BR/3EC is the one who is sending Jojen his greendreams then I don't think BR cares about Jojen in the long run. He's a tool at BR's disposal to get Bran to where BR wants him. And once the tool is used, you can dispose of it. I don't think BR cares who dies so long as he gets Bran to where he needs him.

[MoIaF]

Ah, keep this in mind when we get to next week. Part of my analysis of Bran VI is looking at skinchinging mythos and how it's viewed in myth and literature.

Oooh,, I'm looking forward to reading this. I'm not opposed (in the fantasy sense) to skinchanginng when it's about transforming from a person to an animal or another person but when it takes over another person or animal that's where I have a problem.

[BearQueen87]

A Clash of Kings

Bran VI

A good lord protects his people, he reminded himself. “I’ve yielded Winterfell to Theon.”

Summary

The chapter opens with Summer and Shaggydog alerted to a danger lurking around Winterfell at night. We get some very intense passages about Summer trying to get to the men inside Winterfell to little avail. There is a sense of foreboding all throughout, as if something very bad is happening at the same time. As the wolf-section ends, Bran Stark wakes up from having a “wolf dream” and finds strange men and Theon Greyjoy in his room. Theon informs Bran that his krakens have climbed the walls of Winterfell, opened the gates and invaded; the Greyjoy men are dealing with any Stark men who dare put up a fight and it is time to yield Winterfell to House Greyjoy. Maester Luwin comes to collect Bran and the little prince wonders if he should yield or not. When Theon demonstrates that he and his Greyjoy men do not mean to go quietly and kill Mikken, the smith, Bran realizes that “the sea” has come to Winterfell and all he can do is surrender. For the first time in several thousand years, Winterfell is no longer in the hands of the Stark family.

Observations

1. The Wolf section is incredibly well written. I think this is one of the things I admire most about GRRM, not only can he write humans well, but he manages to really get inside the mind of an animal.

2. Summer only vaguely remembers his brother Ghost. Does this in anyway foreshadow that the more into the world of magic Bran falls, the more likely he is to forget his family?

3. Prophecies come to pass in really unexpected ways. Something we should all keep in mind for every character associated with a vision of the future.

4.Osha swears to Theon Greyjoy in hopes that she can get her spear back. This makes Bran sad as he considered Osha a friend. Without thinking ahead, was Osha a friend to Bran in truth? Was she right or wrong to swear to Theon?

Analysis

The Mind of the Wolf

Our chapter begins, oddly enough, without Bran. In fact, we go several pages without the POV titular character and instead are inside the mind of Summer, the direwolf. I said in the “Observation” section that this part was well written by GRRM and I think that claim is highlighted by the fact that what we get from Summer is a kind of “wolf speak.” A wolf speaking just as a human would makes little sense given that wolves do not have some of the same words or concepts as men do.

This is most readily seen in some of the odd turns of phrases Summer uses while prowling around Winterfell looking for a way to alert the men inside that “Stranger. Danger. Death” has come.

For example, the word castle is a man word. We know what it means, but it is not something that a wolf would automatically “know.” Instead it gets translated into wolf-speech and becomes:

“Piles of man-rock”

“Caves of piled stone”

“Stone den”

There are paws and there are feet, but they are differentiated in the wolf’s mind to paws and “skinfeet.” Children become the “cubs of men” as a wolf has cubs. This is not to say that there isn’t some cross over between wolf-speak and man-speak. When Summer tries to climb the tree he remembers how to climb and recalls such things as, “the sticky sap on his hands.” Wolves do not have hands, but boys do. Bran is remembering how to climb and that becomes Summer being able to climb.

It’s all very interesting, but the point I want to stress is that when Bran is inside Summer’s skin, as we obviously know he is, he is in flux. He can be a wolf that sometimes recalls things that only the boy would know. But thus far, he is never Bran-in-Summer. The Bran identity is underneath the Summer one, peaking out every so often, but never able to exist at the same moment.

This is likely because Bran is still untrained and up until he wakes from this current wolf dream, has not even acknowledged that what Jojen Reed has been telling him is true. Bran finally admits the truth to himself when he wakes.

Jojen told it true; I am a beastling.

The idea of Bran being “in flux” is a prevalent theme in his arc and is something that is brought up in probably every chapter since his first one in AGOT. He is both young child and almost a man fully grown, as he has reminded Luwin several times now. He’s a prince and a lordling and an heir to a kingdom, but he still dreams of being a gallant white knight. He’s caught between Luwin’s perspective and Osha’s perspective. He is Bran the Broken but atop a horse or in Summer’s skin he can be as tall/run as fast as any of them.

I want to talk more about Beastlings and Wargs in a moment, but staying with Summer for a second, there is another voice that accompanies Summer’s internal thoughts. Interestingly enough, it’s not Shaggydog even though we know the wolves communicate with each other through their howling. As a question for the group though, is Rickon inside Shaggy right now?

The voice inside Summer’s head is disembodied. There is no one around except for the two wolves, but the voice is able to direct Summer to a tree that he could climb and seems to be able to see a little into the future, or at least can make accurate predictions about the way something will fall out—foretelling the Sentinel’s death, for instance.

There was no way out.

There is, the whisper came, and it seemed as if he could see the shadow of a great tree covered in needles, slanting up out of the black earth and ten times the height of man. Yet when we looked-about, it was not there. The other side of the godswood, the sentinel, hurry, hurry…

I probably don’t need to say that it’s the Three-Eyed Crow, but I think that’s the best guess. My bigger question is why. Is this to get Bran to wake up? Is Bloodraven hoping that if Bran wakes up in time he can do something? The wolf section ends with Summer falling, falling, falling….the same way that all of Bran’s dreams end lately. Falling seems to be the trigger for Bran to snap back into our world, something that makes sense given that the first dream Bran has is him “falling forever.”

Speaking of Odin Bloodraven, let’s talk about wargs.

Wargs: Myth and Literature

There is a long-standing mythic and literary tradition of wargs or skinwalkers/skinchangers. These magical men-into-beasts exist in a variety of cultures and stories. Since this is the first chapter where Bran actively calls himself one of these (he uses the term beastling) I thought it would be a good idea to examine their history. It’s rather extensive but I’m going to touch on it broadly before narrowing down to two specific cases: the mythic lens of Norse mythology and the literary lens of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.

Let me start off by saying that the way Bran “skin walks” or “skin changes” is different than how it is often presented in myth whereby a person with this ability turns into the animal, as opposed to Bran’s gift of entering their mind but his physical body does not change.

In mythology, shapesifting is often a punishment from the gods. In Greek myth, Zeus turns Lycaon into a wolf; Athena turns Arachne into a spider; Artemis turns Acteon into a stag. All of these happened because the person who is changed had somehow angered the gods (murder, hubris, spying on a naked goddess). They also serve as origin stories: why do spiders spins webs? Because Arachne angered Athena and was turned into spider, doomed to spin a web forever. It makes me wonder how the Stark family got their warging abilities and the origin behind choosing a direwolf as their sigil. At what point did the Starks of the far past realize that they could warg? What is gifted to them from the COTF? Did it happen naturally? Did the First Men have this ability before they crossed the Narrow Sea?

Shapeshifting is rarely seen as a good thing. It presents the idea of deception. How do you know that the bird at your window is not your sworn enemy listening to all your secrets? Therefore, in years after Greco-Roman myths fell to organized religion, people who caused shapeshifting were sorcerers and witches. In short, when someone shapeshifts, either voluntarily (such as a god trying to rape a woman) or involuntarily, it is generally seen as a bad thing.

For example, if we look at the Native American tradition (and we know GRRM has used Native American myths in his own work) we have the Navajo tradition of the yee naaldlooshi. Specifically, these skinwalkers are practitioners of the “Witchery Way” and became such by breaking a cultural taboo.

Specifically, a person is said to gain the power to become a yee naaldlooshii upon initiation into the Witchery Way. This is done especially via the Navajo equivalent of the 'Black Mass', a perverted "sing" (Navajo ceremonial) used to curse instead of to heal.

X

I find the idea that this happens because of a “cursed song” to be interesting and perhaps relevant to Bran and even to the wights.

Shapeshifting is seen as a good thing if the subject does not stay in the animal form and returns to his human self, having gained some measure of wisdom. The blind Greek prophet Tiresias was transformed into another sex for many years before returning to his male state, and was the wiser for it, going so far as to called upon to answer questions about sexual pleasure for Hera and Zeus. Merlin often changes Arthur into an animal for didactic reasons, but always turns him back, Arthur having learned a valuable lesson.

Having covered shapeshfiting broadly, I want to talk specifically about wargs and Norse mythology. I’m covering this mythos because Bran and his teacher, the Three Eyed Crow, share a lot of Norse similarities. In my Bran II analysis for AGOT, I talked about crow mythology and how it linked back to Odin, the Allfather, for whom someone we have yet to meet properly is standing in.

The leading warg in Norse mythology (and I should note that “warg” comes from the Norse terms “vrgr” not one GRRM made up and it means wolf) is Fenrir, so I’ll be focusing on him. Some interesting notes about Fenrir include that the gods feared the monster wolf and so they bound him in various fetters. He is also foretold to kill Odin during Ragnorak, the Norse “end of the world” mythology. When Ragnorak is upon the world, Fenrir, who has been bound miles below the earth, will break free from his chains and engage in battle, before being slain by Odin’s son. (Warning bells should be going off in your head right about now).

GRRM obviously pulls from a lot of various mythologies and cultures the world over, so it’s pointless to try and line up Ragnorak and ASOIAF exactly, but Fenrir and Bran do share some parallels, such as the binding, their rather complicated relationship with their respective “Odin” figures, as well as being central to an “end of the world” story.

Setting aside Fenrir and Norse mythology, J.R.R. Tolkien takes up the idea of the Warg and skinchanging in his Lord of he Rings novels (and of course Tolkien and LOTR are incredibly influential in epic fantasy, even in GRRM’s work where he tries to “mess up” the tropes). Tolkien doesn’t deviate a lot from Norse wargs in that his wolf creatures are somewhat intelligent and also demonic. They are in league with the Orcs trying to take over Middle Earth, following Saruon. And speaking of the Eye in the Sky, according to the Silmarllion, Saruon used to have the ability to change his shape and was Lord of the Werewolves.

All of this explanation is in service of trying to show that Bran’s warging might be cause for concern for Bran-the-Boy as we move through the series. Wargs and those with the ability to skinchange have either done something wrong or are described as “evil.” GRRM does not believe in such broad terms and thus his own wargs are far more complicated. Bran’s warging abilities come not from punishment from the divine, but his blood. Its awakening is not actually his fault, but because of a tragic accident that happened to him. The wolves of GRRM’s world are also not demonic nor evil. They are actual animals who are linked to the Stark children as their protectors and familiars.

As we wait for Winds of Winter, I think keeping the gray area of warging in mind is important as is the Fenrir-Odin relationship.

The Sea Comes to Winterfell

The second part of the chapter is a rarity in ASOIAF: we see how a prophecy or vision plays out in real time. The sea from the vision discussed previously is not literal, but metaphorical. Theon and his Kraken Greyjoy men rise up from the moat, soaking wet, and get over the walls of Winterfell to take the castle.

This portion of the chapter is fairly straightforward. Like Bran, we do not witness the storming of the castle; we are not part of the Winterfell defense to stop Theon. We sit in Bran’s room while he wonders at what is happening and what he should do before we enter the Great Hall.

The scene in which Bran is carried into the Great Hall is reminiscent of Bran III in ACOK in which we have loyal men cheering for Bran, House Stark and Winterfell. Even when carried by Hodor, Bran is a prince and while he and the giant draw stares, there is a gentleness about the entire proceeding. Instead, here with the invasion of Greyjoys, we have brutality every which way we turn and Luwin reminds Bran that “cruel places bred cruel people.”

Hayhead was carried in between two of the other guards, a bloodstained bandage wrapped about his bare chest. Poxy Tym wept inconsolably, and Beth Cassel cried with fear.

[snip]

People were still being driven into the Great Hall prodded along with shouts and the butts of the spears…Mikken they dragged in cursing. Farlen entered limping, struggling to support Palla. Her dress had been ripped in two; she held it together with a clenched fist and walked as if every step was agony. Septon Chayle rushed to lend a hand, but one of the ironmen knocked him down to the floor.

Even Bran is “dumped” on to the stone steps like a bag of oats. This is not just an attack on Winterfell, the place, but an attack on the people of Winterfell. There is also a deep sense of betrayal because this is not an attack from an unknown source, but rather from someone who grew up inside Winterfell and was raised by the Starks.

When Theon enters Bran’s room, the little prince thinks that Robb sent Theon and doesn’t fully comprehend that Theon has gone to war with the North.

”Robb’s far away. He can’t help you now.”

“Help me?” He was confused. “Don’t scare me, Theon.”

“I’m Prince Theon now. We’re both princes, Bran. Who would have dreamed it? But I’ve taken your castle, my prince.”

This betrayal is played out to its harshest and fullest extent when Theon has Mikken killed, someone we’ve known since the first book to be a loyal member of House Stark. Theon then has Hodor beaten when the gentle giant doesn’t understand the violence around him.

Since book one, Winterfell has served as a place of protection for Bran; it’s when people leave Winterfell that bad things happen. But slowly more and more “invaders” come to the stone doors. At first, it’s Ned’s bannermen and the only trouble they cause is of a personal variety, looking at Bran the Broken. Then it’s the Frey children who are mean and cruel but can’t hurt Bran or Winterfell. Now Winterfell as truly been invaded by a foe with no intention of leaving. The safest place for Bran just became decidedly unsafe.

Conclusions

The real takeaway point of this chapter is that Bran finally acknowledges his gift just as his home falls around him. There is a sense that the gods give something only to have something else taken away. Nothing is ever simple with Bran Stark, but if he wants to fly, he needs to be pushed out of the nest.

[Illuminated by Fire]

A Clash of Kings

Bran VI

A good lord protects his people, he reminded himself. “I’ve yielded Winterfell to Theon.”

Very good analysis!

4.Osha swears to Theon Greyjoy in hopes that she can get her spear back. This makes Bran sad as he considered Osha a friend. Without thinking ahead, was Osha a friend to Bran in truth? Was she right or wrong to swear to Theon?

Even if she would be honest here, I could not blame her for making the decision. She wanted to flee from the Others and the group wanted to steal from Bran because they needed food and money. They fought, Osha was taken prisoner. Each side had their reasons and not one side is really to blame for what happened (that is not to say that certain individuals like Stiv are blameless). She was treated alright for a prisoner, at least from the 'official' side, what Gage did is another matter. But in the end she is there unvoluntarily and I cannot blame her for trying for escaping that situation. It is not like it was a personal decision between Bran and Theon. But I think that the decision would have been unwise if she did not intend to become utterly ruthless, because that is about the only way she would have survived with the Ironborn as a wildling woman, see Pretty Meris in Quentyn's chapters.

The Mind of the Wolf

Our chapter begins, oddly enough, without Bran. In fact, we go several pages without the POV titular character and instead are inside the mind of Summer, the direwolf. I said in the “Observation” section that this part was well written by GRRM and I think that claim is highlighted by the fact that what we get from Summer is a kind of “wolf speak.” A wolf speaking just as a human would makes little sense given that wolves do not have some of the same words or concepts as men do.

This is most readily seen in some of the odd turns of phrases Summer uses while prowling around Winterfell looking for a way to alert the men inside that “Stranger. Danger. Death” has come.

For example, the word castle is a man word. We know what it means, but it is not something that a wolf would automatically “know.” Instead it gets translated into wolf-speech and becomes:

“Piles of man-rock”

“Caves of piled stone”

“Stone den”

There are paws and there are feet, but they are differentiated in the wolf’s mind to paws and “skinfeet.” Children become the “cubs of men” as a wolf has cubs. This is not to say that there isn’t some cross over between wolf-speak and man-speak. When Summer tries to climb the tree he remembers how to climb and recalls such things as, “the sticky sap on his hands.” Wolves do not have hands, but boys do. Bran is remembering how to climb and that becomes Summer being able to climb.

Wolves do not have any words as far as we know, but the conscious thoughts we have are words in our mind. To 'access' Summer's mind he needs to Summer's thoughts to ours and to color them as 'wolfish' thoughts he uses terms we associate with wolves. And since Bran is human too that is most likely how he accesses Summer's thoughts himself.

I probably don’t need to say that it’s the Three-Eyed Crow, but I think that’s the best guess. My bigger question is why. Is this to get Bran to wake up? Is Bloodraven hoping that if Bran wakes up in time he can do something? The wolf section ends with Summer falling, falling, falling….the same way that all of Bran’s dreams end lately. Falling seems to be the trigger for Bran to snap back into our world, something that makes sense given that the first dream Bran has is him “falling forever.”

I would be careful to bring Bloodraven it this. I do not think Bloodraven has anything to do with Bran's warging. And I do not think that he gives Jojen his greendreams either. These powers are there without him, Bloodraven just communicates with them to test how big their powers are and influence them accordginly. I always took the voice as Bran.

As you say, Bran and Summer are both in Summer's body and Summer is in control, Bran's consciousness is underneath that, mostly being a passive observer and sharing Summer's thoughts and feelings. But I do not think they cannot exist at the same moment, they just cannot (effectively) share the control over the body. Now Bran is submerged in Summer's consciousness but he can still access his memories and is self-conscious to a degree. Summer wants in, Bran remembers that he can get in and says so to Summer, but is not consciously aware (obviously he knows to some extent, but he does not make the connection in that situation) that he is in a wolf's body. So Summer runs there, tries to climb and fails. So it is a communication issue that is caused by the muddled borders between Bran's and Summer's mind. Summer is not always in control of the dream of consciousness, sometimes Bran's thoughts emerge or mingle with Summer's thoughts

The idea of Bran being “in flux” is a prevalent theme in his arc and is something that is brought up in probably every chapter since his first one in AGOT. He is both young child and almost a man fully grown, as he has reminded Luwin several times now. He’s a prince and a lordling and an heir to a kingdom, but he still dreams of being a gallant white knight. He’s caught between Luwin’s perspective and Osha’s perspective. He is Bran the Broken but atop a horse or in Summer’s skin he can be as tall/run as fast as any of them.

I completely agree. we have counted many conflicted aspects of Bran in the past. Being a child, but having the responsibilities of a lord. Bring disabled but dreaming of being a knight. Being immobile and helpless on the one side, but the potential to being very knowledgeable, strong, fast and powerful with his greendreams and his skinchanging abilities. And then there is the conflict between Luwin's stance that magic and mythical creatures do not exist and the Reed's and Osha's stance that they do. And the last conflict is resolved in this chapter. The quote you give displays it, but it is more apparent in the following one:

The maester stared at the rushes. "Ser Rodrik took too many of our men, but I am to blame as much as he is. I never saw this danger, I never..."

Jojen saw it, Bran thought.

Here he rejects Luwin's view (though obviously not him as a person) on magic and decides to believe in it. The interesting thing about this scene is, that after all the stories, the dreams, the discussions and the personal beliefs the question is decided by one singular fact: Jojen's method worked, Luwin's did not. Worked in the sense that the dream came true. This ties in with the rejection of wishful thinking in the last chapters.

Wargs: Myth and Literature

[...]

All of this explanation is in service of trying to show that Bran’s warging might be cause for concern for Bran-the-Boy as we move through the series. Wargs and those with the ability to skinchange have either done something wrong or are described as “evil.” GRRM does not believe in such broad terms and thus his own wargs are far more complicated. Bran’s warging abilities come not from punishment from the divine, but his blood. Its awakening is not actually his fault, but because of a tragic accident that happened to him. The wolves of GRRM’s world are also not demonic nor evil. They are actual animals who are linked to the Stark children as their protectors and familiars.

As we wait for Winds of Winter, I think keeping the gray area of warging in mind is important as is the Fenrir-Odin relationship.

Great evalutation. I do not want to go into the comparisons themselves, because as you said it is very difficult to draw direct parallels. But each origin gives us a different view on wargs in ASoIaF. I do not think that we will ever know which parallels actually apply, since the characters themselves only have their respective opinions of this and never know if they iare actually true. But the origins highlight views on wargs that are actually shared by people in the story. Jojen mentions that many people will fear Bran and some will try to kill him if they know he is a warg, which mirrors the sentiment that it is twisted and 'cursed' magic which is wrong in of itself. Bloodravens usage of skinchanging as hand of the king mirror the aspect of skinchanging as something that brings wisdom, with the cruel twist that this 'wisdom' is actually intelligence used to spy on everyone important. Skinchanging and greenseeing is also referred to as gift of the gods, but a gift of a god can either be a blessing or a curse, depending how you look on it. Then we have wargs as wolves themselves which relates to the merging of consciousness between warg and wolf in ASoIaF. So each and every origin has some resemblance to actual properties or believed association to wargs in Westeros.

The Sea Comes to Winterfell

The second part of the chapter is a rarity in ASOIAF: we see how a prophecy or vision plays out in real time. The sea from the vision discussed previously is not literal, but metaphorical. Theon and his Kraken Greyjoy men rise up from the moat, soaking wet, and get over the walls of Winterfell to take the castle.

[...]

There is not much to say about it from Bran's perspective that has not already been said. He realizes that he needs to yield Winterfell to protect his people and that fighting back is just another wishful dream that cannot come true. He also continues to display great empathy here with the people of Winterfell, trying to calm them to protect them and having pity for Hodor when he is beaten. But at large it is a continuation for Bran's arc. After he lost so much already, he now loses his home, too. We will see if that is the end of it or not.

And as a side note, it turns out that in a cruel twist Jojen's vision was more literal that it seemed:

The bald man drove the point of his spear into the back of Mikken's neck. Steel slid through flesh and came out his throat in a welter of blood. A woman screamed, and Meera wrapped her arms around Rickon. It's blood he drowned on, Bran thought numbly. His own blood.

[Kyoshi]

Sorry, Dark Sister but I'm even more fashionable in being late. I finally caught up with all but one of the analyses. I am awed at the amazing assessments. Great job, everyone. Really good stuff.

I'm afraid I have nothing to contribute except questions:

1. Does anyone else think it strange that the Reeds chose THAT moment to visit Winterfell?

2. Is not wildly irresponsible of Howlnad to send his heir and spare on a dangerous mission without an escort? Is it not wildly irresponsible to send them at all?

3. If Bloodraven doesn't have Bran's best interests at heart then what? Are proposing that he is sacrificing the one to save the many?

4. Greywater Watch...I have so many questions here.

5. Although good that Jojen doesn't offer interpretations to his visions, anyone else find it odd that he doesn't? I mean, that would save a lot of time and lives. Which brings me to my sixth question?

6. Fate vs free will?

These are all rhetorical, of course. But they just got me thinking.

Bear Queen, thanks for posting the latest analysis. I'm off to read now. Back in a little while.

[Illuminated by Fire]

1. Does anyone else think it strange that the Reeds chose THAT moment to visit Winterfell?

I think that is just coincidence, or rather a natural consequence of the events that already happened. Bran's fall was one cause ofthe war and it is also the cause for the awakening of Bran's powers, which in turn has something to do with Jojen's vision of the winged wolf, which is why they came. That this also causes the invasion of Winterfell is unfortunate but unavoidable.

2. Is not wildly irresponsible of Howlnad to send his heir and spare on a dangerous mission without an escort? Is it not wildly irresponsible to send them at all?

They probably know that something important is going on, through a dream of Jojen, a message of Bloodraven or some other knowledge they have. Note Jojen's urgency and persistence throughout chapter 4 and 5. Jojen had this vision of the winged wolf and he knows it is important. He also told his father of the vision and then Howland sent them to Winterfell, at least this is what Meera tells Bran. Jojen needed to go because he is the one who had the visions and is knowledgeable about greenseeing and skinchanging. Howland himself is needed in the neck because of the war. Meera would never let Jojen go without her. I get the vibe that she was his protector for almost all his life or at least after he almost died. And why they came without an escort? That is probably because Jojen already had his dream of Winterfell being flooded back in Greywater (he says so when he tells Bran about the dream). Jojen probably also had his vision about his death back in Greywater and it is so specific that he does know when he does not die, so the risk of him dying in Winterfell is lower. An escort may have less luck. Being only two people also means that Meera can hunt for them to survive and they are not slowed down. They came with horses, who knows how many horses they actually have or can buy and how many crannogmen can ride well enough (and fight).

3. If Bloodraven doesn't have Bran's best interests at heart then what? Are proposing that he is sacrificing the one to save the many?

At this point I think he is genuine about wanting to stop the Others. Bran is very powerful, but not the only one he reached out to. We know of Jojen and Euron hints at it. So he needs Bran's powers for stopping the Others. But that does not imply that he cares about Bran as a person or even if he does, that this does make any difference for his plans. If it is needed, I do not doubt that he would sacrifice Bran.

5. Although good that Jojen doesn't offer interpretations to his visions, anyone else find it odd that he doesn't? I mean, that would save a lot of time and lives. Which brings me to my sixth question?

Giving an interpretation saves only time and lives if the interpretation is right and people believe you. If the interpretation is wrong the consequences can be devastating. And it is not like he never interprets his visions. He does come to the conclusion that Bran is the winged wolf and at his comments about it being good that Bran leaves Winterfell implies that he thinks that the grey stone chains are representing Winterfell. And he interprets the drowning as dying in his vision about Winterfell (it will not save them). But he does not do so without sufficient information. It is possible that the Reeds do not know about the Ironborn raids or at least not how serious the issue is. It is not like Rodrik and Luwin would tell Bran or the Reeds such information, since they are still children. Jojen also tells Alebelly about the vision when he comes to him after he was warned by Bran.

However I think that he could have made the effort to add his voice to Bran's when warning people. That he did not has two reasons in my opinion: The first one is that he thinks the vision will come to part regardless of what he does. The second one is much more of an personal opinion of mine, so take it with a grain of salt: He may be humble in the sense that he knows what he can and cannot do (that will become more apparent later), but going around desperately trying to convince people of his vision, especially Rodrik and Luwin, is in my opinion something that goes against his pride. He does not want to play Cassandra. He does not want to demean himself (that could be a too strong word for it, but I am not a native speaker, so I cannot really tell in this case) by trying to convince people of his vision who will be most likely dismissive or rude. He is more of a leader than a follower in that sense (more on that in ASoS), he would risk his life, sacrifice his remaining time for others. But demeaning himself, king of begging others to believe him, is another matter and not something he wants to do, not for something he believes that cannot be changed anyway. That is the reason why he tells Alebelly about his vision when he comes to him. But he does not go to Alebelly. A bit of this is also seen in chapter 5, before he tells Bran about his dream:

"Tell me the bad thing you dreamed," Bran said. "The bad thing that is coming to Winterfell."

"Does my lord prince believe me now? Will he trust my words, no matter how queer they sound in his ears?"

Bran nodded.

Here he wants Bran's promise that he will not dismiss his dreams, before he tells him. That partially is what gave me the impression above.

6. Fate vs free will?

DarkSister agrees with Meera's disgust about Jojen's attitude towards his greendreams. First off: I disagree with Jojen's completely fatalistic attitude towards his greendreams and I think making an effort that is compatible with common sense to try to avoid them or not needing to rely on them coming true is warranted. Or in other words: If you are threatened by two angry direwolves and your sister tells you to climb the tree behind you, climb it. Immediately! But whereas I agreed with DarkSister the first time I read the series, I now agree more with Jojen on this issue. I think it likely that he had many greendreams over the year and always seen them come true or at least never being averted. Otherwise he would not have developed such a strong fatalism. And if that is the case, if every single greendream you had ended up coming true, is it reasonable to believe that you can avert them? It never happened before, but when it is personal, it is suddenly different? Is it not more reasonable to accept that they come to pass instead of desperately trying to avoid them and try to influence things that you do not know how they turn out instead? We have seen what happened to Cersei when she tried to avert her prophecy. She was pushed to the brink of insanity and is still there. Melisandre tried to avert her visions and failed every time, sometimes even causing them to come true (like the vision with Renly's armor).

Jojen dedicated his remaining time to get Bran to the crow, instead of trying to survive at all costs. He accepted his death and influenced what he can influence. We like to think that we can change such things, that we can stem the tide, do the seemingly impossible. And all too often this turns out to be an empty hope. And although I disagree with the extent of Jojen's fatalism: He accepted that he cannot change certain things and turned his effort to things he can change. And I think this acceptance is its own kind of strength.

[BearQueen87]

Very good analysis!

Thank you!

I would be careful to bring Bloodraven it this. I do not think Bloodraven has anything to do with Bran's warging. And I do not think that he gives Jojen his greendreams either. These powers are there without him, Bloodraven just communicates with them to test how big their powers are and influence them accordginly. I always took the voice as Bran.

I do not think Bloodraven is directly responsible for Bran's (and the other Stark children's) warging abilities but I do think he sent them the wolves and I think BR is very worried that something might happen to Bran. I think he's keeping a very close eye on the boy and trying to influence Bran's choices. As for Jojen and the dreams, do you think it's just a natural gift that had to be awoken?

Sorry, Dark Sister but I'm even more fashionable in being late. I finally caught up with all but one of the analyses. I am awed at the amazing assessments. Great job, everyone. Really good stuff.

I'm afraid I have nothing to contribute except questions:

1. Does anyone else think it strange that the Reeds chose THAT moment to visit Winterfell?

2. Is not wildly irresponsible of Howlnad to send his heir and spare on a dangerous mission without an escort? Is it not wildly irresponsible to send them at all?

3. If Bloodraven doesn't have Bran's best interests at heart then what? Are proposing that he is sacrificing the one to save the many?

4. Greywater Watch...I have so many questions here.

5. Although good that Jojen doesn't offer interpretations to his visions, anyone else find it odd that he doesn't? I mean, that would save a lot of time and lives. Which brings me to my sixth question?

6. Fate vs free will?

These are all rhetorical, of course. But they just got me thinking.

Bear Queen, thanks for posting the latest analysis. I'm off to read now. Back in a little while.

1. Yes.

2. Yes. Howland is an odd duck. I suspect when we met him he'll be a mix of Gandalf, Merlin, and a 1960s hippie.

3. YES YES YES YES. That is *exactly* what I think. I think BR is very willing to play all the sides off one another because both the Others and the dragons are symptoms of the world being broken. If he has to save the world by having ice and fire fight then by the gods, that's what he'll do. So he takes care of his ice-boy, Bran, and he sends his lover Shiera to deal with Dany (SS = Quaithe)

4. #Word

6. I don't know. I really don't.