Bran's Vision in AGOT - The Hound, The Sun, and The Giant

[sweetsunray]

They are meant to be three people who have an impact on Sansa and Arya.

The Hound: check.

If the Sun is Joffrey: check

I think the Giant is Littlefinger, but it could also be Tyrion.

If Littlefinger:

Sansa: yup

Arya: no direct impact yet, but it might still come

If Tyrion:

Sansa: yup

Arya: Not yet, might still come.

Unless you include fArya.

Also, even if it's about the present, it doesn't mean it should exclude people who are not presently in the direct presence of either Arya or Sansa... as long as they already exist and are plotting or acting against them behind the screens Bran could technically see them in his vision. The giant of stone could be LF or the Mountain. Personally, because his shadow looms over the other two, which indicates even more dangerous and also more hidden behind the actions of the Hound and Joffrey/Jaime I think it's LF.

[joluoto2]

Unless you include fArya.

That's more an indirect impact. I also suspect Littlefinger had something to do with Ned's execution.

[The Dames do Moan]

I always did assumed that it were people that were around during the time that Lady died. That's what Bran is seeing Arya, Ned and Sansa upset about so IMO the shadows each had something to do with the events surrounding Aftermath of Nymeria attacking Joffrey. With that said I don't think he is physically seeing the person in the vision because he describes them as shadows, when just says he sees his family, not there shadows. So he is almost seeing the "essence of the person" or atleast how his corresponding family member sees.

Dark as ash - The Hound, Sandor Clegane as seen by Arya. She really doesn't like him at this point, because he went out and killed the butchers Boy Mycha because he was there during the attack.

armored like the sun - Joffrey Baratheon as seen by Sansa. She still likes Joffrey, thinks about his golden hair and his beauty all the time. He is there during Ned's plea as well as the attack. Could also see it bein Cersei as she was there during Ned's plea and was convincing in killing Lady.

Giant in armor made of stone with black blood - King Robert Baratheon as seen by Ned. Ned goes to Robert and pleads for Lady but he does not hear it. Robert as King can certainly be rendered to as giant, armored like stone is just his hard personality in this instance. Ned thinks because of their history and that Rob used to be a good guy he will be able to plead for Lady's life. When that gets peeled back though and the events unfold he realizes that the Rob he new is no longer there and it's really only this person he's never met before which isn't a good person. The thick black blood just represents what Robert is now.

Just my opinion anyway, like minuteman said, really anything is right and we probably won't ever get an answer.

[Queen of dragonstone]

Giant in armor made of stone with black blood - King Robert Baratheon as seen by Ned. Ned goes to Robert and pleads for Lady but he does not hear it. Robert as King can certainly be rendered to as giant, armored like stone is just his hard personality in this instance. Ned thinks because of their history and that Rob used to be a good guy he will be able to plead for Lady's life. When that gets peeled back though and the events unfold he realizes that the Rob he new is no longer there and it's really only this person he's never met before which isn't a good person. The thick black blood just represents what Robert is now.

Just my opinion anyway, like minuteman said, really anything is right and we probably won't ever get an answer.

I was thinking along these lines as well.

But I think you're right about the shadows representing what each one of them see's

[aryagonnakill#2]

It is my belief that it is the Hound, Oberyn Martell, and the Mountain. The 3 are interconnected in a way no other reasonable combo of 3 are. Oberyn and the Mountain killed each other, but the Mountain came back to life and may be killed again by Sandor, this time with fire. Both Oberyn and the Hound were obsessed with the thought of killing the Mountain, and Oberyn was armored in bronze that light up like the sun when he fought the Mountain.

[Lord BitterRaven]

Stop mentioning characters that WEREN'T THERE

The Mountain was not there, neither were Oberyn or Littlefinger.

Bran is watching them in the PRESENT not future or past. Ser Barristan, Ser Ilyn Payne, and I don't recall who the knight in green was, joined up with them on the road right before the incident with Arya and Joffery.

Judging by what happened between everyone:

Hound = Sandor because he is Joffery's bodyguard and IS the hound

Sun = Ser Barristan because of how respectful and kind he is to Sansa, a shining example of a true knight

Shadow = Ilyn Payne due to his frightful presence and death that he represents

Even I think that I'm paying too much attention to this part in the book, but I went back and took a look at exactly what Martin wrote. I know it seems in his vision that he's looking at the present at different places but the language Martin uses makes it suspect.

"He looked south, and saw the great blue-green rush of the Trident. He saw his father pleading with the king, his face etched with grief. He saw Sansa crying herself to sleep at night, and he saw Arya watching in silence and holding her secrets hard in her heart. There were shadows all around them. One shadow was dark as ash, with the terrible face of a hound. Another was armored like the sun, golden and beautiful. Over them both loomed a giant in armor made of stone, but when he opened his visor, there was nothing inside but darkness and thick black blood."

'He saw Sansa crying hersellf to sleep at night': If this was taking place at present tense, why would Martin say crying herself to sleep at night instead of crying herself to sleep. The "at night" implies that it's a reoccuring thing, which is what she goes through from the time her dad dies until the eyrie.

'and he saw Arya watching in silence and holding her secrets hard in her heart'- Arya doesn't learn how to be silent and keep secrets for a LOOOOONG time.

'Finally he looked north. He saw the Wall shining like blue crystal, and his bastard brother Jon sleeping alone in a cold bed, his skin growing pale and hard as the memory of all warmth fled from him.' - There's a million different ways for Bran to see the Wall, why does Martin give us this? Especially since it sounds similar to something that definitely hasen't happened yet.

I'm not sure what the shadows imply beyond the dangerous people that surround his sisters in the series.

[Balerion the kitten]

'He saw Sansa crying hersellf to sleep at night': If this was taking place at present tense, why would Martin say crying herself to sleep at night instead of crying herself to sleep. The "at night" implies that it's a reoccuring thing, which is what she goes through from the time her dad dies until the eyrie.

'and he saw Arya watching in silence and holding her secrets hard in her heart'- Arya doesn't learn how to be silent and keep secrets for a LOOOOONG time.

'Finally he looked north. He saw the Wall shining like blue crystal, and his bastard brother Jon sleeping alone in a cold bed, his skin growing pale and hard as the memory of all warmth fled from him.' - There's a million different ways for Bran to see the Wall, why does Martin give us this? Especially since it sounds similar to something that definitely hasen't happened yet.

I'm not sure what the shadows imply beyond the dangerous people that surround his sisters in the series.

The text implies arya was watching sansa cry herself to sleep at night. The secrets being her thinking she killed mycah, granted bitch sansa and jeyne (at the time) were telling her this but the secret was her asking mycah to play swords with her. As she thought that killed him, and also forcing nymeria to go.

And Jon at the wall was the one in AGoT, as benjen said the smell of summer was still on him. But at the wall he was realizing how crappy his life was going to be. "His skin growing pale and hard as the memory of all warmth fled from him" is a way of saying he was becoming a man of the nights watch and leaving behind his identity if a little summer boy.

As for the Sansa part that was lady, Ned had mentioned she had been crying about her death.

[ThePromiseThatWasAPrince]

It's fitting to have it as the mountain, but these shadows are surrounding characters that are either dead when Gregor and oberyn fight or have left kings landing.

The shadows are the ones who are hurting or will hurt the people they are surrounding. Arya, Sansa and Ned.

The first one is the hound- Killed mycah.

Second one is joffrey- obviously Sansa. Getting his kingsguard to beat her, holding her hostage, making her life a misery.

And the last one is Ilyn payne- killed Ned.

This makes sense, since the Hound ends up with Arya, Joffrey terrorizes Sansa, and Robert and Ned both end up dead (when you die, your blood turns black when it congeals). Maybe he was see present and future, just in riddle form.

ETA: I should have quoted the OP, but the shadow over Ned and Robert is death, not Ser Ilyn.

[Dorian Martell]

Alright, this is the first thread I've ever started, so please be gentle! lol

I just started rereading the series, and I came across a passage in A Game of Thrones that I must've flew right over the first and second time around.

In Bran III while he is still unconscious from his fall, he has a vision of what's going on with his family across Westeros and then beyond in the Free Cities. What drew my attention was when he saw when he focused on Sansa and Arya.

Obviously the first shadow with the "terrible face of a hound" is the Hound, Sandor Clegane.

I assume that the second shadow "armored like the sun, golden and beautiful" is Jamie Lannister, but I'm not 100% sure.

For the third shadow, I am completely stumped. First I thought of The Mountain, Gregor Clegane, but he hasn't been introduced to the story as of yet in this chapter and it doesn't quite seem to fit... Unless GRRM already knew he was going to bring him back from the dead as Robert Strong (presuming that Strong really is Zombie Mountain). But I don't think that's very likely.

Then I thought, maybe it was Ser Illyn Payne. After all, Sansa was terrified of him when they met. But again, the imagery doesn't seem to fit.

Then I thought of the Titan of Braavos. "A giant in armor made of stone" makes sense for a possible foreshadowing of Arya going to Braavos, but again, that's some damn early foreshadowing. And the second part doesn't fit at all.

Maybe it's not meant to represent a specific person, but the dangers that lie ahead? I'm not so sure.

Thoughts on who The Sun and The Giant could be?

Have you considered that the Dark as ash man with the face of a hound could be Gregor? He is very evil and cruel and his Sigil is three dogs and he was killed with a poisoned spear with a shaft made of Ash. Armored like the sun could be Oberyn, his sigil is the sun and spear and he wears polished bronze scale armor. That would make sense as the fight between them led to both of their deaths and the birth of Bob Strong

Stop mentioning characters that WEREN'T THERE

No. If you don't like it then don't visit this thread or these forums

[Ser Wun Wun]

There was actually a post on Winter is Coming that might be related to this theory:

It's not 100 percent confirmed I think, but the post said that Brienne would be fighting Robert Strong this season. Obviously Brienne is in the North with Sansa, so that must mean Cersei sends Robert Strong up there after she hears that Sansa is there. That's the most obvious reason why Robert Strong would be up there imo. Cersei sending Robert Strong after Sansa once she learns of her location seems like something she would do in the books as well, so I don't necessarily think this is one of those show only creations if it happens. The theory that Robert Strong is the one in Bran's vision might actually be on point

[Winter Blues]

I always thought it'd lead to Cersei finding out Sansa's with Littlefinger and sending Robert Strong to kill her. And somehow the Faith will learn of it and word will reach the Quiet Isle, and the BwB will somehow find out and in comes Jaime and Sandor to save her and kill Ser Robert, respectively.

[Winter Blues]

Damnit, Ser Wun Wun.

[chrisdaw]

Of course it's Strong and GRRM knew what he was doing with Ungregor.

Sandor and Jaime will protect the Stark sisters from Ungregor. Sansa on trial for Joff, trial of Seven, Ungregor and the KG vs Sansa's champions, including Sandor and Jaime.

[Balerion the kitten]

That's actually a really good guess, and most likely correct.

After all, like the stranger who's face isn't seen, death doesn't have a face. And the thick black blood was what happened to Robert (I think) and I guess a Ned.

[mdw4950]

all really depends on what time frame brans vision goes along with. a lot of people have used this as evidence for the cleganebowl theory, but i kind of feel like 'the terrible face of a hound' might turn out to be brienne wearing sandors helmet with jaime and ungregor being the other two. i think this could tie into jaime as the valonqar theory too with 'brienne the beauty' playing the role of someone younger and more beautiful to help strike cersei down. hope im wrong though, not the biggest fan of brienne and would much rather see the hound make his return.

[Lost Melnibonean]

Sandor, Jaime and Petyr. Or Gregor. Or Tyrion. But I'm going with Petyr.