Something very strange about Uncle Benjen

[Old Blue Eyes]

I'm really surprised that the topic of Benjen hasn't come up yet.

So he says he is undead, and very knowledgeable of things that only Bran and the 3ER know (how the WW were made).  He mentions knowing the 3ER, but is that true?  If he knows so much, and knows that Bran was marked by the Night's King (maybe he doesn't, but Bran does), then why does he lead him directly to the wall and abandon him?

Is Uncle Benjen reanimated by the Night's King to lead Bran to the wall, where he will pass and allow the WW and army of the dead to breach?

There is something to Benjen.

[Net-Viper X]

Its possible Bran just didn't mention it, probably because he is ashamed and embarrassed of what he caused to happen. Or maybe Benjen and 3ER have just never discussed the topic of a person being marked by the NK. They might not have even realised such a thing was possible until it happened, and 3ER didn't live long enough to inform Benjen.

Or we could just go with poor writing. The characters on the show have been so forgetful and inconsistent that it may have just been forgotten like Gendry and his boat. I mean if the entire north can forget about their king and family members being murdered at a wedding, surely one traumatized little boy running for his life from zombies might forget a few important details here and there.

[DreadedNorwegian]

Hope this wasn`t the last time we saw him. After waiting 6 seasons for him he and we deserve more than what, 5 minutes of screen time with him? So many questions still unanswered!

[The Yung Wulf]

17 minutes ago, Net-Viper X said:

.....Or we could just go with poor writing.....

...here we go again with the classic poor writing theory.

 

There was definitely strange tension between Benjen and Bran/Meera. He makes it clear that "I still fight for the living" ... which definitely could have went without saying. I'm quite suspicious of him at this point.

[jrod]

I would think that Benjen would know why Bran and Meera had to leave the safety of the cave.  Only things I could think of was he was "touched" while in the cave so the cave lost it's protection but not the wall, or the spells in the wall are different/more powerful so it will hold up against the WW.  But do agree this was left pretty vague, not sure if it was just lost or if it will be a part of the plot next season......so long to wait.

[Frimmel]

Benjen is exactly as he appears. Saved from death by the children of the forest but still trying to keep his oath to the watch. Being the same magic as what made the white walkers he can't go to the wall. The magic in the wall is something that was left out back when Sam met Bran. Benjen had to leave/return Bran to the wall because firstly he can't fight the wights and stay on the move with a crippled teenager in tow. He also probably doesn't want Bran to "fall into the wrong hands." 

And Bran doesn't need to be the cause of the Nighking getting past The Wall. He might have found his own way or have his own way as with the "earthquake" power. 

[Garse Ironjade Janacek]

1 hour ago, Old Blue Eyes said:

I'm really surprised that the topic of Benjen hasn't come up yet.

So he says he is undead, and very knowledgeable of things that only Bran and the 3ER know (how the WW were made).  He mentions knowing the 3ER, but is that true?  If he knows so much, and knows that Bran was marked by the Night's King (maybe he doesn't, but Bran does), then why does he lead him directly to the wall and abandon him?

Is Uncle Benjen reanimated by the Night's King to lead Bran to the wall, where he will pass and allow the WW and army of the dead to breach?

There is something to Benjen.

There is something decidedly wrong with old "Uncle Benjen".  

For one, he's a reanimated corpse...it is very possible he is in league with WW and/or CotF.  He certainly did very little to clear up any questions I had, like:  why was he reanimated? what is his mission? how did he find Bran so conveniently?  why is his face so creepy? why does he not look like any of the other reanimations we have seen? why didn't he make contact with anyone he is allegedly helping out (now) for nearly five season?

So, he is quite possibly there solely to help the NK get by the wall.

[MoonWoman]

I am glad this was brought up because both myself and the person I was watching with were like what is up with the weird smile he gave Bran at the end? I wish I had a screen shot of it because it was really creepy weird and we were both like "What is up with that?" 

Maybe it was nothing, but in the moment it seemed strange and ominous. 

[King Jon Snow Stark]

Wow. Starks are just backstabbing each other left and right. First Sansa and now Benjen is evil! I don't think Benjen is evil. I'm hoping we have a scene with all the remaining Starks and Benjen confirms what Bran saw in his vision. 

[Destiny's Warrior]

I didn't buy the "I wish you both good fortune."

Although he is a Northerner. Not exactly full of cheer! 

[Old Blue Eyes]

Uncle Benjen is very much a mystery.  What has he been doing all this time?  What has he been through?  More importantly - we really know very little about the Night's King, and what he is capable of.  Is he involved in Benjen's actions? 

I can see Bran never going past the wall, and the tragedy of him not being able to reunite with his family because of the affliction of being marked by the Night's King.

We will see.

[NymeriaWarriorQueen]

I have a hunch that we will be seeing Uncle Benjen again next season.  He will have a part in the war to come.

[Apathetic Onlooker]

3 minutes ago, Destiny's Warrior said:

I didn't buy the "I wish you both good fortune."

Although he is a Northerner. Not exactly full of cheer! 

Yeah no "My, you've grown Bran", no "I love you nephew", no emotion whatsoever.   Remember the scene where Bran and Rickon leave Maester Luwin behind.  Yeah...  we can't have legitimate character emotion anymore.  Just "welp this is as far as I'll go.  Have fun dragging Bran up the goddamn wall.  No you can't have my horse. peace"

[Tagganaro]

2 hours ago, Old Blue Eyes said:

I'm really surprised that the topic of Benjen hasn't come up yet.

So he says he is undead, and very knowledgeable of things that only Bran and the 3ER know (how the WW were made).  He mentions knowing the 3ER, but is that true?  If he knows so much, and knows that Bran was marked by the Night's King (maybe he doesn't, but Bran does), then why does he lead him directly to the wall and abandon him?

Is Uncle Benjen reanimated by the Night's King to lead Bran to the wall, where he will pass and allow the WW and army of the dead to breach?

There is something to Benjen.

I definitely think it's a possibility that he's a "double agent" sent by the Night's King to get Bran to go past the Wall and bring it down.

That being said, if there's one thing that's applied this season it has been "the simplest explanation is always the right one."  There doesn't tend to be much more than what the writers and directors show on the screen.  Applying that logic, Benjen is exactly who he says he is and something else will bring the Wall down.

 

[W1NT3RF3LL]

He was essentially Cold Hands.  We know much about the show Benjen as we do coldhands in the books.  He was just a mystical character beyond the wall that helped Bran and Meera.  

[Pile-O-Starks]

There are a few ways to interpret Benjen's facial expression in this scene (I agree that it was odd):

1) Sadness that he cannot help his nephew any more.

2) Sadness that he knows something bad is going to happen, which he cannot prevent.

3) Malevolence toward Bran because reasons I guess.

4) Straight up treacherousness. He's screwing Bran on behalf of the NK.

 I think it's probably 1 or 2, but I don't think the actor/director quite conveyed that.

[Pile-O-Starks]

5 minutes ago, Tagganaro said:

That being said, if there's one thing that's applied this season it has been "the simplest explanation is always the right one."  There doesn't tend to be much more than what the writers and directors show on the screen.  Applying that logic, Benjen is exactly who he says he is and something else will bring the Wall down.

This is a good point. Everybody has pretty much been who they claim to be since we moved past the books.

[Señor de la Tormenta]

He has a living hot blooded horse.

 

I guess it is enough of a highlight for most of us. He is not with the others.

Summer could had probably been a better hint, but he was offed because all the CGI went to the fraking dragons.

 

By the way. Wheres ghost?

[[Deleted]]

21 minutes ago, Tagganaro said:

That being said, if there's one thing that's applied this season it has been "the simplest explanation is always the right one."  There doesn't tend to be much more than what the writers and directors show on the screen.  Applying that logic, Benjen is exactly who he says he is and something else will bring the Wall down.

 

Yep, I agree. I'm almost to the point where I don't even bother speculating on the "deeper meaning" or "hidden agendas" of the TV show characters any more, because there simply are none. We are wasting our time trying to come up with more elaborate plotlines when really we should just be accepting everything at face value.

[Fez]

Well there's no horn, so something has to bring the Wall down, and I think it will be Bran. It could be that Benjen just didn't realize what will happen (and obviously Bran and Meera don't), but I think its more likely he does serve the Nights King.