Will Jon go beyond the wall to save Bran?

[King Adrian Storm]

In the Winds of Winter, will Jon and a host of wildlings and night's watchmen go north of the wall to save Bran from the cave? Bran has to return to the 7 kingdoms somehow, and to do that, he will need a reason to leave. Maybe the Others or the COTF attack Bran and he needs to escape. We've seen Bran can communicate with people through the trees. I think this would be an interesting storyline, and it would give us a chance to see a battle against the Others, before their invasion of Westeros. We have yet to see the heart of winter, which could be revealed in a storyline like this. I will have another post about the heart of winter.

[Vaith]

Jon doesn't know he was alive, and Sam left for Oldtown before passing on that knowledge. I find it unlikely that anyone would tell Jon; the only possibility are the mountain clansmen that Bran met who might have sussed out his true identity: but in that case, how would Jon know where to look for Bran north of the Wall? 

I think Bran's on his own for this one. 

[Princess Daenerys]

That sounds like something Jon would do.  Bran has a responsibility to stay in that cave but Jon will ignore that and worry more about Bran's happiness.  Once again allowing his devotion to the Starks keep him from doing what is right.  

[Alexis-something-Rose]

8 minutes ago, Vaith said:

the only possibility are the mountain clansmen that Bran met who might have sussed out his true identity

Osha knows and she should be back with Rickon. And Rickon knows too that Bran is alive. And whenever Howland Reed shows up, I think he might be able to confirm that Bran is alive and with his children. I cannot fathom that this guy has no clue where Meera and Jojen are.

That said, I don't think Jon will go north to rescue Bran, but I also think that he and Bran will communicate together like they did back in ACoK. 

[zandru]

As noted, Jon doesn't know that Bran is alive, and both the people who saw Bran, Samwell Tarly and Gilly Craster's Wife, are off in Old Town and sworn not to tell. Incidentally, it appears that Jon is dead.

We don't have any idea where Osha and Rickon may be; Skagos Island has been suggested and Lord Davos, Hand of King Stannis, is searching. Any likelihood of them going to Castle Black seems small; Davos has to report back to Lord Manderly in White Harbor.

On top of all this, why does Bran need to be "rescued"? He's learning to fly, learning to cruise the WeirNet. He's fulfilling his destiny, under the protection of the Children of the Forest and the 3eye Crow.

So my guess is, no.

[Vaith]

13 minutes ago, Alexis-something-Rose said:

Osha knows and she should be back with Rickon. And Rickon knows too that Bran is alive. And whenever Howland Reed shows up, I think he might be able to confirm that Bran is alive and with his children. I cannot fathom that this guy has no clue where Meera and Jojen are.

That said, I don't think Jon will go north to rescue Bran, but I also think that he and Bran will communicate together like they did back in ACoK. 

That's true, but then there's the question of where Bran might specifically be except somewhere beyond the wall.

As for Howland, well, he is mysterious enough that he might intuitively know something more is up. But he doesn't have telepathy and the Reeds aren't sending him any ravens; all he knows is that they were there during the grisly capture of Winterfell by the ironborn.

[kissdbyfire]

41 minutes ago, zandru said:

Any likelihood of them going to Castle Black seems small; Davos has to report back to Lord Manderly in White Harbor.

CB may be an unlikely destination, but Skagos is very close to EbtS, and not too far from HH. And what with the terrible storms and whathaveyou, they could end up in either location before being able to reach WH. 

[Nevets]

17 minutes ago, kissdbyfire said:

CB may be an unlikely destination, but Skagos is very close to EbtS, and not too far from HH. And what with the terrible storms and whathaveyou, they could end up in either location before being able to reach WH. 

I expect Davos to be our eyes on Hardhome, and then wind up in the Land of Always Winter.  I think he will still be north of the Wall at the end of Winds.

As for Bran, Jon does not know he is still alive, and no one around him does either.  Even those who do know have no knowledge of his current location.   Bran is on his own on this one.

[Lollygag]

The Lannisters are following the Labors of Hercules and this one sounds like Bran.

Stoneheart has been hanging around Howland Reed's neighborhood + we saw Beric hanging out in weirwoods + Bran is Catelyn's favorite + Jaime is sworn to Stoneheart + Jaime rescuing Bran after he was the one who pushed him out the window + BR seems pretty interested in Jaime = my guess is Jaime is the one who goes North of the Wall and the caves are part of that.

 

Adding, the 3EC seems almost panicked at the idea of Bran remembering that it was Jaime who tossed him so Bran working with Jaime in the future is seen as pretty important.

[Curled Finger]

I am confident that having successfully got Bran to the cave, Meera, Jojen, Hodor and Summer are more than capable of successfully spiriting Bran away to wherever they need to go.  We do have a network of tunnels and underground waterways that could lead any number of places and COTF to spice the adventure with maybe a map or at least directions.  It's not as though they haven't roamed the entire land for thousands of years.   For all we know Jojen is hanging out at the mouth of the cave blazing a fatty with Coldhands in preparation for the big exit.  

[Curled Finger]

2 hours ago, Nevets said:

I expect Davos to be our eyes on Hardhome, and then wind up in the Land of Always Winter.  I think he will still be north of the Wall at the end of Winds.

As for Bran, Jon does not know he is still alive, and no one around him does either.  Even those who do know have no knowledge of his current location.   Bran is on his own on this one.

I still LOVE that.

[Seams]

13 hours ago, Lollygag said:

Jaime is sworn to Stoneheart + Jaime rescuing Bran after he was the one who pushed him out the window + BR seems pretty interested in Jaime = my guess is Jaime is the one who goes North of the Wall and the caves are part of that.

This rescue scenario sounds somewhat like the rescue of Aemon the Dragonknight who is suspended in a cage over a pit of vipers in Dorne. But what about this for a twist: Jaime is the guy in the cage (or some symbolic equivalent) and Bran has to rescue him?

We suspect that Brienne has been forced to capture Jaime and deliver him to Lady Stoneheart. Certainly a living, breathing Bran appearing to this shade of his grieving mother might end her vendetta and allow her soul to finally seek its rest. She might free Jaime again, as she did when he was a prisoner at Riverun. Or there might be some rescue scenario more like Baelor walking through the snake pit to use the key and open the cage.

From the wiki:

Quote

Aemon pulled Baelor from the pit, into the cage, and climbed to safety with the king upon his back. Aemon carried the unconscious king along the Boneway until they reached the safety of first House Dondarrion at Blackhaven and then House Baratheon at Storm's End.

The idea of Aemon carrying Baelor could easily be repeated with Jaime carrying Bran. The stop at House Dondarrion sounds like a good place for restoration of a maimed warrior and/or a snake-bitten holy man / king.

I know none of this explains how Bran gets out of Bloodraven's cave and the distant frozen north. Maybe Lady Stoneheart sends Jaime and Brienne out on yet another quest. That doesn't feel right, though. I think she's done with letting those two go off together unless or until one of her kids shows up and changes her world view.

What about the Ghost of High Heart as a source of information regarding Bran's location? She has CotF contacts and is also in touch with the Brotherhood without Banners.

Your suggestion of the Jaime / Bran connection feels right to me; it brings a balance and redemption to the initial injury that Jaime inflicted on Bran. If the Baelor / Dragonknight parallel is right, it also uses one of GRRM's internal legends as foreshadowing.

[King Adrian Storm]

Sam will be leaving Old town at the beginning of TWOW. Euron is most likely going to burn down the citadel. Sam will take a book or two with important information then head north. It's not impossible for them to meet up again, before the story ends. Plus we know Bran can communicate through the trees. Theon heard him in Winterfell. If Jon hears Bran he will grow suspicious that he is alive. Another option is Davos bringing Rickon back and reuniting with Jon in Winterfell. Also, it's likely Jon could meet Reek again, and he would tell Jon he didn't kill Bran. If Ramsay is headed to castle black, well he knows Bran is alive as well. 

[Jay21]

Someone's got to go north, right?  Someone's got to play that Last Hero role, don't they?  Once 'all memory of warmth' has left him Jon may be in a pretty good position to take on the cold and privation that a walk in the Others' country will feature.

[Moiraine Sedai]

Jon's mind is on Arya right now.  He will come back crazy as hell and with an even bigger chip on his shoulders.  Bring a bowl of dip because that man is coming back with a lot of chips on his shoulders.  I would not be surprised if he gives his soul to the White Walkers in exchange for their help against everybody who has wronged the Starks.  More tragedy coming to Westeros and it will be partly caused by Jon's desire to avenge the Starks.

[BalerionTheCat]

I don't think Bran needs to be saved from the cave. But Meera and Jojen (I don't think he is dead yet) are still there. And would need rescue or assistance. Dark Sister is possibly there too, waiting a good swordsman. IMO the only one who could bring someone here is Coldhands. Someone will go north. And this someone is likely to pass by the cave. Would be good to have Jon or Jaime meeting Bran there. Jaime preferably. But I don't imagine Bran leaving anyway other than in Summer's body.

[Pontius Pilate]

5 hours ago, Moiraine Sedai said:

Jon's mind is on Arya right now.  He will come back crazy as hell and with an even bigger chip on his shoulders.  Bring a bowl of dip because that man is coming back with a lot of chips on his shoulders.  I would not be surprised if he gives his soul to the White Walkers in exchange for their help against everybody who has wronged the Starks.  More tragedy coming to Westeros and it will be partly caused by Jon's desire to avenge the Starks.

___ -->passes a bowl of sour cream and onion dip to @Moiraine Sedai  

[Pontius Pilate]

Honestly, Bran is stuck in that cave.  The only way the Starks will gather again will be in direwolf form after they die as humans.  Bran will be the only Stark who can go in and out of his direwolf because his human body will live for a long time under the tree.  The other Starks, Jon included, will be wolves.  

[Lollygag]

On 6/16/2020 at 10:53 PM, Seams said:

This rescue scenario sounds somewhat like the rescue of Aemon the Dragonknight who is suspended in a cage over a pit of vipers in Dorne. But what about this for a twist: Jaime is the guy in the cage (or some symbolic equivalent) and Bran has to rescue him?

We suspect that Brienne has been forced to capture Jaime and deliver him to Lady Stoneheart. Certainly a living, breathing Bran appearing to this shade of his grieving mother might end her vendetta and allow her soul to finally seek its rest. She might free Jaime again, as she did when he was a prisoner at Riverun. Or there might be some rescue scenario more like Baelor walking through the snake pit to use the key and open the cage.

From the wiki:

The idea of Aemon carrying Baelor could easily be repeated with Jaime carrying Bran. The stop at House Dondarrion sounds like a good place for restoration of a maimed warrior and/or a snake-bitten holy man / king.

I know none of this explains how Bran gets out of Bloodraven's cave and the distant frozen north. Maybe Lady Stoneheart sends Jaime and Brienne out on yet another quest. That doesn't feel right, though. I think she's done with letting those two go off together unless or until one of her kids shows up and changes her world view.

What about the Ghost of High Heart as a source of information regarding Bran's location? She has CotF contacts and is also in touch with the Brotherhood without Banners.

Your suggestion of the Jaime / Bran connection feels right to me; it brings a balance and redemption to the initial injury that Jaime inflicted on Bran. If the Baelor / Dragonknight parallel is right, it also uses one of GRRM's internal legends as foreshadowing.

Like, like, like. Would be a great read.

Aemon/Baelor sounds spot on. Beric and BR always struck me as being in a cage of sorts and Bran repeatedly compares the weirwood roots to snakes.

Jaime also getting rescued in some way makes a lot of sense and could be quite beautiful in a world so filled with revenge. He's been caged himself, always bound to orders from Tywin, Cersei, Tyrion to a lesser degree, then Aerys and Robert, never thinking for himself. After he leaves imprisonment in RR, there's the cutting of his Lannister hair which he imagines Cersei's fingers running through (reminding me of cages and snakes again!) and Jaime begins to become free in more ways than just RR.

[broken one]

I doubt Bran ever leaves the cave in his own body. His mission is for a lifetime (expanded lifetime). Sam will not spill the beans and so no one will know, except for him and Reeds.