A closer look at Bran's Coma Dream

[yolkboy]

Bran's Coma Dream

Whilst in a coma in aGoT, Bran has a cryptic dream, led by the three eyed crow. The crow seems intent on awakening the boy, in the hope Bran will survive and become a greenseer. This is the dream of a greendreamer, though the presence of the 3EC leading the dream so directly, might be a hint at something more. The crow pecks Bran on the forehead at the beginning of the dream, which relates to the greenseers' 'third eye'. It's a divisive sequence, with several interpretations, and for that reason it's worth putting this dream under the microscope once more.

First, Bran flies - seeing Winterfell from above, with Hodor, Luwin, & Robb. This seems to be 'current events'.

Next he looks East, and sees Catelyn on a ship - a current event or the recent past. Bran notices a storm ahead of Cat that she could not yet see. This is reminiscent of Bran's greendream of Winterfell being 'drowned', it's a simple cryptic puzzle. The 'storm' is Cat arresting Tyrion, and the subsequent problems in her story.

Then Bran looks South, toward the “great blue-green rush of the Trident”. The Trident is where we have just been with the preceding Sansa and Ned chapters, so this seems like the present or recent past. Ned, Sansa, Arya and King Robert are named, who are all at the Trident in the Darry Castle at that point.

“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.”

Lady has just been killed in the previous chapter, so this scene seems to be Ned pleading with Robert to let Lady live. Sansa is crying because Lady is dead, and Arya is watching, her secrets include her role in Nymeria's escape. It makes little sense to interpret this scene as being in King's Landing, with Ned pleading about Dany's assassination. The passage indicated the Trident for a reason, the Starks are currently there and Bran's vision groups them together, as well as describing the recent scenario involving all of them. Then...

“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.”

The shadow "dark as ash” (ash = burned), with the “terrible face” (burned face) “of a hound” – is Sandor the Hound. The beautiful golden man is Jaime – we have already seen him described as “shining with light, golden” and having a “shining golden face” in this same chapter. He wears "golden armour", has "golden hair" and is said to be “beautiful”- so fits the puzzle perfectly. When we first meet Jaime and Sandor, they are paired together and described in the same sentence. Jaime is “bright” and “gold”, and Sandor has a “terrible burned face”. Notice that whilst this dream is somewhat cryptic, it's also very straightforward, in a way. Like Jojen's greendream of the “winged wolf bound to earth” - we don't have to try too hard to figure out the identities of these people.

There were shadows all around the Starks and Robert. Initially this sounds like it's threatening (perhaps a hint at the future problems headed towards these characters), but it could also just be people Bran doesn't know or doesn't recognize - he's just suffered a head injury and we know he struggled to recall Jaime (and others). But there's a definite switch from here on, and the dream takes a twist from it's preceding logic, away from the present or recent past - remembering this is a fluid, cryptic dream.

Although the shadows surrounding Arya, Sansa & Ned might not necessarily be threatening, there is then a clear instance of a threat, specifically aimed at Jaime and Sandor. I'll colour code this...

"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."

Compared with Robert Strong:

“The silent giant.” Lord Randyll grimaced.

(He's called 'the silent giant' and is 8ft tall)

"His armour was plate steel, enameled white"

(Never takes off his armour, it's huge and very distinctive, specially made)

“The crest atop it was a stone fist”

(An allusion to Gregor, he wore 'stone' on his armour)

“long parapets built into the very stone of the mountains”

(Mountains are made of stone, this is a cryptic nod that it's formerly Gregor)

“Whatever the face hidden behind Strong’s helm, it must remain hidden for now.”

('opening visor' is something Strong hasn't done yet, and we know he's hiding something)

“I am sending Balon Swann to Sunspear, to deliver him the head of Gregor Clegane.”

(Whether that head was real or not, I think we suspect there's no head on RStong)

“But this venom has been thickened somehow, so as to draw out the Mountain’s dying.”

“Thickened? Thickened how?”

(The dream insinuates the giant has thick black blood - RV thickened the black poison he put into Gregor's blood. The poison seemed to spread and turned his insides black)

“When Oberyn spun the shaft between the palms of his hand, they glistened black. Oil? Or poison?”

(Again, the poison in Gregor's bloodstream was black)

“Be that as it may, his veins have turned black from head to heel.”

(RStrong's blood seems to have been turned black by the venom. RS has black poison for blood)

Overall, a giant armoured in stone with no head and thick black blood fits Robert Strong perfectly.

Remembering what was said about the straightforward nature of the people's identities in this dream and the greendreams we've seen, it seems absurd to shoehorn Littlefinger as this giant. We have to get far too cryptic, and even then, there's too many discrepancies. Robert Strong fits every part of this description, without having to squint one's eyes. The emphasis on the 'no head' and 'thick black blood' even puts this beyond it being Gregor – it's clearly Robert Strong with undertones of the man he used to be. The way it's worded, this giant isn't necessarily one of the 'shadows' surrounding the Starks (it can be read that he's not even a 'shadow' at all here), and by looming over Jaime and Sandor, the giant's role in this sequence might have nothing to do with the girls.

So, now Bran seems to be glimpsing the future, as Strong isn't 'born' yet. With Strong now in the kingsguard to protect Cersei, Jaime in some disagreement with her, and with Sandor still over-due a moment of confrontation with his brother, a fall-out between these two and Strong seems far from unlikely. If we do perceive these particular shadows as being a threat to the Starks, the answer is that they possibly could be, in the future. But the only clear threat, is that of Strong over Jaime and Sandor, and the fact that we're still in the Riverlands might be a clue towards the location of a potential showdown.

Now Bran sees Essos, and “Asshai by the Shadow, where dragons stirred beneath the sunrise.” Bran has seen smoke as dragons, when warging. Remember the 3EC's hosting this dream and showing Bran why he needs live. Seeing smoke would be pointless, so perhaps this is literal dragons, remembering dragons are firemagic and next we see the icemagic of the Wall. Having gone into the future to see Strong, we might now be in the distant past. Dany heard dragons came from Asshai originally. There have been no reported sightings of dragons over Asshai in recent times, they are likely all dead at this point. Dany's dragons causing a surge in magic seems to confirm this, as does the closing line of aGoT; "for the first time in hundreds of years, the night came alive with the music of dragons". So if the 3EC wanted Bran to see dragons, he would have to take him to the past.

Now we see Jon at the Wall...

“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.”

What might initially have seemed like Jon arriving at the Wall now seems like it could be something else, in the future. The description sounds like Jon's dying, in a very cold place, alone (he usually sleeps with Ghost). Following the stabbing, it's possible Jon's body could be put in an ice cell, as he awaits resurrection. We're told “cold preserves”, and we're also informed the NW's meat is preserved in a similar fashion. There's foreshadowing for this ice cell scenario.

“Whittlestick yanked the door wide enough for Jon to slip through.... Jon Snow could see his own reflection dimly inside the icy walls.”

This is the only time we see Jon in an ice cell onpage. And Jon sees himself in there. Ice is not a particularly reflective surface, there is no other instance, aside from sunlight, of the Wall mirroring a person or shape. So what's the purpose of Grrm mentioning this mirroring here? Also, during Jon's ice cell incarceration we have this; “You will die in here, Lord Snow,” Ser Alliser had said...and Jon had believed it.” I will give a stronger case for this ice cell scenario in my next thread.

Bran then looks beyond the Wall, across the icy wasteland and sees the end of the world and a curtain of light. The light might be a nod to Lightbringer, a magical barrier or the aurora borealis. However, the 'end of the world' might also be meant in the apocalyptic sense. A curtain is used in our world to denote the end of a show, cessation – and might have similar connotations here. Beyond is the 'heart of winter', which could be a place or a literal heart, perhaps relating to the Others. The notion of a wintery heart might be a contrast (or symbolic adversary) to the fiery heart of Nissa Nissa – said to be responsible for igniting Lightbringer.

The dream concludes with a vision of dead greenseers, impaled on ice spears. This highlights that fact that a new greenseer is needed, “because winter is coming”, as says the 3EC. The greenseer should be Bran, and that's the motivation behind the 3EC leading this dream.

Fittingly, Bran awakens from his coma directly after the dream, and so takes the first steps towards his fate of becoming a greenseer like the 3EC. At the beginning of the dream, the crow was pecking at Bran's forehead, where his third eye would be, as if to temporarily open it and show Bran what's possible. Visions of the past, present and future, with no need for weirwoods or anything else. When Bran awakens, he checks his forehead and the marks the crow made are gone... but now his real journey towards opening his third eye begins.

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Thanks! ;) The Dornishman's Wife, Lady Gwynhyfvar & The 6th Stark

[Rashid]

“Whittlestick yanked the door wide enough for Jon to slip through.... Jon Snow could see his own reflection dimly inside the icy walls.”

Could be jon inside Ghost going inside the chamber to check jon's body. (wide enough - ghost going through the door. Like dogs passing doors)

Perhaps Whittlestick is trying to recomense somehow by rescueing jon from the chamber in which he lays? or just letting ghost get inside. (the wolf seems to make bran stronger). This could be the case here aswell

[Roose The Weddingcrasher]

....At the end, are you implying that Bran as greenseer is actually needed as a sacrifice for the Others/Winter to appease them? sorry doesn't make sense.

[Florina Laufeyson]

Interesting thread, yolky. I thiink this is a good analysis and i strongly agree that the giant shadow looming over Jaime and Sandor is Robert Strong. Not so sure about the Jon thing but you never know.

[yolkboy]

....At the end, are you implying that Bran as greenseer is actually needed as a sacrifice for the Others/Winter to appease them? sorry doesn't make sense.

oh no, I'm implying a new greenseer is needed from the POV of the 3EC, and that's his motivation for the dream and perhaps why we see a glimpse of all the dead greenseers.

Interesting thread, yolky. I thiink this is a good analysis and i strongly agree that the giant shadow looming over Jaime and Sandor is Robert Strong. Not so sure about the Jon thing but you never know.

Thanks Florina - regarding Jon in the ice cells, I was at the tl;dr limit so i had to briefly skim over it here. I'll write more on that soon.

[Dagon]

Nice! Good job in laying it all out.

[mindchap]

Just as a point of fact, there are direct text references for what Bran sees with Cat and Jon.

Bran GoT 111

He saw his mother sitting alone in a cabin, looking at a bloodstained knife on a table in front of her, as the rowers pulled at their oars and Ser Rodrik leaned across a rail, shaking and heaving. A storm was gathering ahead of them, a vast dark roaring lashed by lightning, but somehow they could not see it.

Cat GoT 114

The strong winds in the Bite and the roughness of the narrow sea had not agreed with him(Rodrick), and he’d almost gone over the side when the storm seized them unexpectedly off Dragonstone, yet somehow he had clung to a rope until three of Moreo’s men could rescue him and carry him safely below decks.

Bran GoT 112

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.

Jon GoT 123

The chill was always with him here. In a few years he would forget what it felt like to be warm.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

Bran then looks beyond the Wall, across the icy wasteland and sees the end of the world and a curtain of light. The light might be a nod to Lightbringer, a magical barrier or the aurora borealis. However, the 'end of the world' might also be meant in the apocalyptic sense. A curtain is used in our world to denote the end of a show, cessation – and might have similar connotations here. Beyond is the 'heart of winter', which could be a place or a literal heart, perhaps relating to the Others. The notion of a wintery heart might be a contrast (or symbolic adversary) to the fiery heart of Nissa Nissa – said to be responsible for igniting Lightbringer.

The curtain motif also fits when you consider the etymology of the word apocalypse. Despite its use as a synonym for the end of the world, its root word in Greek just means "uncover, or reveal." Revealed from behind a curtain of light.

I'm with you on a lot of this, namely that the giant is clearly Robert Strong, foreshadowed way back when (another nod to just how far ahead GRRM plots). I'm also inclined to think you're onto something with Jon's reflection in the ice cell. Some of it I'm shakier on, like the AA/NN stuff, but it's interesting to think of nonetheless.

[yolkboy]

Just as a point of fact, there are direct text references for what Bran sees with Cat and Jon.

With regards to Jon, my argument is that this could be a cheeky trick from grrm (like Mel 'seeing Eastwatch'), and it could be Jon in the ice cell, going on the notion Bran seems to be time travelling. Like I said, initially it seems like Jon at the Wall, but could be something else, given his skin is growing pale and hard - which sounds rather like dying.

[Mychel_Redfort]

Just as a point of fact, there are direct text references for what Bran sees with Cat and Jon.

That's true for Sansa and Arya too

aGoT Bran III

He saw Sansa crying herself to sleep at night, and he saw Arya watching in silence and holding her secrets hard in her heart.

aGoT Eddard IV

The last fortnight of their journey had been a misery. Sansa blamed Arya and told her that it should have been Nymeria who died. And Arya was lost after she heard what had happened to her butcher's boy. Sansa cried herself to sleep, Arya brooded silently all day long, and Eddard Stark dreamed of a frozen hell reserved for the Starks of Winterfell.

[yolkboy]

The curtain motif also fits when you consider the etymology of the word apocalypse. Despite its use as a synonym for the end of the world, its root word in Greek just means "uncover, or reveal." Revealed from behind a curtain of light.

I'm with you on a lot of this, namely that the giant is clearly Robert Strong, foreshadowed way back when (another nod to just how far ahead GRRM plots). I'm also inclined to think you're onto something with Jon's reflection in the ice cell. Some of it I'm shakier on, like the AA/NN stuff, but it's interesting to think of nonetheless.

Apple, that's interesting, I didn't know that about 'apocalypse', and it fit's rather nicely. There are a couple of hints at an 'end of the world' scenario, Benerro talks of AA 'cleansing the world' and 'starting the world anew' (or similar) IIRC. I'm glad you agree with a lot of this, and the 'heart of winter' parts were admittedly very difficult (impossible at this point probably) to interpret, but I thought I'd be thorough and give some possibilities. Nice to see people are also thinking of Robert Strong for the giant, I tried to present that so it's difficult to argue against.

[Nite's King]

Great catch with Jon in the ice cell!

[Queen‍‍‍‍‍‍ Alysanne‍‍™]

I also believed some of these visions were future aswell.

[yolkboy]

I also believed some of these visions were future aswell.

That's why the the presence of the giant is so important to this dream. If it's Robert Strong, and the case vs. Littlefinger is conclusive in my personal opinion, then we are time traveling - opening up new possibilities in the overall interpretation.

[mindchap]

That's true for Sansa and Arya too

Thx, I was looking for that one.

I think the whole thing is current events that are foreshadowing what later comes. I mean Cat's storm happens yet it's metaphorical for what she is heading into at KL. Jon is forgetting all warmth, maybe suggesting that he will become something cold, colder than a NW brother anyway. But I really don't like the way I see Jon's story going unless perhaps his consciousness goes with Ghost and his body is perhaps used by someone or something else.

[The 6th Stark]

With regards to Jon, my argument is that this could be a cheeky trick from grrm (like Mel 'seeing Eastwatch'), and it could be Jon in the ice cell, going on the notion Bran seems to be time travelling. Like I said, initially it seems like Jon at the Wall, but could be something else, given his skin is growing pale and hard - which sounds rather like dying.

I think its giving a look at him not just dying, but explicitly becoming frozen in an ice cell.

[yolkboy]

I think its giving a look at him not just dying, but explicitly becoming frozen in an ice cell.

Yes, I think that too. Like i said we have a similar outlook on this particular issue ;)

[Robb Stark KitN]

I thought all that was rather common knowledge. If you have re read the books that is.

[Arya kiddin']

<snip>

Good analysis yolkboy. Robert Strong is the best explanation for the giant in stone armor, and now with all the quotes laid by it is plain to see.

Dragons in Asshai, well that is something I personally believe is possible.

Bran AGoT:

“Asshai by the Shadow, where dragons stirred beneath the sunrise.”

AFfC prologue:

“The tales are not the same,” insisted Armen. “Dragons in Asshai, dragons in Qarth, dragons in Meereen, Dothraki dragons, dragons freeing slaves . . . each telling differs from the last.”

Though the character disagrees, notice how each event in the above statement does contain a nugget of truth. Of course a better explanation can be that it refers to Targ descendendants (Melisandre) is Asshai.

As for the Heart of Winter I present to you a personal crackpot. I think it is the source of ice related magic in this world. Other than this another reference to this heart is given by warlocks of Qarth, and notice using this they prolonged (preserved - ice) their lives. That I believe is not just a co-incidence.

Dany AcoK:

A long stone table filled this room. Above it floated a human heart, swollen and blue with corruption, yet still alive. It beat, a deep ponderous throb of sound, and each pulse sent out a wash of indigo light. The figures around the table were no more than blue shadows. As Dany walked to the empty chair at the foot of the table, they did not stir, nor speak, nor turn to face her. There was no sound but the slow, deep beat of the rotting heart.

And notice it is Drogon who tears this heart apart - another reason I believe Dragons will not give you a second field of fire, but will be pivotal in the Battle of the Dawn 2.0 in the magical sense. It may be possible that dragons are the lightbringer, and the prophecy for AA will not be fulfilled in Jon alone, but by Jon and Dany together. Dany is the Smith who forged this Lightbringer, while Jon is the Warrior who will wield it.

Hope it helps the analysis. :)

[DreamSongs]

Nice Yolkboy. NIce.