The adventurous, thrill-seeking Stark has made his triumphant return during this season of Game of Thrones. However, he’s not quite how we remember him. Now a full blown teenager, Bran Stark is trying to figure out how to handle some pretty intense magical abilities. So far, Bran has supplied some of the season’s most integral plot lines, and we think it could mean something big.
Under the tutelage of the Three-Eyed Raven, we’ve witnessed Bran’s visions of the past, which (fortunately) provide us with some backstory on major events. We’ve seen young Ned Stark battling at the Tower of Joy, the origin of White Walkers, ans perhaps most devastatingly, the rise and fall of our beloved Hodor. It is Hodor’s mental demise that proves Bran’s powers might be far beyond what we initially anticipated.
If you recall, one of Bran’s first visions of the past was centered around Ned Stark and Howland Reed’s quest to save Lyanna Stark. Just before returning to the present, Bran calls out to the younger version of his father. We see Ned turn, clearly unable to see the ghost-like version of his future son, but seemingly able to hear him. If the Three-Eyed Raven hadn’t stopped Bran from calling out again, would Ned have truly heard the voice?
Flash forward to the fifth episode of this season, “The Door”. Bran witnesses Hodor as a child. We see Hodor as a well-rounded and well spoken young man, not the simple-minded giant that we grew to know and love. Upon hearing Meera’s voice from the present, trying to awake him from this vision, Bran wargs into Hodor creating an unnatural, metaphysical connection between past and present. Ultimately, he is the cause for Hodor becoming “Hodor”.
From the moment Bran met Hodor back in season one, the caretaker was only been able to utter one word. We just learned that this is because of the events that future time-traveling Bran caused. Are you following? Here’s why this means big things for the new Three-Eyed Raven, Bran Stark.
Bran’s powers clearly go beyond just warging or seeing visions; he has the ability to alter the past which, in turn, alters the present and future. Some fan theories even go as far as saying that any event in the series could have been caused by Bran. While present Bran Stark may not realize what he’s directly impacted, other historical events could have been altered by a future time-traveling version of himself. Make sense? Others say that the time travel in GoT doesn’t happen that way. For many fans, everything happens because it already happened.
What do you think of mind-boggling theory? Can Bran Stark control any event in the series, or is he only responsible for his particular timeline? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
