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Well, the Battle of Winterfell has come and gone, and most Game of Thrones favorites are still standing. There were, however, a few casualties in the April 28 episode, including Theon Greyjoy, Dolorous Edd, Jorah and Lyanna Mormont, Beric Dondarrion, Melisandre, and of course the Night King himself. But one person who seemed to do surprisingly little was Bran, who was instead used as bait to lure in the Night King. However, while he continued to warg for long periods and stare blankly into the distance, it's entirely possible that Bran was doing a lot more than he let on, and to prove it, here are some compelling Three-Eyed Raven Reddit theories that will have fans rethinking his role in Game of Thrones.
Audiences will recall that Bran began his journey to become the next greenseer after Jaime pushed him out the window way back in the pilot. And as he told the Lannister in Season 8, Episode 2, "You still would be [the same person] if you hadn't pushed me out of that window. And I would still be Brandon Stark." From there, he, Hodor, Jojen and Meera Reed headed for the Children of the Forest. Once there, Bran was able to learn everything from the previous Three-Eyed Raven — including how the White Walkers were created — before the Night King murdered him. Since then, Bran has been the keeper of memories, and the only one who remembers where they came from and knows where they're headed.
However, it's no secret that Bran is a weird dude, and it's almost impossible to decipher what is going on in his head at any given time. So here are a few theories as to what the final three episodes will reveal about his character.
The Three-Eyed Raven Is More Sinister Than We Think
One particular Redditor theorized that perhaps Bran helped create the Night King, either by warging into the Children of the Forest or by convincing them to carry out the deed. Why? Because "the first men had landed in Westeros and were chopping down the weirwoods, which are connected to the [Three-Eyed Raven]," the fan said.
The post continued, saying, "I think that in creating the NK he also had some control over him, or the NK was working for him. I think this is why we see ravens appearing before White Walkers in some of the earlier episodes...and why there seems to be an unexplained connection between the two.... I believe his ultimate goal is the death of all mankind for the purpose of self preservation."
The Redditor went even further, theorizing that the Three-Eyed Raven may even be the god of death, saying, "[T]he god of death is known as the many faced god — not only do the weirwood trees have many faces, but when asked if he was the three eyed raven, 3ER replies that he has been many things but is now what they see. What if the 3ER is actually the god of death?" If so, this would mean that we've got Bran all wrong.
Bran Is Staring At People Who Are Going To Die
As Velrok explains in the A Song of Ice and Fire subreddit, "This could be the last glimpse of [Bran's] humanity, feeling sort of a pity for the soon-to-be-fallen. It seems like he's just being an awkward creep, standing in the middle and glimpsing at certain characters, and only on full season rewatch it would become apparent why he chose to sit there and look at specific people."
While Bran's expressionless staring could just be the side-effect of losing almost all of his humanity after becoming the Three-Eyed Raven, perhaps there's some credence to this theory, too.
Bran Is The Lord Of Light
OK, this one may be a bit out there, but hear Reddit user DontMicrowaveCats out, who cited an interview George R. R. Martin gave to Time, in which he referenced Beric Dondarrion, who died in the Battle of Winterfell. "His memories are fading, he's got all these scars, he's becoming more and more physically hideous, because he's not a living human being anymore," the author said. "His heart isn't beating, his blood isn't flowing in his veins, he's a wight, but a wight animated by fire instead of by ice, now we're getting back to the whole fire and ice thing."
The Redditor continued, saying that since the Night King animates ice wights, he needed an equal and opposite foe. DontMicrowaveCats proposed that this figure could be the Three-Eyed Raven, who could animate fire wights like Beric. And who does that? The Lord of Light.
Bran Is Part of the Old Gods Now
As TThom1221 put forth, "The Northerners believed Weirwood trees are sacred, and the Children of the Forest believe the Weirwood trees are the old gods.... The Three Eyed Raven has the ability to see the past, present, and the future—which is how the Three Eyed Raven is able to give those with Greensight premonitions. Northerners used to think the Old Gods would watch and listen to them through the trees, and even visit them in their dreams. That's Bran. The North literally has the Old Gods fighting with them against the Nights King." User w0lfdrag0n had a similar take, saying that Bran is "the living embodiment of the Old Gods themselves." It's certainly a compelling theory and would explain why Bran has such a connection to the Godswood.
But whether or not these theories turn out to be true or not, audiences will know in a matter of weeks what Bran's deal is, or if we're just reading too much into things.
