This is the danger with overpowered characters like Bran. At some point, it just gets really hard to explain why they don’t use their powers to solve major problems in the story. So the writers will resort to magic that is ill-defined but vaguely limited at times, so they can always writer-wank a reason why it can’t be used in this exact situation.
I must admit Bran has been largely useless in this effect. He took about six seasons trekking off to become a robosmug, sitting staring and saying nothing.
With all the time wasted in the last couple of episodes, some sort of explanation which seems plausible and his powers limitations might have been good, such as information being limited to being near one of their big god trees. Allowing writers to make it seem as if he’s doing a little more than absolutely nothing. It’s not as if he offered much “Jon is a targ” freely.
But I think he could well have said “Army’s still in Kings landing Can see Euron’s fleet too.” But not know about places like the Iron Islands, which I assume hasn’t got any of those big trees. He’d at least be able to offer largely updates such as “Last hearth is lost”.
That brings up something interesting. We know that the Night King couldn’t enter the cave of the Three Eyed Raven for at least a 1000 years (the time the one before Bran lived there) because of a magic spell. So maybe that’s where all the TERs have lived. Then Bran did something stupid and sneaked a peak into the world by himself and got caught by the Night King, which broke the spell. And the NK has been waiting to kill the TER to bring about the endless night.
We know the dead have been making their way to the wall for years before Bran became TER and before there were dragons, like the NK knew he was going to get his chance. Maybe he sees the future (or a future) and started making his plan when he saw that Bran would screw up and that he would get a dragon that could bring down the magic wall. Everything so far is working out great for him. (Like he just happened to have big chains handy to pull Viserion out of the lake.)
The Night King could be many steps ahead of where our warriors are. Which means they could be in for a huge surprise.
I don’t think it does. Tyrion still believed Tywin was his father, which is all that really matters. Nothing changes with Tywin either: he died believing “I can’t prove you’re not mine”.
That who sits on the iron throne is not ultimately important in the grand scheme of things, and arguments surrounding ‘claims’, heritage, etc, are pointless, since ‘power lies where men believe it lies’ (paraphrasing Varys).
We’re seeing that in the way the North behaves - they just straight up named a bastard King in the North. That they believed he was the son Ned Stark, the head of the most prominent family in the north helped, but Jon’s claim as a king isn’t based on his family tree, it is based on the trust and loyalty he inspires. This is also something Dany is becoming blind to; she started out this way, but has become arrogant and is clinging too hard to her family’s ‘claim’ as the only reason why the north should bend the knee.
When Bran is with the Three-Eyed Raven and the Night King is close to getting them the TER has to transfer power (or pass the torch or whatever) to Bran. Bran asks TER if he is ready and TER answers, “No.”
IIRC at a later time someone asks Bran to do his thing and Bran responds that not everything is clear to him yet, he’s still working things out (or something like that).
In short, Bran is new to his powers and not in full command of them yet.
We do not know for sure but some speculate that the Night King is also a greenseer (what Bran is). Certainly the Night King can “see” Bran when Bran is warging and can “see” Bran when he is snooping on the Night King and the Night King marked Bran when he was trying.
The NK was well prepared for dragons showing up to get himself one.
So yeah, the NK almost certainly knows a lot more than is obvious.
Also, there is a good chance Benjen Stark is now also a greenseer. It is not like the showrunners to have Benjen just luckily stumble across Jon as Jon tries to extract himself from the water with the dead so nearby. Rather, Benjen also has the sight and knew to be there.
Both Benjen and the NK were “made” by plunging dragonglass into them (in Benjen’s case he would have become a wight if not for this intervention).
[Moderating]
Thank you, Colibri. I woke up this morning to a flurry of reports in this thread, and it’s nice to see that they were already dealt with quickly.
[Moderating]
Thank you, Colibri. I woke up this morning to a flurry of reports in this thread, and it’s nice to see that they were already dealt with quickly.
Which episode is all of this about a “greenseer” from?
As for Podrick and his magical dick (band name?), my guess is that Podrick was well-behaved and paid attention to what gave the ladies pleasure. I’ll bet that most of their customers are only interested in getting off. In short, he was not an asshole.
We all know how slippery prophesies can be. Maggy doesn’t say that Cersei will have exactly three children, so Cersei could be pregnant and give birth and the prophecy would still be technically correct (which is the best kind of correct).
On the other hand, how much more poignant and tragic would it be for Jaime to end up killing Cersei while she’s carrying his child? That feels very Game of Thrones to me.
Just speculation about what we know of him.
Yes, but where and when in the show has the word greenseer ever been mentioned? I don’t remember and want to go back to remind myself.
I do not know where or if that name was dropped in the episodes. It is just a name for what Bran is, like the Three Eyed Raven.
Another “Daenerys is becoming darker” moment was when someone asked “What do dragons eat?”, and she replied “whatever they want…”.
While the answer is the most realistic one, she delivers it with no sign of worry, and had no apparent desire to warn people to keep their little children indoors.
If that name wasn’t dropped in the episodes, why are you mentioning it here?
I don’t think Dany is becoming darker, not really. It’s just that we’re seeing her from a perspective of people we like rather than just from her cheerleaders or her vs odious people.
I mean, her stated goal since season 1 has been to use a barbarian horde to murder everyone that opposes her inherited supposed right to rule.
How do you know that is a name for what Bran is, unless it was mentioned in the show?
You know you guys are all just extending the diversion?
I am actually curious in case I missed it in the show.
That prophecy hasn’t held till now. It was already wrong the moment it aired. Maggy said Robert would have 20 children and Cersei would only have 3, but way back in season 1 it was revealed she had a son with Robert.