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THE SAME STORY (1-2)

S02E10 - VALAR MORGHULIS (ARYA AND BRAN)

In S02E10 - Valar Morghulis, Danerys Targaryan goes to the House of the Undying and sees a bunch of riddles and visions. It’s been said that both books and show are different stories, but there are some major common stories including the endgame. What I propose here is an analysis of what is common between them.

A CLASH OF KINGS #47 - Danerys # 4: Danerys visits the House of the Undying and sees some visions that foreshadow her future.

SPINOFF #2: Melisandre’s visions.

S02E10 - Valar Morghulis: Danerys visits the House of the Undying and sees some visions that foreshadow her future.

SPINOFF #1: Arya Stark will kill Danerys with Bran’s help.

S04E02 - The Lion and the Rose and S06E06 - Blood of my Blood: Bran Stark has his first cluster of prophetic visions.

In this third post, I’ll highlight Arya and Bran’s role in specific, how Arya will kill Danerys with Bran’s help.

[02&03] THE HOUSE OF UNDYING

Danerys Targaryan and her bodyguards Jorah Mormont and Kovarro arrive at House of the Undying. Kovarro is wary of the place since he’s superstitious and believes this is a house of ghosts while Jorah is wary since he believes Pyat Pree is a dangerous warlock with powerful magic. Danerys is dismissive of their worries, even challenging these supernatural beings head on and presses forward. Danerys comes closer to the tower and asks if it’s a riddle, then goes around looking for an entrance. Jorah follows her but soon loses sight of her, only finding Kovarro upon completing a full turn. Danerys has been magically separated from Kovarro and Jorah, she’s already inside the House of Undying. She picks up a torch to light the way and she looks around, noticing that she can go either downstairs or upstairs. After she brags about not being afraid of warlock’s magic tricks (Bran Stark) and taunts that they’re scared of little girls (Arya Stark), she hears the dragons screeching and goes upstairs after them.

In the first and second of these posts, it was referenced that the Undying tower represents Bran Starks as the Three-Eyed Raven. [1] In the books, the Qarth warlocks are narrative parallels to the greenseers and Three-Eyed Raven, their concept matrix is exhaustively the same. [2] In the show, the House of Undying is designed and camera-shot to look like the Burned Tower of Winterfell, which is narratively connected with prophecy since this is what allowed Bran Stark to become Three-Eyed Raven.

Moreover, since this is a place where Danerys gets her fortune told yet she’s dismissive of Kovarro’s supervision about ghosts and of Jorah’s fears about warlocks, declaring she’s not afraid of his magic tricks and asking Pyat Pree if he’s afraid of a little girl This is classic Tempting Fate and highly suggests that Danerys’ future will have these threats and they will be her downfall. This is especially fitting since Danerys feels arrogant about her own magic being superior to everyone else’s, so what better way then to bring her downfall than in extremes, either a complete mundane death or an extremely magical one? Why not both?

All it’s left to figure out is what these represent. In hindsight, the scene transition gives it away: Arya Stark and Bran Stark.

THE BURNED TOWER

The Burned Tower of Winterfell is where Bran Stark caught Jaime and Cersei having sex, which led to Jaime pushing him off and paralysing him in hopes of hiding their incest and treason. While this was a tragic event, it’s what allowed Bran to awaken his greensight. In general, the Burned Tower is a narrative synonym with Bran as the Three-Eyed Raven, naughty behaviour as well as conspirations and treasons.

In the show, Cat finds one of Cersei’s hairs on the tower’s floor, which makes her suspect the Lannisters tried to kill Bran and this is why she goes south to warn Ned, leading to them plotting together. In the books, Theon sees sexy times beneath it and meets with Mance who wishes to kidnap “Arya Stark”. In the show, Sansa took this storyline and when she arrives at Winterfell to marry Ramsay Bolton, she visits the Crypts where she talks with Creepyfinger about Lyanna Stark (Jon Snow’s real mother and another “kidnapping” plot), and then later Sansa visits this tower while being harrassed by Myranda who’s jealous of her because of Ramsay. There’s also some inane candle plot that didn’t really go anywhere, but brought attention to the Burned Tower again and with fire, perhaps foreshadowing that something else will happen here (kidnapping plot). Most importantly of all, Bran sees the Burned Tower in prophetic visions, whose contents tell the same story that Danerys sees in the House of Undying.

In the books, there are several important towers which are either burned towers or ghost towers and that could potentially fit: the Tower of the Hand in King’s Landing, the Tower of Ghosts in Harrenhal, the Lord Commander’s Tower at Castle Black (in the books, this is where he finds Ygritte dying), Queenscrown in the North. Two survived the show adaptation, the Tower of the Hand and Queenscrown, where Bran wargs into Summer to help Jon escape from the Wildlings. It’s worth noting that in the books, Danerys also sees a smoking tower in one of the House of the Undying visions (most likely, representing Danerys burning Winterfell) and that in the “show” there’s the Tower of Joy which isn’t burned or haunted, but represents Bran as the Three-Eyed Raven finding out about Jon Snow being the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. This is where where Eddard Stark finds Lyanna dying from giving birth to Jon, the legitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryan, an event Bran witnesses through the Weirwood Network.

In conclusion, the similar design of the House of the Undying and the Broken Tower in the show plus the recurrence of Bran and towers and what he does with them (the same concepts keep coming up, Jon Snow’s real parentage), suggests that Bran Stark as Three-Eyed Raven is the warlock and that greensight and warging will be the “magic tricks”.Accordingly, Danerys seeing the future visions at the House of Undying, which foreshadow that Jon Snow is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne (it’s really circular) follows the scene where [05] Bran leaves Winterfell to become the Three-Eyed Raven.

THE GHOST AND THE LITTLE GIRL

In the books, Ghosts haunting places where there has been bloodshed and/or death is recurrent, which is a natural association in both fiction and real life, the major ones being Winterfell, King’s Landing, Vaes Tolorro, Harrenhal, High Heart, Nightfort, and Blackwater. Only four survived into the show adaptation, the House of Undying, Winterfell (through Jon’s direwolf Ghost), Queenscrown and Harrenhal, through the episode title S02E05 - The Ghost of Harrenhal. In the books, Arya Stark thinks of herself as the ghost of Harrenhal, due to the three deaths that Jaquen H’ghar has gifted her.

Danerys taunting Pyat Pree if he’s scared of a little girl doesn’t really make sense, because she’s about eighteen to twenty at this point, she’s not a little girl but a woman grown. In the show, Arya was cast with a short girl for her age and this is a running gag in-universe. In S02E02 - The Night Lands, Gendry advises Arya against insulting people bigger than her and she complains that she wouldn’t be able to insult anyone then. In S02E07 - A Man Without Honor, Tywin comments that Arya is short for her age as well. In both books and show, Arya becomes a deadly Faceless Woman, so people should be frightened of her even if she is a little girl.

In conclusion, Arya identifying as the ghost of Harrenhal because of Jaqen’s promised kills as a Faceless Man and the running gang of being small in height, suggests Arya Stark is the ghost and the little girl and that she should be feared since she’ll become a Faceless Woman. Accordingly, Danerys going up the stairs of the House of the Undying to go “meet” her future is followed by [04] Arya meeting with Jaqen attempting to recruit her as a Faceless Woman and giving her a coin from Braavos.

[04] THE POINTY END

Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie escape from Harrenhal and find Jaqen waiting for them at the outskirts. Arya asks about Jaqen’s assassination skills as she wishes to learn them and Jaquen tells her she must come to Braavos then. While Arya is tempted, she wants to find her family more, so Jaquen gives her a special coin and the phrase “Valar Morghulis”, to come to Braavos if she ever changes her mind.

The directors have said that they are very careful with transition scenes and that they mean something, this may not be true for all of them, but this one is a strong candidate for several reasons. This scene follows Danerys going up the staircase at the House of the Undying, where she’s getting her future told in allegoric visions and therefore, one of the most important moments in her character’s story. The House of the Undying segment is cut in two when they could have been together, and sandwiches two scenes featuring Arya and a Bran between them. In hindsight, this may foreshadow that Arya will kill Danerys as a Faceless Woman. This is quite fitting since this scene follows [03] Danerys bragging she isn’t afraid of magic tricks or little girls and she goes up the stairs [06] to have her future told in allegorical visions. This isn’t the only instance this is suggested, because there are at least three more “scenes” that foreshadow this, explained in the [A COIN FROM BRAAVOS] section.

ARYA: How did you kill those guards? Was it hard? JAQEN: No harder than taking a new name if you know the way. (...) If you would learn, you must come with me. (...) Far and away across the Narrow Sea to Braavos. ARYA: My dancing master was from Braavos. JAQEN: To be a dancing master is a special thing, but to be a faceless man... that is something else entirely. A girl has many names on her lips... Joffrey Baratheon, Cersei Lannister, Tywin Lannister, Ilyn Payne, the Hound.

In the show, Jaqen recites Arys’s Kill List as well. This is a show-only detail which is suspicious since it excludes Meryn Trant, whom Arya already hates for killing Syrio. In hindsight, the first four names are “stand-ins” for someone else and the last is just there for text flavour since she decides not to kill the Hould. In hindsight, this list of names is a reference Danerys Targaryen and the reasons why Arya will kill her. This is because Arya’s storyline when crossed with these characters always reference Danerys in an indirect way. This is explained in the [TYWIN LANNISTER], [JOFFREY BARATHEON // ILYN PAYNE], [CERSEI LANNISTER] sections.

A COIN FROM BRAAVOS

[A] S01E05 - The Wolf and the Lion

NED: You're speaking of murdering a child. ROBERT: I warned you this would happen. Back in the North, I warned you, but you didn't care to hear. Well, hear it now. I want 'em dead, mother and child both. And that fool Viserys as well. (...) If she has a son? A Targaryen at the head of a Dothraki army... What then? NED: The Narrow Sea still lies between us. I'll fear the Dothraki the day they teach their horses to run on water. NED: Do nothing? That's your wise advice? Do nothing till our enemies are on our shores? (...) Speak sense to this honorable fool! VARYS: I understand your misgivings, My Lord. Truly, I do. It is a terrible thing we must consider, a vile thing. Yet we who presume to rule must sometimes do vile things for the good of the realm. Should the gods grant Daenerys a son, the realm will bleed. PYCELLE: I bear this girl no ill will, but should the Dothraki invade, how many innocents will die? How many towns will burn? Is it not wiser, kinder even, that she should die now so that tens of thousands might live? RENLY: We should have had them both killed years ago. LITTLEFINGER: When you find yourself in bed with an ugly woman, best close your eyes and get it over with. Cut her throat and be done with it. (in the books, “When you find yourself in bed with an ugly woman, the best thing to do is close your eyes and get on with it,” he declared. “Waiting won’t make the maid any prettier. Kiss her and be done with it.”)

Robert Baratheon holds a small council meeting where his advisors talk about Danerys being pregnant and he berates Ned for having dismissed his previous worries. This conversation both here and in S01E02 - The Kingsroad is a play by play of Danerys’ invasion of Westeros, take note Robert says back then he should send an assassin after her (”a sharp knife and a bold man to yeld it”). While Ned is appalled that they're entertaining the killing of a child, the rest argue it’s better to kill her now to save thousands that would otherwise perish as a consequence of the invasion (this is an old ethical question, though this case it’s more specific).

Littlefinger makes a sex analogy which represents how sometimes people find themselves in bad situations so there’s no point in dawdling and it’s better to just go through with it. This is exactly how Jon and Danerys horizontal lizard dance went in S07E07 - The Dragon and the Wolf. Danerys isn’t literally ugly but she’s metaphorically ugly, since she’s power-hungry over an iron chair and a violent warmonger. Jon is forced into dealing with her since he believes her army and the dragons are the only thing that can defeat the Night King and the others, so even though she’s "ugly” he has to convince her somehow. Since Danerys is into Jon and pretty obvious about it, he takes advantage of it by seducing her. So when Jon finds himself in bed with this “ugly” woman, he forlornly just gets it over with, it’s so hilariously heavy-handed because Jon closes his eyes and kisses her, just like Littlefinger said. It’s worth noting the same type of title of both episodes and this foreshadows conflict between them.

Littlefinger was the last. As Ned looked to him, Lord Petyr stifled a yawn. “When you find yourself in bed with an ugly woman, the best thing to do is close your eyes and get on with it,” he declared. “Waiting won’t make the maid any prettier. Kiss her and be done with it.” “Kiss her?” Ser Barristan repeated, aghast. “A steel kiss,” said Littlefinger. Robert turned to face his Hand. “Well, there it is, Ned. You and Selmy stand alone on this matter. The only question that remains is, who can we find to kill her?” “Mormont craves a royal pardon,” Lord Renly reminded them. “Desperately,” Varys said, “yet he craves life even more. By now, the princess nears Vaes Dothrak, where it is death to draw a blade. (...) Now, poison ... the tears of Lys, let us say. Khal Drogo need never know it was not a natural death.” (...) “The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. Look her in the eyes before you kill her. See her tears, hear her last words. You owe her that much at least.” (...) Ned bowed, and turned on his heel without another word. He could feel Robert’s eyes on his back. As he strode from the council chambers, the discussion resumed with scarcely a pause. “On Braavos there is a society called the Faceless Men,” Grand Maester Pycelle offered. “Do you have any idea how costly they are?” Littlefinger complained. “You could hire an army of common sellswords for half the price, and that’s for a merchant. I don’t dare think what they might ask for a princess.” ---- AGOT #33 Eddard #8

In the books, Littlefinger says a “steel kiss” which means to kill her with steel but the show uses less flowery language and is more direct, Littlefinger says [T3] to cut her throat. [B] They discuss how to do it, which foreshadows both the first two in AGOT (it’s possible both happen once again in ADWD / season 8) as well as the last one that shall be successful. [1] Renly suggests Jorah wants a royal pardon to come home but Varys says it’s unlikely that he’ll do it (he refuses this pardon to protect her), [2] Varys suggests poison but Pycelle thinks that’s a coward’s weapon (this is the wine-seller ploy), [3] then suggests the Faceless Men but Littlefinger complains they’re too expensive. This foreshadows that a Faceless Man will kill Danerys, which is to say Arya Stark. Of course that in the case of Arya assassinating Danerys on the Starks’ behalf, then there will be no cost whatsoever.

Meanwhile, Ned takes offence and reminds the scheming lot that “a man who passes the sentence, should swing the sword”. It’s not really literal, but more of a responsability. The people who make the decision to sentence another to death should not distancy themselves from the actual killing, they should be there to look that person in the eye and hear their last words, then execute them if not convinced. In season 7, this happened at Littlefinger’s trial. It was Bran who found out the evidence, it was Sansa that convicted him, it was Arya who cut his throat; but the three of them looked him in the eye to hear his last words and took responsibility for their decision. [S1] Ned teaches this lesson to Bran Stark right at the beginning of the series. This is the first of MANY throwbacks to Bran being involved in Danerys’ death as well.

[B] S03E08 - Second Sons

BARRISTAN: Men who fight for gold have neither honor nor loyalty. They cannot be trusted. JORAH: They're called the Second Sons. A company led by a Braavosi named Mero, "The Titan's Bastard." DANERYS: Is he more titan or bastard? JORAH: He's a dangerous man, khaleesi. They all are.

There’s an original show-scene where the Second Sons higher-ranks discuss what to do with Danerys during the siege of Yunkai. Once again, Danerys is dismissive of an opponent, which much like at the House of Undying, is classic Tempting Fate. It highly suggests that Danerys’ future will have these threats and they will be her downfall. In this case, Mero makes up a plan to assassinate Danerys without having to deal with her army, which indicates that Danerys’ fate is to be assassinated. This scene serves the same purpose as the one in S01E05 - The Lion and the Wolf, foreshadowing three assassinations for Danerys and that the last one, by a “Faceless Man” (”the Braavosi does the deed”) will be successful.

The Lannisters played the game of thrones through "legacy”. When one fell, another picked after them and they kept succeeding one after the other, so to get rid of them they had to be culled one by one until there will be none left. The Tyrells played the game of thrones through “unity”. No one fell because the rest always backed each other, so the only way to get rid of them was to destroy them all at once. In contrast, Danerys is a one woman’s show. It’s true that she has a strong army, but since she is stupid concentrates all power in her, that means taking her out destroys her whole faction quickly.

Prendhal acknowledges they can’t defeat Danerys army which has 4x their numbers, but Mero is smart enough to understand Danerys is a war simpleton has a big weakness, so he means to exploit it. He suggests that they only need to kill her and the rest will fall apart, so he proposes one of them will disguise themselves and infiltrate her camp at night to kill her. [B1] They decide who shall do it by draw with three coins and who gets the coin from Braavos does it. This foreshadows that someone from Braavos will kill Danerys.

In specific, the Faceless Men are a religious assassin guild from Braavos that can be hired for a price to kill anyone in the world and they possess the ability to physically change their appearance so that they appear as an entirely new person. In the books, it’s revealed that the Faceless Men came to exist as opposed to dragonlords of Old Valyria (from where the Targaryans come from) and it’s suggested that they may have had a hand in the Doom of Valyria which erased their civilization. The Faceless Men fit into Mero’s plan requirements and they make for the perfect endgame thematic, the Faceless Men erased the Valyrians and their “last” one (Arya Stark) ends their legacy once and for all.

The three coins foreshadow three assassination attempts for Danerys, only the last one shall succeed. The coin from Meereen represents the Sons of the Harpy, an underground insurgency group that revolts against her in hopes of ousting her as queen of Meereen. They attack mostly using guerrilla tactics, but make a full-out attack during the Great Games at the Daznak’s Pit, which Danerys manages to escape since Drogon shows up and carries her away. The coin from Volantis represents the conjoined effort between Volantis and Astapor / Yunkai when they besiege Meereen, in hopes of ousting Danerys as queen of Meereen. They fail because Danerys arrives at the nick of time and roasts them with Drogon. The coin from Braavos coin represents an assassination attempt by someone associated with Braavos and the natural conclusion is it means a Faceless Man. There’s a pattern here, this foreshadows that it will be done hoping to oust Danerys from power and it’ll be a success.

[B2] Mero instructs a bed-slave to close her eyes and that she cannot peek to see her way, which is to say she’s “blind”. [B3] Daario helps the bed-slave by calling her and making him follow his voice. The former can reference Arya’s training as a Faceless Woman where she was blind for some time and had to rely on sound to move. [S2] The latter could be referencing Bran as the Three-Eyed Raven since he can talk to others through the trees. In the books, Arya prays at the Heart Tree and believes the Old Gods sent her Jaqen (which then invites her to become a Faceless Woman), then later prays at the tree again and it responds her with “the lone wolf dies but the pack survives”, which gives her the courage to make her first kill as a Faceless Woman. Notably, these two chapters come along Danerys chapters.

[B4] Daaro is given a coin and says Valar Morghulis, which mimics Arya being given a coin by Jaqen and told to say Valar Morghulis. Moreover, that episode is called Valar Morghulis and that scene is just before Danerys goes up the stairs to be informed of her future through allegorical visions. Furthermore, Arya starts whispering Valar Morghulis every time she kills someone. That’s plenty of Valar Morghulis, which means “all men must men must die” even arsonist lizards. As a side-note, Daario’s prefered weapon is a dagger and [S3] Arya begins using a dagger given to her by Bran.

Two hours later the commander of the Second Sons arrived alone. He proved to be a towering Braavosi with pale green eyes and a bushy red-gold beard that reached nearly to his belt. His name was Mero, but he called himself the Titan’s Bastard. (...) But when Mero was gone, Arstan Whitebeard said, “That one has an evil reputation, even in Westeros. Do not be misled by his manner, Your Grace. He will drink three toasts to your health tonight, and rape you on the morrow.” “The old man’s right for once,” Ser Jorah said. “The Second Sons are an old company, and not without valor, but under Mero they’ve turned near as bad as the Brave Companions. The man is as dangerous to his employers as to his foes. That’s why you find him out here. None of the Free Cities will hire him any longer.” ---- ASOS #42 Danerys #4

Turning, she glimpsed a tall ragged man with a shaved head and a sunburnt face. “Not so hard,” she started to say, but before she could finish he’d yanked her bodily from the saddle. The ground came up and knocked the breath from her, as her silver whinnied and backed away. Stunned, Dany rolled to her side and pushed herself onto one elbow … and then she saw the sword. “There’s the treacherous sow,” he said. “I knew you’d come to get your feet kissed one day.” His head was bald as a melon, his nose red and peeling, but she knew that voice and those pale green eyes. “I’m going to start by cutting off your teats.” Dany was dimly aware of Missandei shouting for help. A freedman edged forward, but only a step. One quick slash, and he was on his knees, blood running down his face. Mero wiped his sword on his breeches. “Who’s next?” ---- ASOS #57 Danerys #5

The book’s foreshadowing is different but the sentiment is the same. [1] Arya can be called the Titan’s Bastard, since she’s trained as a Faceless Woman in Braavos but she’s not originally from there. [2] Jaquen calls Arya an evil child and the ghost of Harrenhal says she has a dark heart, that she had enough of grief at Summerhall (where most Targaryans died, therefore associating Arya’s “dark heart” to Targaryan deaths). [3] Arya was one of the few main characters involved with the Brave Companions in the Riverlands (others are Brienne and Jaime). [4] It’s the same assassination scenario, someone disguises themselves and infiltrate Danerys’ camp, in hopes of catching her alone and unprotected, to kill her in hopes of ending the war (in the show) and for revenge (in the books). [S4] Since Mero’s physical description is a redhead with green eyes, this could suggest Arya shall have help from Bran, who’s a redhead and has greensight.

S05E2 - The House of Black and White

Arya arrives at Braavos and knocks at the House of Black and White, but is rejected by an elder man despite showing the coin of Braavos had given her. She begs the man to let her in by saying she has nowhere else to go, but the old man replies that she has everywhere else to go. Arya waits outside the for days while reciting the names of the people she's going to kill, but eventually tosses away her coin and wanders off into the streets of Braavos. Later, she is threatened by some boys, but then they scatter when the old man shows up, taking her back to the House of Black and White and admitting her in.

The doors of the House of Black and White resembles one door at the House of the Undying just before Danerys meets the Undying. In the books, they are described as ebony and weirwood double doors, in the show they have the same pattern. Moreover, in the books Danerys enters the House of Undying in a chapter that is preceded by an Arya chapter, in the show Danerys enters the House of the Undying in a scene that is followed by Arya being invited by Jaqen to become a Faceless Woman and giving her the coin, then there is the Bran scene, and Danerys comes across the door which is similar. As well, this moment where Arya is admitted to the House of Black and White is followed by Danerys in Meereen executing Mossador despite the people asking for mercy, then suffering their wrath (remember those key concepts, Danerys executing someone and the people’s wrath, since this will come later again).

S06E01 - The Red Woman

Arya is blind and begs for money in the streets and an old man gives her a coin from Braavos once again, which is just like when [B4] Daario received a coin from Braavos which signalled he was chosen to kill Danerys. Since they have the same design, this identifies Arya as the “Braavosi” who will kill Danerys, as if that wasn’t obvious enough already. The Waif approaches and asks if Arya can hear the people on the streets, much like [B3] Daario asked the bed-slave if she could hear him and that she could follow the sound of his voice. [S5] This suggests that Bran will “guide” Arya where she should go and when to attack, since he can know everything that is to know and can talk through the trees. The Waif gives Arya a fighting stick but Arya says she can't fight because she's blind, much like [B2] Mero told the bed-slave to close her eyes and that she couldn’t peek. The Waif answers "that's not my problem" and starts beating her. Arya poorly tries to defend herself but fails miserably, though eventually the Waif loses interest and says that they'll meet tomorrow. Predictably, this scene is preceded by a Danerys scene at Vaes Dothrak putting on airs to Mero Moro.

S06E08 - No One

Arya kills the Waif with interesting imagery, since there is a chasing sequence with elements in common with many of Arya’s descriptive “chasing” sequences in the books (going from dark to light and back again, sliding below something, a dark room that she can’t really see, staircases going down, etc) and these most likely foreshadow future events. The most notable are the two in AGOT (one might foreshadow King’s Landing going up in flames by dragon-fire and the Dance of Dragons V2, one might foreshadow the dead coming to Winterfell and Sansa’s kidnapping), but the ones in ACOK are also very interesting since they involve setting things on fire and Harrenhal.

Most likely, they’re trying to replicate the structure of these chasing sequences as a callback to the books (the oranges mean revenge, the green is betrayal for Danerys, etc), but since it comes thematically linked to Danerys (the “following” scene is Danerys burning Meereen in the next episode) and Arya is the likeliest candidate to kill her, this chase sequence might foreshadow Danerys’ death somehow. Since this particular chasing begins with Lady Crane’s murder, an actress who played Cersei Lannister, it suggests this is meant to foreshadow what happens when Danerys burns King’s Landing.

TYWIN LANNISTER

This one is the easiest to figure out, so let’s start here. In both books and show, Arya’s storyline in Harrenhal runs along Danerys storyline in Qarth (they even arrive and leave at the same narrative points), with several transitions and cross-references. This happens in 90% of the time, only a select few scenes haven’t an apparent connection. In specific, Arya bonding with Tywin is a show-only addition, in the books she’s Roose Bolton’s cupbearer instead and they don’t have many conversations.

S02E04 - Garden of Bones

Kovarro arrives with news about Qarth and Jorah says that the only thing he knows about it is the Garden of Bones, a desert around it filled with bones of travellers that are denied entry. Later, Danerys threatens to burn Qarth to the ground once the dragons are grown if she’s not allowed inside. These scenes are followed by Arya arriving at Harrenhal and noticing the melted stone, the result of Aegon Targaryan burning the castle with Balerion’s dragon-fire since he wasn’t allowed inside, as well as witnessing smallfolk being tortured by the Lannister men and starting her Kill List. In both cases, there is a Targaryan wishing to burn places to the ground if they’re not allowed inside and Lannister terrorising the smallfolk, moreover “not allowed inside” leads to a “garden of bones” (this is what Harrenhal looks like after Aegon and Balerion’s attack).

In the books, Arya arriving at Harrenhal with the same thematics described above (ACOK #25 Arya #6) is followed by Danerys arriving at Qarth (ACOK #26 Danerys #2). Contrarily to the show, Danerys is invited to Qarth in celebration and stays as a guest at Xaro Xhoan Daxos’ mansion. While she’s relaxing, she thinks to herself that the dothraki only sack and plunder, that she doesn’t wish to reduce King’s Landing to a black ruin filled with unquiet ghosts, but to make a smiling kingdom like her father did (this is literally what she says, if that’s not foreshadowing I don’t know what is) she must conquer it first. It’s also worth noting that a chapter before, Danerys was crossing the Red Waste and found an abandoned city sacked and plundered by Dothraki, which she names as Vaes Tolorro (“City of Bones”) and that the rest of the Dothraki are afraid off since they believe it’s full of ghosts, so this is even repeated thematic.

This foreshadows Danerys will destroy cities with dragon-fire and the dothraki (in hindsight, this is Winterfell and King’s Landing), as well as Arya wishing to kill her since this threatens her loved ones (iGendry would’ve died if Tywin hadn’t interrupted) as well as the smallfolk. In the show, Danerys sacks and plunders Qarth with the Dothraki before leaving, so there she starts early destroying cities.

S02E05 - The Ghost of Harrenhal

Tywin realises that Arya is a northerner and asks what’s said about Robb Stark. Arya describes Robb rides into battle on the back of a giant direwolf and that he can turn into a wolf if he wants to, that he can’t be killed. Tywin asks if she believes those stories and she cleverly bypasses the former (warging) and mentions the latter only by saying that she doesn’t because anyone can be killed. After this scene, Arya meets with Jaqen again, who declares that he can kill anyone and promises her three kills, and she chooses the Tickler who’s been torturing the smallfolk and almost killed Gendry.

On one hand, Robb’s description is untrue since the Stark kids don’t ride the direwolves, but it’s true for Danerys as she rides into battle on the back of a giant dragon. On the other hand, Jaqen mentions Danerys’ belief that she’s invulnerable to other’s magic indirectly when he says only death can pay for life, which was the process of how she hatched the dragons and survived the funeral pyre. Together, this means that when Arya says that anyone can be killed and Jaqen confirming that he can kill anyone (because he’s a Faceless Man), this includes people like Danerys despite riding a giant beast to battle or believing herself invulnerable to other people’s magic.

In the books, Jaqen killing the equivalent of these don’t come along with any of Danerys’ chapters, but Arya tricking him into killing lots to free captive northerners and Jaqar attempting to recruit her as a Faceless Woman (ACOK #46 Arya #9) is followed by Danerys going to the House of the Undying (ACOK #47 Danerys #4). This block with Danerys going to the House of the Undying as well as Jaqen recruiting Arya and giving her the coin is recreated in the show (S02E10 - Valar Morghulis). In these three chapters, Arya thinks of herself as the ghost of Harrenhal, because Jaqen and his death gift made her brave again and she’s invited to become just like him as well. Interestingly, all three chapters include the Brave Companions, a company of sellswords that oddly have dothraki amongst them and whom Arya absolutely hates.

This foreshadows that Arya can kill anyone as a Faceless Woman and that she will seek retribution against those that terrorise those that she loves and the smallfolk.

S02E05 - The Ghost of Harrenhal // S02E06 - The Old Gods and the New

Danerys telling the Spice King and Xaro Xhoan Daxos that she will conquer the Seven Kingdoms with fire and blood, is followed by Jaqen killing those that Arya has named (Tickler and Amory Lorch) because they terrorised the smallfolk. Once again, this foreshadows that Arya as a Faceless Woman will kill Danerys because she terrorises the smallfolk.

Notably, there is another Arya show-only scene in-between where Tywin and Littlefinger talk about Renly Baratheon and his short reign, with Tywin noting he was murdered by a woman and Littlefinger gossiping that he was murdered with the help of dark forces, then the former comments men love to blame demons when their plans fail. In the books, Arya is dismayed by Jaqen’s powers as a Faceless Man, believing them to be dark magic and the summoning of demons.

ACOK #37 Arya #8: A dozen people got there before her, though none was coming any too close. Arya squirmed between them. Weese was sprawled across the cobbles, his throat a red ruin, eyes gaping sightlessly up at a bank of grey cloud. His ugly spotted dog stood on his chest, lapping at the blood pulsing from his neck, and every so often ripping a mouthful of flesh out of the dead man’s face. Finally someone brought a crossbow and shot the spotted dog dead while she was worrying at one of Weese’s ears.

ACOK #46 Arya #9: She had been avoiding the Lorathi since Weese's death. Chiswyck had been easy, anyone could push a man off the wallwalk, but Weese had raised that ugly spotted dog from a pup, and only some dark magic could have turned the animal against him. Yoren found Jaqen in a black cell, the same as Rorge and Biter, she remembered. Jaqen did something horrible and Yoren knew, that's why he kept him in chains. If the Lorathi was a wizard, Rorge and Biter could be demons he called up from some hell, not men at all.

[G4] Since Bran’s as the Three-Eyed Raven is also considered to be “black magic” and a demon by the narrative (as well as a wizard), this suggests that Danerys’ assassination is a conjoined effort between Arya and Bran. It’s also worth noting that Arya thinks that Jaqen’s ability to turn Weese’s dog against him suggests that Bran’s contribution won’t be only passive through green-sight but active through warging, that he will warg one of Danerys’ dragons and turn it against her (most likely, Drogon). [L1] It’s also worth noting that someone kills the Weese’s dog with a crossbow, this is one of the MANY foreshadowings that Theon Greyjoy will kill Drogon with an arrow-shot.

AGOT #66 Bran #7: The old songs say that the greenseers used dark magics to make the seas rise and sweep away the land, shattering the Arm, but it was too late to close the door.

AGOT #53 Bran #6: Rickon had slashed at them with a rusted iron sword he'd snatched from a dead king's hand, and Shaggydog had come slavering out of the darkness like a green-eyed demon.

ADWD #04 Bran #1: “A friend. Dreamer, wizard, call him what you will. The last greenseer.” The longhall’s wooden door banged open. Outside, the night wind howled, bleak and black. The trees were full of ravens, screaming. Coldhands did not move. “A monster,” Bran said. The ranger looked at Bran as if the rest of them did not exist. “Your monster, Brandon Stark.”

S03E02 - Dark Wings, Dark Words: OSHA: We've got plenty of worries. We don't need to pour black magic on top of them. BRAN: I didn't ask for black magic dreams. OSHA: I know you didn't, little lord.

S03E07 - The Bear and the Maiden Fair: OSHA: You think I can't hear you every day? Filling his head with black magic. Talking about visions and three-eyed ravens and worse.

This foreshadows that Danerys will have a short reign since she will be killed by Arya with the help of Bran, she’s both a woman like Brienne and the two siblings are a Faceless Woman and the Three-Eyed Raven know “dark forces” and “demons” just like Melisandre.

S02E07 - A Man Without Honour

Tywin orders Gregor Clegane to torture the smallfolk so they’ll find out who killed Amory Lorch. When he’s gone, Tywin notices that Arya is small for her age and that she must have been underfed all her life, but she says she eats a lot she just won’t grow. Twyin turns to talk about legacy and the camera-work weirdly focuses on Tywin’s feet while she gropes a knife and eyes the back of his neck. This one clearly foreshadows something important as the odd camera-work spoils it. In hindsight, it identifies Arya as the little girl that Danerys shall fear and foreshadows how Arya will kill her, since there are three elements that keep coming up: [B1] their legs / feet faltering, [B2] stabbing with a sharp object [B3] in the neck.

The two discuss Aegon’s destructive power with dragon-fire which Harrenhal is the blasted ruin proof of, then Arya talks about Aegon’s sisters. She admires Visenya because she was a great warrior and Tywin thinks this endearing (he compares it to her daughter Cersei) because most girls are interested in the pretty maidens from the songs like Jonquil with the flowers in her hair. This one is very interesting but has nothing to do with Danerys herself, it’s meant to reference Jon Snow and his “sisters” Arya and Sansa. The preceding scene is Jon Snow being harassed by a redhead in the Frostfang (his “real” name is Aegon) and the proceeding scene is Sansa being dismayed by a violent knight in King’s Landing (she likes Jonquil and the pretty maids from the songs).

S03E01 - Valar Dohaeris

Danerys is in Astapor to buy an Unsuliied army and she tours their barracks with Kraznys. Afterwards, Danerys and Jorah are walking to the docks and Danerys is distracted by a little girl, who is actually a Qarth warlock in disguise. This is actually a scene that belongs to the Qarth plot in the books, so this is why I’m mentioning it here. It also foreshadows that Arya will kill Danerys, since this is done by a disguised warlock as a little girl. It’s also worth noting that the way Danerys is threatened mirrors the odd feet-knife-neck camera-work of the previous section since [B1] Danerys loses her footing and falls to the floor, [B2] she’s attacked by a manticore (the sting) and Barristan stabs it [B3] someplace below the head and that we could consider the manticore’s “neck”. As for manticores proper, Danerys has extensive imagery of being threatened by scorpions (this manticore, Ghis Harpy and the Sons of Harpy, Scorpion crossbow and Cersei). These all attack with their poisonous sting which can be likened to a needle which they stick their targets with the pointy end. [G1] Since the little girl is a Qarth warlock and these are thematically connected with Bran, it suggests a conjoined effort between Arya and Bran.

In the books, a Sorrowful Man attempts to kill Danerys as she escapes Qarth (ACOK #62 Danerys #5), is followed by Arya killing a Bolton gate guard as she escapes Harrenhal (ACOK #63 Arya # 10). This is notable due to the thematics of [1] assassin whispers and [2] Arya being too short (a little girl). [1] Danerys hears the assassin whisper “I am so sorry”, which is what the Sorrowful Men say to their victims before they kill them, while Arya whispers “Valar Morghulis” as the Bolton gate guard dies. This isn’t a one-time-only either, Arya describes killing with a whisper when she names them to Jaqen, she whispers her Kill List and Valar Morghulis at the end. [2 / B1] Jorah unwittingly pushes Danerys and she stumbles to one knee as she comes closer to the manticore, while Arya tricks the Bolton gate guard to go down on one knee [B2 / B3] so she can slit his throat with a dagger. [G3] Since Arya prays to the weirwood Heart Tree and believes the Old Gods send Jaqen (which makes her brave) and she later talks to it before killing the Bolton guard, it also suggests a conjoined effort between Arya and Bran.

A Qartheen stepped into her path. “Mother of Dragons, for you.” He knelt and thrust a jewel box into her face. Dany took it almost by reflex. (...) She opened it. Within was a glittering green scarab carved from onyx and emerald. Beautiful, she thought. This will help pay for our passage. As she reached inside the box, the man said, “I am so sorry,” but she hardly heard. The scarab unfolded with a hiss. Dany caught a glimpse of a malign black face, almost human, and an arched tail dripping venom ... and then the box flew from her hand in pieces, turning end over end. Sudden pain twisted her fingers. As she cried out and clutched her hand, the brass merchant let out a shriek, a woman screamed, and suddenly the Qartheen were shouting and pushing each other aside. Ser Jorah slammed past her, and Dany stumbled to one knee. She heard the hiss again. The old man drove the butt of his staff into the ground, Aggo came riding through an eggseller’s stall and vaulted from his saddle, Jhogo’s whip cracked overhead, Ser Jorah slammed the eunuch over the head with the brass platter, sailors and whores and merchants were fleeing or shouting or both ... ---- ACOK #62 Danerys #5

When she reached him she pushed back her cloak so he would see the flayed man on her breast. “Lord Bolton sent me.” (...) She could see the gleam of steel under the fur, and she did not know if she was strong enough to drive the point of the dagger through chainmail. His throat, it must be his throat, but he’s too tall, I’ll never reach it. For a moment she did not know what to say. For a moment she was a little girl again, and scared, and the rain on her face felt like tears. (...) Her fingers dug down beneath her tunic and came out clutching the coin Jaqen had given her. In the dark the iron could pass for tarnished silver. She held it out ... and let it slip through her fingers. Cursing her softly, the man went to a knee to grope for the coin in the dirt, and there was his neck right in front of her. Arya slid her dagger out and drew it across his throat, as smooth as summer silk. His blood covered her hands in a hot gush and he tried to shout but there was blood in his mouth as well. “Valar morghulis,” she whispered as he died. ---- AGOT #63 Arya #10

In the books, there are plenty of things in common between the assassinations, from the way the assassins disguise themselves and how they distract their opponent with an object that entices their greed, the way the victim goes down to one knee to come closer to the killing weapon. In the show, they furthered this parallel by replacing the assassin with a little girl and by replacing Barristan stomping with his staff to stabbing the manticore in the “neck”. It can even be argued that since Arya doesn’t kill the Bolton guard in the show, it was replaced with that odd camera-work in S02E07 - A Man Without Honour since it has the same visual elements (also notice the green associated with betrayal).

JOFFREY BARATHEON // ILYN PAYNE

NED: I come before you to confess my treason in the sight of Gods and men. I betrayed the faith of my King and the trust of my friend Robert. I swore to protect and defend his children, but before his blood was cold I plotted to murder his son and seize the Throne for myself. (...) Let the high Septon and Baelor the blessed bear witness to what I say: Joffrey Baratheon is the one true heir to the Iron Throne, by the Grace of all the gods, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.

When Ned is brought to be “trialled” at Baelor’s plaza, he chooses to make a false confession to save his daughters, saying that he plotted against his king in hopes of seizing the throne for himself. Joffrey acknowledges that Cersei had proposed Ned to be sent to the Night’s Watch and Sansa had begged for mercy for her father, but he believes that treasons must never go unpunished so he commands Ilyn Payne to execute him. Sansa struggles against her captors and screams for someone to stop it, while Arya makes her away towards the crowd while clutching Needle, but neither can do anything about it, so Ned dies.

It’s worth noting a few things about that scene as well. [1] The Night’s Watch is referenced, which alludes to Jon Snow. [2] Bran sees Ned’s execution (meant as a cautionary tale in hindsight) in his prophetic dreams. [3] Ned confesses Joffrey is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne (when he isn’t) and that he was trying to seize the throne for himself (when he wasn’t). This suggests Danerys as the usurper instead of Cersei Lannister. [4] Sansa couldn’t protect her father and she was naive to believe Joffrey would be merciful, but after being trained in political intrigue she will know better. [5] Arya couldn’t protect her father because she was small and weak, but after being trained as a Faceless Woman she can do better. [6] The narrative wheel of Ned protecting Jon is repeated by Sansa and Arya, closing that bitter chapter in their lives.

This foreshadows that Jon is betraying Danerys and that as a last resort he’ll forsake his claim to protect his loved ones, but that Danerys will seek revenge against him because treason must always be punished. It also foreshadows that this time around, both sisters will be able to protect Jon, when they couldn’t do anything for Ned.

Arya is also notable for almost killing Joffrey Baratheon right at the beginning of the series, trying to protect Mycah from him. The way she goes at it is very similar to her grudges with Tywin Lannister, since she gets upset at Joffrey hurting the “smallfolk” and fights him, she actually loses because he’s too strong for her and has to be saved by Nymeria (suggesting ”warging”, it keeps coming up yes), then it ends with Arya holding his own sword against his throat while he’s on the ground.

It’s worth noting a few things about that scene, Jon keeps coming up in the background. [1] Joffrey is actually a bastard posing as a prince (the unrightful heir to the Iron Throne), which foils Jon Snow as a prince posing as a bastard (the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. [2] Their swords are thematically the same, Lion’s Tooth and Longclaw, which is later misnamed for Lion’s Paw. [3] This is the Trident where both Robert Baratheon and Jon Snow became “kings” since this is where Rhaegar Targaryan died. [4] There’s foreshadowing that Danerys fights at the Trident after “waking the dragon” (meaning the Dance of Dragons) and dies next to a stream (the dothraki ride to the stars in their horse when they die). [5] In the show Robert mocks Joffrey for being defeated by a little girl, while the in the books it’s Renly.

ASOS #27 Danerys #3: That night she dreamt that she was Rhaegar riding to the Trident. But she was mounted on a dragon, not a horse. When she saw the Usurper's rebel host across the river they were armored all in ice, but she bathed them in dragonfire and they melted away like dew and turned the Trident into a torrent. Some small part of her knew that she was dreaming, but another part exulted. This is how it was meant to be. The other was a nightmare, and I have only now awakened.

ACOK #47 Danerys #4: (House of Undying visions) Her silver was trotting through the grass, to a darkling stream beneath a sea of stars.

This foreshadows that Arya with the help of Bran will kill Danerys while trying to protect Sansa and/or Jon (Mycah) at (most likely) the Trident. There is equal foreshadowing for Arya doing it by the Valyrian dagger and Needle. I personally think Needle is more thematically appropriate, but I see an argument for both.

CERSEI LANNISTER

In S07E01 - Dragonstone, Arya is riding south to go kill Cersei, when she’s sidetracked by a bunch of Lannister soldiers. They invite her to sit down and give her some food, when they ask her where she’s going Arya tells them she’s going to kill the Queen. These Lannister soldiers allude to the smallfolk being mistreated by war, since they are Lannister and the are later all brutally killed by Danerys, both are allusive to Tywin Lannister waging war in the Riverlands. One of them even mentions that his wife has given birth and that he hopes it’s a girl, because girls take care of their fathers when they grow old (reminding Arya of Ned).

In S07E02 - Stormborn, Arya arrives at the Inn of the Crossroads and meets with Hot Pie once again. The two discuss Cersei and Winterfell, but then Hot Pie reveals that Winterfell is back on Stark hands. Arya chooses to go home to meet Jon (he’s specifically the only one mentioned for this reason) instead of killing Cersei, which alludes to Joffrey Baratheon / Illyn Payne killing Ned for trying to “usurp” a usurper because that’s exactly what’s going to happen between Danerys and Jon in season 8. There is even two guys discussing Danerys’ dragons and how they hope she lays siege to King’s Landing (Arya even [B2 / B3] stabs a pie just after the mercenaries talk about Danerys) and Hot Pie mentions that Cersei blew up the Sept of Baelor but Danerys will trump that by blowing up King’s Landing .

These two scenes actually cleverly reference Danerys, while hiding her under Cersei. All together means that Jaqen listing Arya’s Kill List all the way back in S02E10 - Valar Morghulis, foreshadows Arya killing Danerys and her reasons for it (the smallfolk suffering and protecting both Jon and Sansa).

[05] BURNING OF WINTERFELL

Bran, Rickon, Osha and Hodor emerge from the Winterfell's crypts and find the castle burning. They discover Luwin in the godswood, who insists that the boys must go north to the Wall, though Osha believes they must go south instead. Luwin affirms his pride at having served the Starks before asking Osha to give him a quick death. The lot leaves Winterfell, with the castle smoking in the background.

The directors have said that they are very careful with transition scenes and that they mean something, this may not be true for all of them, but this one is a strong candidate for several reasons. [D1] Danerys is getting her future told in allegoric visions so everything could matter. [D2] The geometry of the place foreshadows that Bran as the Three-Eyed Raven will directly or indirectly set off a war between Danerys and Jon. [D3] One of the visions foreshadows that Jon is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne and that may burn him and/or Winterfell in anger. [D4] The equivalent chapters of both these events happen in very different points in the books yet both events are pushed together and transition from one to the other in the show. [D5] The equivalent chapters of both these events have foreshaded that Winterfell shall burn by dragon-fire.

[D5] In ACOK # 47 Danerys # 4 (middle of ACOK), Danerys visits the House of the Undying and one of the visions is “a great stone beast breathing shadow fire taking flight from a smoking tower”, which could be foreshadowing of Danerys as Azor Ahai (he woke dragons out of stone eggs) burning Winterfell with Drogon’s dragon-fire. In ACOK # 68 Bran # 7 (last chapter of ACOK), Bran is warging into Summer when he sees “a great winged snake whose roar was a river of flame” over a smoking Winterfell and Osha jests that they did enough noise to wake a dragon (which means provoking a Targaryan into a terrible anger), and later in the chapter Bran thinks to himself that there’s nothing like the smell of fire and blood (the words of House Targaryan).

S02E08 - The Prince of Winterfell

Another detail is the camera-work that frames Bran and the rest while they survey the damage caused by the Ironborn / Boltons setting Winterfell on fire, as if someone is watching them from inside the ruins. The “counter” framing is used for Danerys two episodes back, where she’s spying around some ruins. This would be non-consequential if not for the words used for that specific frame as well as the scene that precedes it, as both are show-only dialogue scenes with suspicious context. On the former, Jorah warns Danerys that Xaro Xhoan Daxos owns the city, a man who wished to marry her to control the dragons (who did steal them and is "cheating” on her), and the warlocks of Qarth (thematically linked to Bran) have a thousand eyes on her (thematically linked to the Third-Eyed Raven, as it’s said that's he watches with a thousand eyes). On the latter, Varys and Tyrion discuss Danerys as a future threat to the realm, because when her dragons grow there will be nowhere to hide (Bran and company hid in the crypts so they may survive hiding there after all XD...), and the scene ends with the flames deliberately fanned over Varys and Tyrion. It foreshadows that Danerys will burn Winterfell and King’s Landing both.

YOU MUST GO NORTH

Bran has emerged from the crypts to see a burned Winterfell and he’s rightfully angry about it but since he cannot do anything, he must flee instead and this is where he starts his journey to become the Three-Eyed Raven. In the books, Luwin simply tells Osha to take the Stark brothers somewhere safe, but isn’t specific about where to take them. In the show, Luwin tells Osha that she must take the boys North and she protests that’s the wrong way, they need to go south to find Cat and Robb instead, but he insists that they need to go North to Jon and that he’ll protect them.

This is actually a mirror of Arya’s own storyline. Arya fled Harrenhal which was burned by dragon-fire a long time ago and she’s bitter about the place anyway because so many smallfolk died there and this is where she starts her journey to become a Faceless Woman. In the books, Jaqen invites Arya to become a Faceless Woman but she refuses because she wants to go back to Winterfell. In the show, Arya refuses because she needs to find Cat and Robb instead, as well as Sansa. The thematics are the same, they’re both fleeing places that have been ruined by fire and war, how much this embitters them as well, furthermore they’re both starting their magical journey. Most notably however, is the show-only dialogue since they speak of the same subjects, because they both must find their “mother and brother” as well as a remaining surviving sibling. This most likely foreshadows their role in the endgame because this dialogue is a show-only invention they share and that never went anywhere.

In specific for Bran, as he goes North he meets the Reed siblings, who inform him that he must look for the Three-Eyed Raven (in the books, they actually come to Winterfell before). Unfortunately, Bran’s narrative is very allegorical, so most of it doesn’t really translate well to an audiovisual medium. The show directors must not like him much either, as they’ve destiled this journey of “go to the wall to Jon” to only three subjects: [E1] Bran as the Three-Eyed Raven, [E2] “seeing” Jon Snow and protecting him, [E3] Bran is a major player in the War against the Others.

[E1] The Three-Eyed Raven

In S03E02 - Dark Wings Dark Words, Bran dreams about the Three-Eyed Raven and attempts to hit with an arrow but fails, then he’s told by Jojen Reed that he can’t kill it because the raven is Bran himself. Later in the chapter, Bran does meet the Reed siblings and Jojen tells him that they’ve come to help him in his journey. Even later, Jojen talks about Bran having the greensight and warging. In S03E04 - And Now His Watch is Ended, Bran is having a green dream where he chases after the Three-Eyed Raven. Jojen advises to follow it and Bran climbs the tree where the raven is, when he reaches the top he’s confronted against climbing by Cat and he falls down.

This is pretty straightforward, it just informs about Bran’s power as the Three-Eyed Raven and that he must find him, plus that the Reed siblings have come to help him on this journey. However, Jojen says two things that “spoil” the story, the first is that Bran is the Three-Eyed Raven and that him becoming that amidst all that prophetic nonsense, Bran is the only thing that matters. [S6] There is also yet another moment where Bran is seen with a bow and arrow, which thematically ties him with his sister Arya since the very first episode.

[E2] “seeing” Jon Snow and protecting him

In S03E02 - Dark Wings Dark Words, Jojen taks with Bran about his special powers and briefly mentions Robert’s Rebellion with Bran acknowledging that Howland Reed saved Eddard Stark. In S03E06 - The Climb, Jojen has a green dream where he dreams that he saw Jon Snow on the wrong side of the wall and surrounded by enemies, which is followed by Jon with Wildlings preparing to climb up the Wall. In S03E09 - The Rains of Castamere, Bran’s lot is taking refuge at the top of Queenscrown tower and warging into Summer, allowing Jon to escape the Wildlings captivity. In the books, the former is alluded to when the Reed siblings telling about the Tourney of Harrenhal (ASOS #24 Bran #2), while the latter happens pretty much the same in a dual chapter between Bran and Jon (ASOS #40 Bran #3 and ASOS #41 Jon #5).

This foreshadows that Bran as the Three-Eye Raven will be relevant for Jon Snow. This is especially telegraphed in S03E06, since Jojen dreams about Jon Snow when this is a show-only invention, there would be no way to know what this was about through green dreams because they are highly allegorical (”the sea is coming to Winterfell” represents Theon invading Winterfell). The ability to look into the past or present through the Weirwood Network will allow him to find about the secret of Robert’s Rebellion, that Jon Snow is the legitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryan and Lyanna Stark, therefore the rightful heir to the Iron Throne (this has been confirmed). The ability to warg will save Jon from his enemies as well once again, just like he saved him at Queenscrown. It’s my conviction that Bran will warg one of the dragons, helping Jon escape from Danerys’ wrath, either by slipping into Drogon and swerving it away at the last moment, or by slipping into Rhaegal and fighting head-on.

[E3] The Army of the Dead

In S03E07 - The Bear and the Maiden Fair, Bran’s lot is making camp and when Bran tells Osha they must go beyond the Wall to find the Three-Eyed Raven because that’s all he has left, she refuses and shares a story about her lover becoming a wight (this thematically links them together). In S03E10 - Mhysa, Bran’s lot arrives at the Nightfort and once inside, Bran shares the story of the Rat Cook, who served the king his own son as a pie, then got cursed by the gods because he broke the laws of hospitality and protection (yes, the Red Wedding, again). Later, they meet Sam and ask him to take them beyond the Wall but he refuses because of the army of the dead. Jojen insists because nobody can stop the army of the dead and Sam asks if they’re going to then. Bran says that he must go to become the Three-Eyed Raven.

In the show, there’s actually no good reason why Bran is so adamant in going, nor is there any sort of reason to believe any of this is necessary to fight the Army of the Dead. In the books, either way is much more balanced. Bran is divided about whether going because he's discontent about being a cripple and he’s expecting something that will fix it and not going because he wants to join his half-brother Jon and uncle Benjen at Castle Black. Jojen only feels like it’s his mission to take him to the Three-Eyed Raven and then Coldhands sends for him through Sam, so there is a feeling that Bran must go there and that this is very important. This change was made for the sake of time constraints and because the show doesn’t like the magical plot, but it foreshadows Bran is the only one that matters in the War against the Army of the Dead.

AEMON THE DRAGONKNIGHT

In the show, there is not much foreshadowing about Bran warging a dragon besides one or another detail. He’s the only one of the Stark kids who wargs in the show, so there must be something relevant about it to have it into the adaptation when the others didn’t. Moreover, Bran is shown to warg into ravens not just Summer as well as humans such as Hodor. There is also Bran’s first prophetic vision in S04E02 - The Lion and the Rose where Bran sees the dragon over King’s Landing in the future and his ‘screaming’ leaks into the sound of the dragon’s ‘screeching’ when it’s over King’s Landing and we know that in his case, a human-animal transition also means warging.

In the books, the foreshadowing is wider. There’s his dream to become a knight before he fell from the tower and there’s his wish to fly once he cannot move his legs, plus these two concepts come together a lot (below I only enclose my favourite two but there are more). There’s only one flying knight, Aemon the Dragonknight.

So long as there was magic, anything could happen. Ghosts could walk, trees could talk, and broken boys could grow up to be knights. "But there isn't," he said aloud in the darkness of his bed. "There's no magic, and the stories are just stories." And he would never walk, nor fly, nor be a knight. ---- ACOK #27 Bran #4

This is Bran clearly tempting fate, because there is magic and the stories aren’t just stories. Ghosts can walk (Jon’s direwolf Ghost walks and in the show his undead arse also walks, Sansa is “dead before her time” and walks, Arya is the Ghost of Harrenhal and walks, Theon is the Ghost of Harrenhal and he walks). Trees can talk since Bran as the Three-Eyed Raven talks to people through the Heart Tree. Such the conclusion is that broken boys can grow up to be knights as well. What’s left to figure is how he’ll become a knight. Interestingly, Bran has already did the first two in the books as well.

ASOS #56 Bran #4: It was not like sliding into Summer. That was so easy now that Bran hardly thought about it. This was harder, like trying to pull a left boot on your right foot. It fit all wrong, and the boot was scared too, the boot didn't know what was happening, the boot was pushing the foot away. He tasted vomit in the back of Hodor's throat, and that was almost enough to make him flee. Instead he squirmed and shoved, sat up, gathered his legs under him—his huge strong legs—and rose. I'm standing. He took a step. I'm walking. It was such a strange feeling that he almost fell. He could see himself on the cold stone floor, a little broken thing, but he wasn't broken now. He grabbed Hodor's longsword. The breathing was as loud as a blacksmith's bellows.

ADWD #34 Bran #3: “You will never walk again,” the three-eyed crow had promised, “but you will fly.” (...) Flying was even better than climbing. Slipping into Summer’s skin had become as easy for him as slipping on a pair of breeches once had been, before his back was broken. Changing his own skin for a raven’s night-black feathers had been harder, but not as hard as he had feared, not with these ravens. “A wild stallion will buck and kick when a man tries to mount him, and try to bite the hand that slips the bit between his teeth,” Lord Brynden said, “but a horse that has known one rider will accept another. Young or old, these birds have all been ridden. Choose one now, and fly.” He chose one bird, and then another, without success, but the third raven looked at him with shrewd black eyes, tilted its head, and gave a quork, and quick as that he was not a boy looking at a raven but a raven looking at a boy. The song of the river suddenly grew louder, the torches burned a little brighter than before, and the air was full of strange smells. When he tried to speak it came out in a scream, and his first flight ended when he crashed into a wall and ended back inside his own broken body. The raven was unhurt. It flew to him and landed on his arm, and Bran stroked its feathers and slipped inside of it again. Before long he was flying around the cavern, weaving through the long stone teeth that hung down from the ceiling, even flapping out over the abyss and swooping down into its cold black depths.

"The power is strong in you.” “I don’t want it. I want to be a knight.” “A knight is what you want. A warg is what you are. You can’t change that, Bran, you can’t deny it or push it away. You are the winged wolf, but you will never fly.” Jojen got up and walked to the window. ---- ACOK #34 Bran #5

This one what really gives it away for me, because it combines all three status together. Bran wishes to be a knight but he’s a warg instead, Bran is the winged wolf but he will never fly. However Bran does walk, he does fly too... by warging. So how does Bran become a knight? The answer is the same, by warging into something else. Now a person... when that’s an abomination, or a dragon when that’s not? I think a dragon and so the dragonknight.

As a side-note since Hodor and dragons are mentioned, there is that stupid theory that Bran is responsible for Aerys Targaryan madness. Bran accidentaly warged into Hodor and took his wits, then Meera was screaming to hold the door and somehow this manages to imprint into his brain in the past. So the theory says that somehow something similar will happen between Bran and Aerys, this is why he keeps repeating “burn them all”. So far so good, I think that’s precisely how it’s going to go, at least in the show. Danerys flies to burn King’s Landing and Bran in his desperation to stop her madness wargs into Drogon, but accidentaly wargs into Aerys in the past and that’s why he keeps screaming “burn them all” (Aerys repeats what he hears DANERYS say, much like Hodor keeps repeating what Meera was saying).

Aerys already wished to burn King’s Landing much before he started screaming burn them all repeatedly. Bran could never be responsible for that decision because Aerys had already decided it. Let’s repeat that in caps. AERYS HAD ALREADY ORDERED HIS PYROMANCERS TO BURN KING’S LANDING WITH WILDFIRE BEFORE “BURN THEM ALL” REPETITION HAPPENED.

ASOS #11 Jaime #2: When Aerys saw the blood on his blade, he demanded to know if it was Lord Tywin's. "I want him dead, the traitor. I want his head, you'll bring me his head, or you'll burn with all the rest. All the traitors. Rossart says they are inside the walls! He's gone to make them a warm welcome. Whose blood? Whose?” “Rossart’s,” answered Jaime. Those purple eyes grew huge then, and the royal mouth drooped open in shock. He lost control of his bowels, turned, and ran for the Iron Throne. Beneath the empty eyes of the skulls on the walls, Jaime hauled the last dragonking bodily off the steps, squealing like a pig and smelling like a privy. A single slash across his throat was all it took to end it. So easy, he remembered thinking. A king should die harder than this.

ASOS #37 Jaime #5: “Somehow he had gotten it in his head that Prince Lewyn must have betrayed Rhaegar on the Trident, but he thought he could keep Dorne loyal so long as he kept Elia and Aegon by his side. The traitors want my city, I heard him tell Rossart, but I’ll give them naught but ashes. Let Robert be king over charred bones and cooked meat. The Targaryens never bury their dead, they burn them. Aerys meant to have the greatest funeral pyre of them all. Though if truth be told, I do not believe he truly expected to die. Like Aerion Brightfire before him, Aerys thought the fire would transform him … that he would rise again, reborn as a dragon, and turn all his enemies to ash.“ (...) “It fell to me to hold the Red Keep, but I knew we were lost. I sent to Aerys asking his leave to make terms. My man came back with a royal command. ‘Bring me your father’s head, if you are no traitor.’ Aerys would have no yielding. Lord Rossart was with him, my messenger said. I knew what that meant.

Does this sound like HODORING? The answer is no. Let’s repeat that. AERYS DECIDED TO BURN KING’S LANDING WITH WILDFIRE ON HIS OWN FREE WILL. What a stupid theory. The poor Targaryans are not at fault, being power-hungry warmongers with delusions they were special for centuries would never breed that kind of stupid behaviour, it’s a little boy stuck in a wheelchair that it’s at fault. What is it even based on? The wishful thinking of arsonist lizard fans that they’re actually the heroes? I can’t wait until they’re all dead and there’s nothing left of them.

#anti daenerys #anti daenerys targaryan #arya stark #bran stark

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