Game of Thrones Season 8: What’s next-in-line for Bran Stark?

Game of Thrones Season 8 is airing on April 14. Since it is less than 50 days away, it’s time to place our bets on who will win the Game of Thrones. While the central characters like Jon and Daenerys may have their own roles in defeating the Night King and at last vouching for the Iron Throne – other main characters seem to have a faded character arc. While this may not be entirely true yet some characters in George R.R. Martin’s fictional world have a complex storyline like Arya Stark. Similar is the case with Bran Stark.

In this article, we will talk in detail about the journey of Bran so far and what role he can play in the final season. While you may be curious to know, what role Bran may play in the next season, let’s start off with Bran’s journey so far.

Bran’s journey so far:

Bran’s journey starts off a young boy of ten who dreams of becoming a knight one day and often likes climbing high walls and towers of Winterfell. But, upon witnessing a huge secret – of Jaime and Cersei having an incestuous relation, he is pushed out of a high tower that ultimately leads to him becomes a cripple for life. This happens at the end of the very first episode of Game of Thrones. And, eventually, he wakes up an episode later right at the moment his father Eddard Stark is forced to execute Sansa’s direwolf Lady.

Bran is then shown being depressed, lying down on his bed, and being narrated old legends and stories by Hodor’s Great Grandmother Old Nan. This is the moment where we are first introduced to White Walkers and their threat. He then has many dreams of a three-eyed-raven showing him visions, often leading him to the Crypts of Winterfell. In the final episode of the first season, we are shown the power of all the dreams Bran has when his dream of metaphorically seeing his father in the crypts comes true with his own father’s execution.

Bran in Season 2 has another vision of the Sea coming for Winterfell which again metaphorically turns out to be true with Theon Greyjoy attacking and taking on Winterfell. While Theon takes Winterfell, kills Ser Rodrick, Bran is shown escaping Winterfell with his younger brother Rickon, Osha, Hodor, and the two direwolves Summer and Shaggydog.

A turning point in Bran’s journey comes when he meets Jojen and Meera Reed, who influence him to go beyond the Wall, seeking the Three-Eyed-Raven (Blood Raven). While Jon Snow is on his mission to learn the plans of Mance Rayder and the Wildlings, Bran and others are shown in a tower where he narrates the Rat Cook story which we’ve seen playing out in the last episode of Season 6 with Arya making Frey pies. When this story ends, Bran meets Sam and we learn about a secret passage beyond the Wall which they use to travel beyond the Wall.

In Season 4, Bran finally reaches Blood Raven’s cave but they suffer a major casualty with Jojen’s death. In Season 6, Bran is shown in training with Blood Raven who teaches him to use Weirwood Net to go beyond time and learn the secrets now lost to men. He is warned that if he stays too long, he may never get back. During that phase sees various events of the past like Ned and Benjen as children training and along with young Lyanna and Hodor (Wyllis).

But his curiosity leads him being marked by the Night King. The Blood Raven then asks them to leave the cave soon as now the Night King can sense Bran easily and may come for him. When the Night King ultimately comes for him, Bran is forced to warg into a younger Hodor that explains the ‘Hold-the-Hodor = Hodor’ proposition. Hodor and Summer are killed and Bran and Meera barely escape the cave. Season 6 ends with Bran discovering that Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna.

In Season 7 Bran returns to Winterfell and reunites with his two sisters – Sansa and Arya and propels the execution of Petyr Baelish who had betrayed their father Ned Stark in Season 1. Bran and Sam then team-up to discover the true heritage of Jon and that his true name isn’t ‘Jon Snow’ but ‘Aegon Targaryen’. And, more is expected from the duo in Season 8.

What will be Bran’s Role in Season 8?

The very last scene that we saw from Season 7 was the breaching of the Wall, and Bran being a witness to it. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Bran in Season 8 is him watching the aftermath of the closing scene.

But, the confirmed opening scene is said to bring us callbacks from Season 1, especially with the arrival of the King (Jon Snow) and Queen (Daenerys Targaryen). It would be interesting to see Bran keeping an eye on them, not by climbing a tower of Winterfell this time but with a flock of ravens. The second thing will be him and Sam revealing Jon’s parentage to him.

Bran will surely use his warging abilities to learn more about the origin of the Night King and his motivation. This knowledge can then be leveraged by Sam to understand the secret to defeating the others. The role of the Valyrian steel dagger will also be revealed especially with it now coming back to the show and being in possession of Arya. This will further explain the grim look on Bran’s face while handing the dagger to Arya.

While George has promised a bittersweet ending for Game of Thrones with many characters dying – we won’t want Bran to be one of them and obviously not being the Night King as many fans and YouTubers believe. But, what do you expect from Bran in Season 8? Tell us in the comments.

HBO finally released the Game Of Thrones Season 8 trailer and everyone just went crazy. As expected, the trailer just blew everyone’s mind and I had goosebumps after watching it! So far I have watched the trailer hundreds of times and I just can’t wait for the season 8 premiere to see what finally happens in the final season of Game Of Thrones and how the show ends. The trailer mostly focuses on episode 3 of the final season, as the Battle of Winterfell will happen in that episode. We can expect something on an epic scale as the episode has been directed by Miguel Sapochnik, who has directed episodes like Hardhome and Battle of Bastards, which are one of the best episodes in the show.

As usual, I am back after analyzing the entire trailer and here are the things that I observed in the trailer. I would like to clarify that some things that are mentioned below might be obvious to many fans but there will be some fans who might not understand the references in the trailer. So this article takes into consideration all the fans who watch the show.

The White Walkers enter Winterfell

The trailer makes it clear that the White Walkers have arrived at Winterfell and we can see everyone fighting, but there’s one thing that seems very odd. We see an injured and scared Arya Stark running through the hallways in Winterfell. Yes, we have already seen Arya injured and running away from the Waif but she never seemed as scared as we can see her in the trailer. This might indicate that she faces a formidable enemy like a White Walker or Wights and is unable to kill it and hence running away. I know that she has a Valyrian Steel dagger but it’s possible that she drops it during the fight and eventually has to run to save herself. Later in the trailer, we can see that the fighting is happening on the Winterfell battlements. So there’s a high chance that the army of the dead has entered Winterfell. Take a look at the scene from the video which further proves my point.

Watch the trailer again and you will see someone is chasing Arya in this scene and it does look like a Wight.

Women, children and Lord Varys hide in the Crypts

We know that Lord Varys isn’t a fighter and we see Varys, Gilly, baby Sam and others sitting in the Crypts while the battle is going on. We don’t know if the entrance has been sealed or not but there’s a possibility that some Wights enter the crypts and maybe even kill Lord Varys. After all, Melisandre has told him that he will die in the final season.

Theon is on his way to save Yara

It might appear that the Greyjoy’s are missing from the trailer but that’s not the case. We can see 3 ships from Yara Greyjoy’s fleet sailing and I can confidently say that it’s not Euron’s fleet because the sigils on their ships are different. You can see Euron’s ship in the below picture and can see the difference in the sigils in both the pictures.

It’s possible that Theon is on his way to save his sister in this scene.

Harry Strickland and The Golden Company

In season 7, Cersei told Tycho Nestoris that she intended to hire the Golden Company to fight against Daenerys and we soon came to know that she was serious when she revealed to Jaime that Euron hadn’t really abandoned her. It was her plan that Euron would sail to Essos “to ferry the Golden Company back here to help us win the war for Westeros.” In the trailer we can see Euron Greyjoy’s ship, Silence with sellswords from the Golden Company. In the trailer we can also Harry Strickland, who is the captain-general of the Golden Company. German actor Marc Rissmann was roped in to play the role of Harry Strickland in Game of Thrones Season 8.

If you want to know more details about the Golden Company, read the following article: What do we know about the Golden Company?

Tormund and Beric Dondarrion are alive

During the season 7 finale, the Night King attacked the Wall at Eastwatch using the undead Viserion and was able to destroy it. We saw the Wall collapsing and Tormund and Beric Dondarrion were present over there when this happened. Naturally fans were wondering if they survived the attack on the Wall. The trailer has finally made things clear for us as we can see Edd Tollett, Tormund and Beric Dondarrion walking together in what appears like Winterfell. It’s possible that they must have travelled to the Castle Black to warn others about the attack and then travelled to Winterfell where everyone must be assembling to fight against the White Walkers.

Gendry is making Dragonglass weapons

Gendry was working as a Blacksmith in King’s Landing in season 7 and he must be using his skills to create more Dragonglass weapons. We have already seen Dragonglass weapons when Jon and others travelled beyond the Wall to capture a Wight. Now that the White Walkers are marching South, Gendry must be working harder to ensure that they have enough Dragonglass weapons. We can even see a lot of Dragonglass on the floor in the above picture.

Callback to Game Of Thrones pilot episode

In the first episode of season 1, Robert Baratheon arrived at Winterfell and during the season 8 premiere, there will be a callback to that scene as we already know that season 8 will open with Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen arriving at Winterfell.

“Season 8 opens at Winterfell with an episode that contains plenty of callbacks to the show’s pilot. Instead of King Robert’s procession arriving, it’s Daenerys and her army. What follows is a thrilling and tense intermingling of characters — some of whom have never previously met, many who have messy histories — as they all prepare to face the inevitable invasion of the Army of the Dead.”

The trailer includes another callback to the show’s pilot. We can see a young boy climbing on the wall of a house to get a better view of Jon and Daenerys’ procession arriving at Winterfell. Bran Stark who could still walk in the first episode of season 1, had climbed the walls of Winterfell to get a better view of Robert’s procession that was arriving at Winterfell.

Sansa sees a Dragon for the first time

We have already seen Arya Stark’s reaction after seeing a Dragon for the first time and now it’s Sansa’s turn to see a Dragon. Like most normal people (not you Cersei), Sansa is amazed after seeing the Dragons.

Callback to the Battle of Blackwater

During the Battle of Blackwater, Tyrion made use of Wildfire to burn Stannis’ ships but it resulted in the Hound abandoning the battle. We know that the Hound is scared of fire and he had abandoned the battle because he was afraid of the fire. However, things have started changing a bit after the Hound joined the Brotherhood Without Banners, who worship the Lord of Light and during the season 7 premiere he said, “it’s my fucking luck that I end up with a band of fire worshipers.”

In the trailer we can see that during the Battle of Winterfell, there’s fire everywhere and it’s a callback to the Battle of Blackwater and the Hound will again be put in the same situation. I hope he overcomes his fear of fire and fights against the army of the dead rather than abandoning the battle.

Callback to the scene where Jon meets Mance Rayder for the first time

During the trailer Jaime Lannister says, “I promised to fight for the living. I intend to keep that promise.” Jaime must be speaking with Jon Snow in this scene and it must be really surprising for Jon Snow, Sansa and others to see Jaime arriving at Winterfell to join them and they must have doubts regarding his intentions. However, this line by Jaime might convince Jon Snow as way back in season 3, Jon told Mance Rayder something similar to convince Mance that he really wanted to join the Wildlings. Here’s what Jon Snow had told Mance:

“Thousands of years ago, the First Men battled the White Walkers and defeated them. I want to fight for the side that fights for the living.”

Harry Strickland meets Cersei

At the start trailer we are introduced to the Golden Company and later we can see Harry Strickland meeting Cersei in the Throne Room in the Red Keep. Many people must’ve missed this part as it’s not clearly visible and the scene hardly lasts for a second. In the same scene, Euron Greyjoy is standing next to Strickland and it does seem similar to the scene where Euron first arrived in the Throne Room to meet Cersei.

Still no Ghost

Almost everyone must’ve noticed this but I still want to include it in the list. Were is Ghost and why wasn’t he present in this trailer?!!! We know that Ghost will be back in season 8 but I hoped to see him in the trailer and was a bit disappointed when he as nowhere to be seen.

Speculations

Here are some speculations that I have made after watching the video. I might be completely wrong about these assumptions but do after watching the video countless times, I do feel that these assumptions might be true.

Jon and Daenerys find out about Lyanna and Rhaegar

We can see that Jon and Daenerys are in the crypts under Winterfell and it seems that Jon is standing in front of Lyanna Stark’s tomb. I compared a lot of pictures of Ned and Lyanna’s tombs with the scene in the trailer and even though it’s difficult to be completely sure, it does seem closer to Lyanna’s statue in the crypts. If that’s the case, Bran Stark must’ve told Jon the truth about his parents and looking at Jon’s expressions, it does feel the same.

Jon and Daenerys fly to Eastwatch

This is one point where people might not agree with me and I agree that I can be wrong but I strongly believe that in the trailer Jon and Daenerys fly to Eastwatch to take a look the damaged section of Wall. If you look carefully on the right side of the picture, you can see something that resembles the Wall. It’s possible that it might be a mountain but it does looks like a wall with what appears like the collapsed section towards the right side and if that’s really the Wall and there are 2 Dragons in the scene, it means that Jon travelled to the Wall on Rhaegal.

If you think that I might have missed any details or if you don’t agree with my analysis, please let me know in the comments section below. Game Of Thrones Season 8 airs on April 14.

Game of Thrones Season 8 is just over the horizon with the first episode airing on April 14, which is only around two months away. So far we have got two teasers, the first promotional photos of the new season, and of course, the cast interviews which are enough to pace up the hype!

When we talk about the predictions for the new season, the first thing that comes to the mind is the major reunions of the characters that have been away for a long time in the series. Take for example Arya and Jon or Bran and Jon – they’ve been away for like six seasons. Entertainment Weekly’s cover story has already confirmed that we are getting a bunch of reunions and call-backs from the first season in the very first scene. So, without much delay, let’s discuss some of them in detail.

#1. Sansa and Sandor Clegane

I know there are way too many “San-San” shippers out there yet diverting from that route; I believe a reunion between these two characters would be really exciting to see. Both these characters weren’t seen together since the second season when Sandor had done being ‘the Hound’ in King’s Landing and had offered Sansa to go with him. It would be really interesting to see how Sandor would react upon seeing his ‘little bird’.

#2. Arya and Sandor Clegane

Looking back at Arya Stark’s journey so far, she has been with three mentors – learning not only how to avenge the atrocities committed against her family but also how cruel the world really was! One of her prime mentors was Sandor Clegane who initially had kidnapped her – trying to make money from the Starks by getting her back home. But, slowly the two had become companions and we even got to see fighting side-by-side.

Initially being on her kill-list, Arya had left him to die while he was injured fighting Brienne of Tarth. Not sure, how Arya will react when she sees him again? Even in the last episode of the seventh season, the much-awaited reunion was teased where Sandor smirked at Brienne upon knowing that she’s alive and well at Winterfell.

#3. Arya and Gendry

Arya had befriended Gendry while on her journey to the Wall in Season 1. They had become good travelling companions until they met the Brotherhood without Banners and eventually the Red Priestess – Melisandre. The two ended up parting their ways when Mel took Gendry away for some bizarre leech ritual and Arya ended up with the Hound. It would be really interesting to see their reunion and should we ship the idea of both ending up together?

#4. Arya and Jon

Parting their ways in Season 1, these two siblings/cousins haven’t been seen together since they shared a scene together. This was the same scene where Jon had come to wish Arya a farewell and had gifted her ‘needle’.  And, if you’ve read the books, you’ll find needle the only humanising factor left in Arya after the trauma she had suffered as a child.

In the books, when she is asked to abandon her belongings before her training with the faceless men, a very emotional thought goes on in Arya’s head while she’s in a dilemma of whether to abandon needle or not.

You’ll find her connecting Needle to every family member of hers and especially Jon. We’ve already seen a heart-warming reunion between Jon and Sansa back in Season 6 and we can’t wait any longer to see these two reunite – can we?

#5. Bran and Jon

Bran, like Arya, has been close to Jon Snow. They’ve been separate since the first season and Jon’s journey to the wall. Yet, a reunion between the two was teased while Bran witnessed Jon betraying the Wildlings while warging Summer and while being a captive of the mutineers at Craster’s keep. And, now that Bran along with Samwell Tarly has known the real heritage of Jon – we are all excited to watch how the secret is disclosed!

#6. Sam and Jon

Samwell Tarly and Jon Snow – both being the outcasts of their family – have shared a long-standing friendship and trust.  While we can expect Sam to breakdown upon knowing that his father and brother were executed by Daenerys, we still have hopes for him and the former Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch this season.

They both have been away for a while since Sam was sent to the Citadel to become a maester. With Bran and him figuring out the true parentage of Jon – we can’t wait for the interaction between them.

#7. Tyrion and Sansa

Once being husband and wife – Sansa and Tyrion haven’t been together since ‘the Purple Wedding’ in Season 4. Tyrion, for the most part, has been kind towards Sansa. Even when Tywin Lannister had him wed her, Tyrion has always been kind towards Sansa and never did he force himself upon her.

But, Joffrey’s death and Sansa’s wedding to Ramsay kept them both miles apart. Though Tyrion briefly talked to Jon about Sansa in Season 7, the first reunion between these two characters since Season 4, would be interesting to watch.

#8. Bran and Tyrion

These two characters only had a brief meeting in Season 1, where Tyrion gifted Bran with a saddle design that could help him ride a horse. But, what will happen when they reunite in Season 8? Will Bran thank him and show him generosity or would he continue being the ‘Three-Eyed-Raven’?

#9. Bran and Jaime

The very first episode of Season 1 ended with the viewers learning about the truth of Jaime and his sister Cersei Lannister and Bran being pushed out of a high tower. Jaime Lannister has undergone a drastic change in his character, undergoing redemption. Yet, will this redemption of his be enough? Will Bran forgive Jaime for trying to kill him after their reunion?

#10. Bran and Theon

While Theon may be on an expedition to save his sister Yara Greyjoy, yet if our wishful thinking turns into a reality with him arriving safely back to Winterfell, his reunion with the Starks would be worth watching. Though I haven’t given a good thought to his interaction with Sansa or Arya – I’m really looking forward to watching Theon meeting Bran.

Theon had betrayed Robb Stark in Season 2 and has now paid for it especially with the kind of treatment Ramsay gave him. Will Bran forgive Theon having a hand in killing Ser Rodrik Cassel and his treason to the Starks?

So, these were our top 10 reunions expected in Season 8. What were your thoughts on these reunions and did we miss out any other reunion? Tell us in the comments.

‘Winter is Here’ – that’s a slogan in the contemporary Westerosi world but has taken a long time to get to our television screen this time. Talking about the new season of Game of Thrones – the last we heard from it was when the first official teaser Dragonstone was released. Yet, we have never left for more as the new season of Game of Thrones arrives in less than 70 days which is on April 14.

While we wait for the first official trailer of full-length to drop sometime around March – confirmed by a reliable source (James Hibberd from Entertainment Weekly), HBO has just dropped 15 new promotional photos from Game of Thrones Season 8. And, I strongly do believe that these images are from the very first episode. Let’s take a look and speculate.

#1. Bran and Samwell Tarly

Let’s start off with the promotional pics of Samwell Tarly and Bran Stark – who in the last season had teamed up to uncover the lineage of Jon Snow. Both these characters are shown inside Winterfell rather than the other characters that either seems to be in the Great Hall or in the corridor/battlements.

This is Sam inside Winterfell – with a smile bobbed up on his face! What/who is he looking at and what’s the reason for his smile? I believe that either he’s looking at Gilly and Baby Sam or Bran Stark as they uncover another big truth – this time about the Long Night.

Here’s Bran Stark or The Three-Eyed Raven inside his chambers in Winterfell, looking all concerned probably, about the threat of the others. Or is this the continuation of the scene of his with Samwell Tarly in Episode 1. Or there’s probably both of these characters are together – their first meeting with Jon Snow! Is this when Bran discloses Jon’s secret to him? There’s a third probability though – Bran’s cold meeting with Jaime Lannister. There’s so much to look forward to!

#2. Some people in the great hall

While some photos were of the Winterfell battlements/courtyard and two from the North, some pictures evidently show characters like Ser Davos, Brienne, Sansa, and others in the Great Hall of Winterfell. Maybe, after welcoming Jon and Daenerys to the North, all main characters are rallied in the Great Hall to discuss the plans for the Great War.

Sansa being the lady of Winterfell presides over the meeting at the Great Hall of Winterfell. Look closely to her right, someone is sitting in Stark furs – most probably Jon Snow. This widely reminds me of the meeting in the Great Hall we had in the first episode of Season Seven.

Ser Davos is seated in the Great Hall too – looking all concerned maybe because they just got the news of the Wall being breached by the others. On his right, you can also see an Unsullied soldier standing. May the Onion Knight live long!

Brienne of Tarth is in the Great Hall too with Unsullied by her side. Daenerys is obviously in this meeting – I’m sure of that. Brienne is giving a glance to someone maybe, Jaime or Daenerys who is addressing the lords of the North.

Ser Jaime Lannister in the Great Hall, or is he at an inn in Riverrun – there’s a whole lot of speculation here! Look at his attire – common armour like the one Sandor Clegane once wore and we have even seen Robb Stark in a similar armour.

The smile on Jaime’s face – maybe he shared a glance with Brienne at Winterfell.

Daenerys in the Great Hall of Winterfell too and a change in her attire – from the white furs we saw in the teaser and on the cover image of EW. Maybe, she is addressing the lords of the North and I can’t figure out why she seems so contended.

#3. People in the courtyard/ Winterfell battlements

Arya stands amongst the lords of the North, probably while welcoming Jon and Daenerys in the opening scene for season 8. She has her weapons – Needle and Catspaw dagger with her and she is in the same clothes we saw her in the last season. But, what is she looking at and what does that grim look mean?

Jon in the courtyard while he arrives with his aunt/love interest Dany at Winterfell or maybe somewhat later in the episode as we see people around him in action. Who is he looking at?

Lord Varys in the courtyard of Winterfell as he stares at someone. Look at the change in his clothing – he is wearing more Targaryen like colours and I’m telling you – he’s replacing Littlefinger this time!

Tyrion is standing on the battlements where we have seen characters like Ned and Catelyn, Jon and Sansa, and Sansa and Arya having small talks. He according to me is having small talks with someone like Sansa – discussing their sham marriage. There’s a considerable change in his outfit as well.

#4. Jon and Dany in Godswood / Somewhere in the North

Here are Jon and Daenerys who are in the same outfit as the one we had seen on the front cover of Entertainment Weekly’s December edition. The lovebirds/aunt-nephew shares a glance in the snow.

The second one seems to be a continuation of the first image – seems to me like Jon has suddenly told Dany the Truth and she seems concerned.

#5. Cersei Lannister at King’s Landing

Cersei Lannister on the Iron Throne – the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. She has changed her outfit a bit – dressed in black but an additional gold armour on her shoulders. She here is either talking to someone like Harry Strickland from Golden Company who has come to meet her or just discussing her plans with Qyburn.

Cersei in a standing posture at King’s Landing – nothing new about it, except some fans noticed a bump on her belly. At this point, she is pregnant – like she told Jaime and Tyrion. Well, I have no thoughts on that!

So, these were my thoughts and speculation on the first promotional images released by HBO. What were your thoughts? Did we miss out anything? Tell us in the comments.