Bran in The Winds of Winter - livestream

[@stofsk]

Re: Hodor POV chapter. Your answer made me think that if we do get a POV chapter for Hodor, it will be as Wyllis in the past and it will end with the time loop being closed. But admittedly that's the influence of the show scene playing in my imagination. I don't have a huge respect for the show but when they nailed a scene they really nailed it, and I think that scene in particular is probably something Martin wrote or has had an early conception for.

[@210SAi]

Hold the Door was probably the only brilliant thing the writers came up with without any books to draw from yet I bet GRRM still does it better

[@jessiec668]

In regards to Melisandre's vision: I think it's noteworthy that she sees symbols for Bran and Bloodraven specifically when beseeching her god for a vision of 'her king'.

[@amartinez016]

Hard to replace "Welcome weary traveler," but my new favorite IDG line: "...and all the rest of it."

[@AndrewK23777]

Definitely looking forward to Bran's arc in the next two books. With the King Bran concept i do hope and expect a somewhat more nuanced, complex and slightly divergent take on that from GRRM , even if the broad stroke of that eventuality is where we end up with Bran. Also with the name of Bran's direwolf "Summer" and the show's outcome many refer to Bran as a Summer King but to me he seems to embody a Spring King more so , Spring is what ends the Winter and i view Bran as a transitional power anyway bridging from the Winter to the eventual Summer and he likely will act as some sort of change in the governmental / ruling structure that will likely come after him. Another element I look forward to with Bran in the books is his role against the Others. The TV series minimized and did not follow through with the majority of the magical concepts including Bran as a pivotal cog against the Others. But i expect Bran to play some type of integral magical / metaphysical role in an intervention / conflict with the Others in the books. All the magical elements around Bran - Bloodraven as the TEC / TER , the CotF , the Weirwoods , likely the IoF eventually , has to be operating at another level with a different endgame beyond just getting Bran as King of the Realm. I do expect the defeat and / or resolution of the Others will have a magical & metaphysical component (likely executed by Bran) especially with his extremely rare confluence of magical abilities. I just can not believe all of those the magical entities and abilities at play in and around Bran / his arc is simply to acquire a position of political power (like the show gave us).

[@bluewhale513]

I'm not

[@StannisHarlock]

The taste of the weirwood tree and the shade of the evening is the taste of magic. It's like alcohol or any drug really. Terrible and weird at first, but eventually addictive. Also, the taste of magic is like the ending that GRRM has promised. Bitter, and then sweet.

[@ThommyofThenn]

Beautifully written comment

[@jamiemckenna2254]

Thanks Robert - we love being the beneficiaries of your “nerdy” pursuits - keep it up! Love your hair in this one! 😊 Cheers from the LBC. ✌🏻

[@mwheeler138]

Sorry, just had to get that off my chest. Lol The positive! Your videos are always engaging, entertaining and informative. I've listened to some many times over. I like your analysis, and frankly, I think you have a good voice for those type of videos. Also, I'm digging these deep dive/ Q&A of character goings-on for Winds of Winter.Keep up the good work, my friend!

[@daylnroegner6744]

I wish you would do s series on the book “ Fire & Blood” while we wait for the series to come out!

[@RellshouldBsleep]

What a fucking book!!! Favorite I really hope he continues those

[@samuelleask1132]

I wish we'd gotten a Robb POV. It would have been so cool to see his campaigning from HIS point of view

[@ajbleas]

Thanks for sharing!

[@alexmule1997]

Love your work. I would love to see you do a series about Jon at the wall and Dannyvin Meereen. And how they’re learning to be leaders. And how that can apply in winds and dream

[@ThommyofThenn]

3:17 imagine his title could be "The Greenseer King"

[@laylaazmigoushey5812]

Thank you for answering my question about Melisandre. I had to sign off before I heard your response yesterday. I just watched the livestream in total. I'm not sure if Bloodraven is merely defending himself from her ability to see him or if this means he can manipulate what is seen in the flames. Still rereading and mulling it over. i enjoyed this entire discussion. Very interesting! :)

[@IanHeins]

Nice work dude thanks

[@Nga_Babaye]

How deep would this be? The opening prologue for WoW is through the eyes of a Child of the Forest before Bran arrives and it shows Jojen allowing himself to be sacrificed at the end of the chapter.

[@valipunctro]

On your point about seeing more of the Others in the next book,I would go further an say that about magic in general.

[@26artgirl]

Sorry I could not manage to listen to the livestream. I had to put down my 15 1/2 dog Charlotte which you see in my logo. I am grieving so I could not listen. Today on Greek Orhtodox Easter I am giving myself the treat of listening to you. I know you have Dan the Dog and understand as well as other on this site that have pets as well

[@gardengirlnc]

I am liking the hair and the beard Robert.

[@JoniukasVader]

In Deep!

[@henrikg1388]

The water of life, spice essence, shade of the evening, jojen-paste. The key to unlock the history of mankind and vast powers. How long will GRRM deny that he is extremely influenced by Dune?

[@AGalanKh]

Either that, or LSD

[@victoriagill1588]

Thank you! A great livestream, as always. I wish i was able to catch you live, here in Australia 😊

[@annawisdomsdottir4947]

Perhaps the sword Dark Sister was used in the blood sacrifice of Jojen? Would be fitting that either Bloodraven wields it a final time of Jojen's "dark sister" does.

[@game_jinx]

the north remembers is a reference to the weirwood network

[@annawisdomsdottir4947]

Perhaps Jon's change WAS foreshadowed when M. Aemon said to him, "Let the boy die and the man be born". Simply Jon "grows up" and leaves behind all his boyhood ideas and mannerisms.

[@sorry987654321]

Alright I call it right now! Prologue chapter of the last book will be a white walker pov XD

[@210SAi]

Daniel Driscoll 🤔

[@justincurll1110]

Prologue of ADOS is Benjen POV where he has a Weirwood talk with Howland about how awkward it will be to tell ole' Brynden that Mellisandre had it right all along and he needs to chill. Poor Bran. (just kidding)

[@danielbroome5690]

Well, potentially ONE in the iron islands even if it didnt grow there. Nagas ribs potentially, as well as the legend of the demon tree and the stone tree sigil one of their houses have.

[@MasonOfLife]

Honestly, I have a theory about why Bran ended up as King on the show (not saying it won’t happen in the books, just a theory) But I have a feeling when D and D were consulting Grrm about the big picture endings of Thrones, I believe they had a conversation, one where George told them Dany would go mad etc... And I believe that after season 6, after the hold the door episode, I believe George told D and D that Bran would end up being “the King”, meaning in the show, George foresaw Bran being the Night King (a way to make the show different from the books but still make sense in a relative way) All the foreshadowing in season 6, all of the Bran content points towards Bran doing more with the past and more with spending too much time “under the sea” as it were My theory being that George had the ending of Bran in the show to be Bran becoming the Night King, and he only said “Bran will become the King”...he might’ve said it with raised eyebrows and maybe a “if you get what I’m saying here” And D&D being as oblivious and stupid (sorry to say) as they are thought he literally meant King, and as George had pretty much stopped involvement in the show, their misinterpretation end up being the real story of the show, George caring more about his books and knowing it was far too late to say anything and get them to change course, let it be Anyways not saying for sure, just a possibility Obviously the Night King isn’t in the books as he is in the show, but as far as Bran’s story for the show, it would make sense and would actually give Bran a story and character past season 6

[@danielbroome5690]

I think there is something to the crow vision thing. I think bloodraven is the man in the tree, i think however that the symbolism between crows and ravens is suspicious at best. All crows are liars, crows eye is eurons symbol, crows are the ones associated with death "feast for crows" whereas ravens are portrayed and in fact are allies of wolves in real life but are often confused with crows. Plus theres the dichotomy of the weirwood tree and the crow being two distinct entities in his dream that one time. Peak paranoid conspiracy mode would be that euron is a failed dreamer contacted by bloodraven and his crow symbol unlocked brandons third eye for some reason and that could be what alerted bloodraven to his abilities. Why would Euron so that? Potentially because he knows or has a way to get bran in contact with bloodraven and lead directly to getting his old master killed by the others by breaching the wards at the cave as a form of revenge cause Euron cant stike at him directly. Its right up Eurons alley to manipulate someone into doing his dirty work for him. That all said its likely what we think it is, but the symbols would totally fit. Also note as you mention later, most of the animals watching people are ravens and a wolf (the symbiotic, good affiliated creatures), not crows(liars and death symbols). I know logically its just what is convenient but this is writing and GRRM has the ability to use whatever animal he wants with whatever symbolism or meaning he wants. After all ghosts colouring is an explicit connection to blood raven, as are obviously ravens

[@justincurll1110]

Oh the red comet (*cough cough* Lightbringer) is coming back allright. It's got another moon to kill.

[@ThommyofThenn]

4:30 re: thinking of shade of the evening, do you think it's addictive? Is it euphoric enough to be addictive or are people actually getting addicted to the insight the visions provide?

[@conors4430]

I think if anything is going to make him snap out of his dark side it’s seeing something happening to his family. If he sees Lady Stone heart or if he sees John‘s dead body or if he sees arya or sansa then he might realise, hang on. There’s actually something more important here than breaking into peoples minds because I can or because I’m bored or salty that I can’t walk any more

[@morrischma9565]

​Have you/can you talk about baratheon/ Storm's End line of succession, is there anyone after shireen, tommen (and Edric Storm)? I couldn't find anything online .

[@mrpearse98]

Morrischma gendry?

[@morrischma9565]

@@mrpearse98 Yes my questioning was more about the further family of the Baratheon house outside of the main line as anyone from a secondary line would have a better claim then a bastard from the primary line.

[@mrpearse98]

Morrischma ah okay, then yeah I’ve no clue hhah

[@2dimitropolis370]

This series started with all of us carrying for Bran. At it's end, I wanted to kill him personally. And all the Starks became the villains at the end. I hated 8th season soooooo much. If the book is finished that way, I will publicly burn my copies...

[@TheMakeSoft]

What do you think about Jon kissed by fire who was that wildling girl? He is dead and will be kissed by fire and brought back to life with something fire magic from ghost?

[@carlrood4457]

I know this probably won't be seen since the video is several months old, but a question occurred to me. Assuming the Game of Thrones was accurate to the extent that Bran becomes king, do you think he'll be as detached as he is in the finale? How is that any different from Robert's reign where he let the Small Council do most of the work? Also, one of the earliest moments in the whole series is Ned teaching Bran that being in charge means taking responsibility for the decisions you make. “The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword". Now, I don't expect King Bran to be personally carrying out executions, but the point is really about the obligations of authority. Also, if this is really all the plan of Bloodraven and/or the Weirwood trees (or the Children of the Forest), what's the point of putting a king who doesn't actively rule on the throne when the whole story started with one of those? Bloodraven may be the type to use back handed tactics, but he always was an active participant in the game.

[@GENX-ec7yp]

Patchface drowned so he would be closer to the drowned god that Theon's people refer to

[@johnhayes7919]

Has anyone explored the possibility that the children of the forest really want Bran’s seed when he matures ?

[@turb00o]

The weir woods cause grey scale.

[@210SAi]

About as likely as Hotpie becoming King of Westeros

[@danielbroome5690]

Was rhaegars comet red?

[@Rahim.ali80]

Any one knows why there isn't any weir wood trees in Essos????? Would appreciate an answer.

[@Deathscent089]

His theory from a different stream is that all the weirwoods are connected by roots underground - so they are all basically one tree. The sea and mountains of Dorne and the Eyrie are too much of an obstacle, which explains no weirwoods there

[@tynehazel007]

When Summer died in the show. Winter came.

[@secretspyrecords]

I hope you consider doing lyanna mormont

[@ulmo5536]

I would not call Ramsay Bolton a morally ambigous character. George does deal in moral absolutes sometimes.

[@AL13NM]

But who is pulling the strings, Bloodraven or the Children of the forest and why? And god I hope Bran doesn't end up king, that was so disappointing to see. The definition of anticlimactic. I'd rather see Jinglebell on the Iron Throne!

[@kyanchambers260]

Bran king was confirmed to be straight from GRRM. IMO the problem wasnt the concept, but the shows horrible execution. With proper set up and execution the idea can be great

[@AL13NM]

@@kyanchambers260 I still think it's a lame idea. Pretty sure we don't have to worry about reading it as it is very unlikely Martin will finish the SOIAF. We will be lucky to get the Winds Of Winter.

[@210SAi]

Kyan Chambers Bran King can be anything. GRRM would not flat out give away who ends up with the Iron Throne.

[@emperorpalpatine4681]

I’m show only at the moment. Is Theon’s reek arc in the books or is that show only?

[@Nga_Babaye]

It's a lot worse in the books, and slightly different, but the same over all so far. The last we see Theon in the books, he's helped false Arya escape, sends her to the wall, and is caught by Stannis and Stannis is trying to decide if he has value as a prisoner or if he should outright kill him for killing the Stark children.

[@210SAi]

Don’t waste your time or money on the show. The books blow them Out the water and could affect the way you process the books.

[@Nga_Babaye]

@@210SAi Show Ramsey was pretty awesome though. Book Ramsey is like a dull lug of a wannabe from a 1980s hair metal band.

[@Nga_Babaye]

Alfie Allen nailed his part too.

[@Bish0pDrake]

Audiobooks4soul has the books. If you don't have the time to read I would highly suggest taking a listen.

[@michellekaylan6926]

Could someone tell me how to leave $ ? I can’t find the icon - seem to have forgotten how!

[@HarmonyThomas723]

maybe only when live streaming, im watching now, not live and above the chat stream it has buttons, to be honest, I tried on another live feed and couldn't get the amount I wanted to donate to happen so I prob didn't help much but it seems no one else gave a rats ass to answer you. its Thru patrion (sp?) maybe go to their channel or something they may have directions... I'm trying to help lol..

[@michellekaylan6926]

Harmony Thomas thanks!! I’m a jerk - I thought I had gotten to it live! Duh.

[@samclontsii3548]

So how did Bloodraven reach Euron if there are not weirwoods on the Iron Isles???

[@210SAi]

Didn’t he cover that early in the video? Euron stole that barrel of Weirwood paste and Bloodraven is able to reach out to Euron when he’s ‘tripping’ on the paste

[@samclontsii3548]

O G when did he steal the paste???

[@210SAi]

Sam Clonts II again was covered in the video 7:15

[@samclontsii3548]

O G I saw that, but that doesn’t answer the question...according to his theory, Euron was visited by Bloodraven in the past, way before he stole the Shade of the Evening...but Robert has said Bloodraven’s powers are limited to Weirwoods, which there are none on the Iron Isles...so if that’s the case, how did Bloodraven contact Euron???

[@210SAi]

1:28:25 IDG so you feel confident that Bran will be King of Westeros? I just cant imagine that GRRM would give away his true ending to the show writers.

[@davidryan7386]

5 gee = grayscale It is known.

[@SHARKVADERS]

IDG!!!

[@mwheeler138]

I've grown to dislike engaging with people on the internet concerning these questions - " Will X happen or will X do such and such in the books". Largely with non-book fans whom also like S8 . Mainly because there's this smugness that comes with the engagement. Knowing that a lot of these weren't popular and sunk the show they like to twist the knife in telling us that GRRM has already told people that these would happen, the outline he gave to D&D, etc. It's irritating because context is EVERYTHING. Dany's arc was silly and nonsensical. It was butchered. Tyrion isn't the same character anymore and on and on it goes. Saying Dany will burn KL in the books is a world away from Dany burns the city in the show.

[@theeagleofbavaria]

mwheeler138 Well, I think we can look at the last 3 seasons of Game of Thrones as kind of a sketch of what will happen in the upcoming books; just like season 5 is a vague sketch of AFFC and ADWD. The main plot points are there, but the build up and context are hugely different.

[@davidjones272]

I'm a book fanatic and really enjoyed season 8. Thought dany's arc was good: it demonstrates the fine line between heroism and tyranny, also makes the reader reflect on all the violent acts we've cheered her on for leading up to it. I think all the main characters will end up in more or less the same ending positions as the show. There will probably be significant differences for various side characters.

[@theeagleofbavaria]

David Jones Well about those „violent“ acts we „cheered“ her for. That‘s what the show and some reviewers want to sell us, but they were not irreflected, impulsive acts, it was necessary to survive and get to queenship. Robb led a war and ravage a kingdom because some petty king killed his father, Jon Snow didn‘t hesitate to betray and kill the wildings, Arya became a psychopatic killer... On and on it goes, yes we can question the way the „good guys“ use violence to get what they want and we’re supposed to cheer them on, because they are the protagonists, but the only one who got the blame is Dany. I mean Arya has coldly killed a ENTIRE household and she‘s a hero, but when Dany tortured inhuman slavers the same way they tortured their slaves as a warning for her enemies and to gain power and end slavery, she was a Hitler in the making...

[@annawisdomsdottir4947]

Seems laughably iron that Bloodraven has DECIDED for all of Westeros that ICE and FIRE are the two dangers to its continuation--as what? First as a Targaryen dragons and fire were ALWAYS part of their heritage. It seems to ME that if Bloodraven wanted to protect Westeros against FIRE he would have (1) stopped the madness associated with intermarriage of brothers/sisters which he actually encouraged to produce the Prince that was promised and (2) he would have promoted dragons as symbolic and PROTECTORS of Westeros. Instead (weirdly) the dragons will be used to kill the threat of ICE and then the dragons will need to be killed. Bloodraven uses magic to END magic. I absolutely adore these programs and would not miss anyone but HONESTLY I am beginning to firmly believe that GRRM is far from the wonderful writer that everyone seems to believe he is. OF COURSE, I am enthralled by the word he creates but to come to the conclusion that all of these characters are really just pieces in a game is sad. Perhaps that is how GRRM sees the American culture and I actually cannot quibble with our programming ala 1984ish.

[@annawisdomsdottir4947]

In the end...will any of the characters understand that they have been manipulated ARE continuing to be subservient to the Weirwood Network and Bran/Bloodraven? Will the Starks just go off oblivious and continue to play the game-of-thrones as if it mattered? Truly it all seems to be a story about no-thing except to be moved as a pawn in the game. Why bother growing or changing if you are oblivious to the TRUTH of the world in which you live. Does BRAN actually realize that he has been subverted by the Weirwood Network/Bloodraven. IF Shiera Seastar was Quaithe and Dany becomes some "fire villain" what a total waste--Dany manipulated into ACTING as another conquering Targaryen when she really just wanted to rule as Queen over Mereen and perhaps free all slaves in Essos but in manipulated back to Westeros just to have Bloodraven manipulate Jon into murdering Dany.

[@brandonofbethlehem1888]

Bran was from the beginning, King. "Antichrists" and "anti-brans"( Brandon "STAR-k", the "Jesus christ SuperSTARk) Superman-Brightburn-"anti-christ-bran"("I Jesus am the ROOT and offspring of (King David the BRIGHT and Morning STAR-Revelation 16:22) was king always from the beginning of the garden, no not the weirdwood, The Garden, is the Flaming Sword(brandon means "flaming sword" "beacon light" "prince" and "raven". In gematria "Logos" has many same numeric reductions to Brandon of of Genesis 3:24, The old argument of did Jesus admit to being Lucifer hence is Jesus saying he's good and bad or is Jesus never saying that but that LUCIFER just another name for him." Helel" could also be interpreted as "Shining one" instead of the latin word Lucifer(and capping the "L", as a Name). We have to then look at why is Bran Bran?. Why the name Bran/Brandon. Well what does Brandon mean? It actually has about 5 or 6 meanings, .

[@estheralarcon9938]

Euron kraken warg?

[@estheralarcon9938]

Snap!

[@SmileHeartXD]

:D

[@bluewhale513]

Can we get a video which doesn't involve a stark , Jon snow or lyanna and rheager

[@210SAi]

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