Game of Thrones/ASOIAF Theories | AGOT Bran II | Breakdown & Analysis

[@sleekoduck]

Bran wouldn't have slipped if he hadn't made eye contact with Cersei. Cersei has a history of throwing children to their death, too... remember what she did to her childhood friend after they met Maggie the Frog. I still think it foreshadows her own death. Great video as always!

[@laurabryan6938]

Bran is the parkouring wolf pup 🤣

[@ashleyofnaath]

On Dave's observation that Robert's life cycle essentially starts with a boar...We know GRRM has said he can't write a character's story unless he knows their name. Robert is married to Cersei, and there's a minor Greek goddess named 'Circe' who's noted partly for turning men into pigs. I wonder if Robert's association with boars is due to that- George knowing he would be married to a woman named for a Greek goddess that turned men into pigs.

[@ApplesandDragons]

That's awesome. A second layer of that idea comes to mind. Robert was betrothed to Lyanna, and Lyanna is quoted as saying in reference to Robert that love cannot change a man's nature. So there's a lingering question about whether Robert losing Lyanna and having to marry Cersei instead played a role in his becoming a fat, drunken whoremonger of a king. Would he have stayed in shape, laid off the wine, and stayed faithful to Lyanna if he had been able to marry Lyanna instead? In other words, would Robert have become less of a pig? I think so.

[@ashleyofnaath]

@@ApplesandDragons You read my mind friend. I considered referencing your point in my original comment, but I thought doing so would make it too long. So I didn't. I absolutely agree Robert would've been a very different man had he married Lyanna (or any woman not named Cersei). That's not to say he would've been entirely faithful to her like Jaehaerys was to Alysanne; I think he would've had an affair or two; he just would've been far more discreet about it because he wouldn't want to shame Lyanna since he cared about her. He despises Cersei so he doesn't care about shaming her. Also, it's worth noting that the goddess Circe could turn men into any animal, not just pigs (though the pig incident was a notable one). Look at the things the men around her do to gratify her- Tywin ordered the murders of Elia and her children as atonement for the slight on Cersei's honor when Rhaegar married Elia in Cersei's stead. Jaime pushed Bran from the window and later admits to wanting to kill other children to please Cersei. Actually I think he did kill another child in her name, though someone else was credited for having done it (*coughs, The Hound) but that's a story for another day. Point is all the men connected to Cersei act like animals in various ways to pacify her. George is so Brilliant.

[@sleekoduck]

Circe is also a spider and Cersei Lannister is the great-granddaughter of Rowan Webber, whose sigil is the spider!

[@ashleyofnaath]

@@sleekoduck I LOVE that. Nice catch! George is amazing the way he so intricately designs his characters🤩.

[@MaynardCrow]

Cersei in Greek mythology is a witch, not a goddess. Cersei in ASOIAF is a witch who thinks she's a goddess.

[@bAmMoD216]

Happy that someone else picked up on Jon being pissed at the world. The only other note I had for this chapter (because you guys are the best and got all my other ones) is how nobody can get threw to Bran just how dangerous his climbing could be (stood out because I have 2 kids on the spectrum and our daughter is fearless and would be right beside Bran climbing towers 🙄😵‍💫🤕). Also how dark and creepy Bran is gonna become is hinted at all over this chapter. Did find that interesting about Bran almost being jealous of Ghost/Jon. And we really see the thing he wants and later obsessed over is wanting to be a knight.

[@sleekoduck]

Interesting take, especially since Bran isn't particularly known for being martial like Jon, Rob, and Arya, so why is he so obsessed with becoming a knight?

[@hypatiakovalevskayasklodow9195]

When people say Ned is at fault that Cersei killed Robert, but here we can see her and Jaime already discussing it, *months* before Ned confronts her in KL’s goodswood

[@jito7377]

I love the project. In this episode I liked Jaime saving Bran but droping him on Cerseis say. It gives inside on their characters and relationship.

[@tylerbarrett6652]

Having recently wasted a couple of hours on "Don't Look Up", I keep coming back to the whole point of that movie as it relates to ASOIAF.... The real threat being north of the wall and the battle yet to come while everyone in the Kingdom is worried about slights real or perceived.... and then how Bran says people rarely look up. Rarely get the big picture 45k foot view or whatever. You two are so good at analyzing all of this, I sometimes wonder if GRRM would say.... I hadn't thought about that.... or, they pick up things I didn't know I included... I wonder how much of this GRRM did consciously and how much he did subconsciously.... a similar thought to all the essays in honors english high school class when everyone wrote about author's intent, and I was stuck wondering and doubting if something actually was the author's intent. It's fun to think about, but not all that productive other than as an exercise for the mind.

[@TheOrderoftheGreenhand]

thank you so much ! i didn’t even realize how we hit some of those themes in this chapter analysis that are relevant to “don’t look up” the movie, which i didn’t know existed when we recorded this over the summer !! i have since seen the movie though! and yes, very interesting exercise of the mind !

[@KingOfWinter]

Don’t bring politics to asoiaf. I’m for the jobs the comet will bring!!

[@TheOrderoftheGreenhand]

lmao!!

[@ashleyofnaath]

I see a lot of people saying Jaime pushed Bran at Cersei's urging, but that's not entirely accurate. Yes, Cersei said "what are you doing" when Jaime pulled Bran to the ledge, but that seemed more like an excited utterance in the form of a question rather than a command to push him. That notion, an excited utterance rather than a command, is supported by Jaime himself in ASOS Jaime I. According to him: ...Cersei had given him no end of grief afterward, when the boy refused to die. "He was seven, Jaime," she'd berated him. "Even if he understood what he saw, we should have been able to frighten him into silence." Then Jaime says to her, "I didn't think you'd want-" and Cersei cuts him off to chastise him for "never thinking". That right there confirms she never wanted Bran pushed or gave an order for him to be. That was purely Jaime's doing. Jaime even doubles down on his nefarious intentions in the very next sentence where he recalls saying, "If he wakes we'll say he was dreaming, we'll call him a liar, and should worse come to worst I'll kill Ned Stark". So once again Jaime admits everything with Bran was his doing. Cersei might've been Jaime's inspiration, but she never personally asked or commanded him to do anything.

[@R.O.Yvonne]

Right before you posted this vid, I was thinking about Arya's incapability of sewing when I realized that we don't know which hand she holds the needle. Does anyone in Winterfell even know that she is left-handed, or they do but still forces her to use her right hand since the majority of the population is right-handed? P.S. I'm three chapters away from finishing book 2. A lot more detailed than the show, and better done. The battles, especially with Tyrion's pov's are so much more entertaining and its a shame the show doesn't have him fighting like he does in the books. And Arya's chapters have more substance and I hope the facelessmen plot and magic will be better written and consistent than the show's.

[@Richard_Nickerson]

I never considered that Arya point before. And yes, the books are always better. Just wait until you get to seasons 5 and beyond when it comes to book content, you're in for a treat. So many more characters and storylines.

[@thedelacruz]

Hmm.. interesting. But I would think she would know to use her dominant hand like when she writes it plays sword. I don't think they'd force her to go righty..Who knows tho.

[@R.O.Yvonne]

@@thedelacruz If they'd force her to do other things she can't/ wouldn't do, they'd make her. And the seven are based on catholicism, and I read that catholics used to think that the left-handed were inherently troubled or even evil.

[@MaynardCrow]

Don't worry. The books are far superior. The house of black and white in the show made no sense at all.

[@roseblue3368]

Bran could just have waited outside the tower too know Who has there

[@ivanbluecool]

I do love when George hits you over the head with "something bad is gonna happen" as you go into stories expecting everything to go right or the heroes somehow not angering or losing any allies or fights being the "hero" Bran and Rob are probably the best examples of this seeing thier stories go through a ton of changes from how they go about surviving.

[@natie3322]

If Bloodraven is controlling the Wolves why would a Wolf try to warn Bran not to do something that will force open his 3rd eye and lead him North? Unless the 3 eyed Crow is NOT Bloodraven, but someone else…

[@IngTomT]

I don't think the wolves are controlled by anyone but the children, they are simply their subconscious, their feelings, their instincts.

[@Richard_Nickerson]

Today is a day when I need to listen to stuff as I work, and Spotify's idea of a well shuffled playlist was really starting to annoy me, so I'm thankful for another chapter analysis.

[@TheCbot88]

Give Bran ten good men and some climbing spikes and he’ll impregnate the B-

[@dallastunestropic]

You guys should finish this series!! It's so cool hearing people break down the books chapter by chapter, it brings up so much that we might have missed!

[@wonderingcrow1382]

On the man in the glass garden I believe that he might be the same man who tries to kill Bran later as they find out he's been hiding in Winterfell for a while and that was when he came out to steal food. But this might only work if he was sent to kill someone else in Winterfell and had to switch to Bran for some reason.

[@karentargaryen7959]

Excellent discussion on Bran. With his parents off running things, Bran and his siblings would have really been raised by the staff, so he would definitely feel sad about saying good-bye to them. I liked that GRRM wrote that in.

[@jimcosklo701]

I am re-listening to ADWD and I got real creeped out by the scene where Meera starts crying in the cave. Bran reflects that it would be too much effort to drag himself over to her to comfort her. He then thinks that if he was in Hodor, he could put his hand on Meera's shoulder and she would never know that it was actually Bran. Creeped me right TF out. 😳Luckily she ran away before he fully decided. I think Bran is heading for a dark ending. 😟

[@QueenDaenerysTargaryen]

Why do the gods make kings and queens, if not to protect the ones who can't protect themselves?

[@victariondrownedmemory9886]

Was so stoked to hear this!! Your theories are by far, the most interesting and in depth!! Keep up the fantastic work Green Hand!

[@Richard_Nickerson]

"Hello, and welcome to the Wolf's Den" sounds like it was recorded yesterday. Everything after that sounds like it was recorded on a computer microphone from 1999 on the basic Sound Recorder software.

[@TheOrderoftheGreenhand]

LMAO! we recorded that one via skype when we weren’t in the same place ! only two more that will be like that !

[@Richard_Nickerson]

@@TheOrderoftheGreenhand Ya gotta do what ya gotta do

[@TheOrderoftheGreenhand]

thank you !! and absolutely

[@AwesomeMusicLady]

Jaime’s first reaction was “take my hand before you fall” When he pushes Bran out the window “the things I do for love” Cersei has a very strong hold on Jaime initially.

[@shawnlewis2519]

I do believe and agree that Bran had amazing climbing abilities, but the way he does things, like hanging upsidedown from a gargoyle, doesn't that sound a bit how George described Tyrion's backflip thing when he spoke with Jon?

[@AwesomeMusicLady]

It’s kinda cute In a way that he’s just the blackberry man Old Nan and Gage the cook, Mikken in his smithy, Hodor the stableboy who smiled so much and took care of his pony and never said anything but “Hodor,” the man in the glass gardens who gave him a blackberry when he came to visit

[@justincurll1110]

Mance Rayder was the man in the glass gardens!

[@jessewilliams9195]

You are right about the darkness foreshadowing... very cool. Makes me wonder more about his ultimate character arc.

[@christopherbarnes3915]

Ooh with seeing winterfell as a labyrinth as well, and you two mentioning that he'll also in the future be a knower of secrets with his bird's-eye view, I just love the wording of the "labyrinth". So winterfell I'm this scene could be symbolic of the intersecting stories and histories of the different characters, that's so easy to get lost in from "ground-level" as those stories have organically grown around one another, just like winterfell organically grew through history. Love your videos!

[@DjDiamstatOfficial]

Damn now that I'm paying very close attention Mary Ellen you could be a voice actor or audiobook reader.

[@TheOrderoftheGreenhand]

awww thank you!!

[@countbalerionofhousetatter2624]

interesting! piquant that cersei apparently later gave jaime a hard time for dropping bran, when he initially wanted to save the kid.

[@yorgivon-schmourgeussborgi]

THANK YOOOOOU!!! it's cleaning day, so naturally, it's podcast day. Content appreciation: 1000

[@TheOrderoftheGreenhand]

thank you !!

[@Richard_Nickerson]

Same

[@brucewaite3733]

Late to comment but finally here: Like i said in the Catelyn 2 comment: Somrthing her answered the question for me as to what was Catelyn gonna say in regards to: Does Varys know....? The thing itself in this chapter is that Cersei and Jamie know about Lysa's accusations. Doesn't that make the whole coded message from the box redundant? If already Lysa blabbed about it in kings landing? I'll say this here and explain when we they to be scene itself about "Does Varys know...?" I am firmly of the belief Cayelyn was in on the murder of Jon Arryn

[@conniesuper9892]

The unnamed kindly man in glass garden always got my wheels turning...Ned returned Arthur's sword Dawn,and Lord Dustin's horse...did Lord Dustin really die,or is he hanging at WF because he didn't want to go home to Barbrey and he'd rather grow berries(and was glamoured by Howland)...why no name for THAT guy when Bran knew all the others? If Mance can go in as a singer unrecognized, then who is this gardener who always specifically gave Bran a blackberry?

[@southernsunshine1149]

Great catches y’all. Y’all never cease to amaze me with your in-depth analysis & insight of ASOIAF. ❤️

[@thisguy8106]

Man.. I've read this chapter more times than I can count..and I STILL missed so much stuff that y'all pointed out..

[@MillenionSweeper]

It’s somewhat interesting that yellow/golden eyes pertain not only to the children of the forest and the Titan of Bravos but also the wolf in this case, I can’t recall if they all have yellows eyes except for Ghost or if it’s only Summer that has them. I wonder if it’s meaningful in any way.

[@joeygula581]

lover your video just found it this week glad theres good agot vids

[@tylerbarrett6652]

I wish you guys still did this... I was looking forward to your re-read chapters and then you just stopped. Anyway... I went back to listen to any I might have missed... The one point I wanted to make in this chapter is that Jaime saved Bran first... his instinctual move... Bran would have fallen anyway... so pushing out the window just restores fate.

[@D.Records]

Loving this series guys

[@BlackHand531]

Thanks for this one. Looking forward to bran 3. That was always one of my favourites. Also it's the shortest chapter in the series?

[@davidfinch7810]

08:50:00 Sounds like an Akita

[@DAS_k1ishEe]

The kid is so smart and honest, I wonder if he will ever be king. Still hurts, doesn't it?

[@phantomjoker5]

very layered!

[@SHARKVADERS]

OOTGH!!!!!

[@b0therme]

"It's amazing what propaganda can do." George told Dan and Dave they figured out Jon's parentage so we know R+L=J is right. We know it. It is known. We can ignore all the books.

[@thisguy8106]

Bran was hearing macaroni noises.. 😆

[@marcmarc4776]

I'm always confused what these paragraphs mean: "Inside the room, a man and a woman were wrestling. They were both naked. Bran could not tell who they were. The man’s back was to him, and his body screened the woman from view as he pushed her up against a wall. There were soft, wet sounds. Bran realized they were kissing. He watched, wide-eyed and frightened, his breath tight in his throat. The man had a hand down between her legs, and he must have been hurting her there, because the woman started to moan, low in her throat. “Stop it,” she said, “stop it, stop it. Oh, please …” But her voice was low and weak, and she did not push him away. Her hands buried themselves in his hair, his tangled golden hair, and pulled his face down to her breast" What were they doing??

[@TheOrderoftheGreenhand]

🤣🤣

[@MaynardCrow]

Wrasslin'

[@marcmarc4776]

@@MaynardCrow Like Hulk Hogan?

[@b0therme]

Summer, Sum Sum...next time...FETCH THE FORKING STICK!!! Mm k.

[@robertsmiley2207]

Bran created acrobatics

[@thisguy8106]

🙌 🙌

[@kennymarket2428]

I feel like the male in this video reads books for audible. You sound like the dude who read IT to me so I’m kind of scared.

[@TheOrderoftheGreenhand]

🤣

[@kennymarket2428]

@@TheOrderoftheGreenhand lol I’m telling you. Just go and listen to a sample. Great videos! Thank you for your wisdom!

[@MillenionSweeper]

Lord of the voyeurs lol