In this YouTube commentary, the host examines Bran Stark’s portrayal in Season 7 of Game of Thrones and proposes a theory that Bran is not merely a successor to the Three‑Eyed Raven but is, in fact, the Three‑Eyed Raven himself—specifically the historical figure Brynden (Brandon) Rivers—inhabiting Bran’s body. The video walks through the narrative cues that support this idea: the transfer of knowledge during the Night’s King attack, the Three‑Eyed Raven’s claim of having many names, the lore that ties the Raven to Brynden Rivers, and key scenes such as the Tower of Joy vision, the Hodor incident, and the Meera‑cave exchange. The host contrasts Bran’s emotional detachment with the other Stark children’s clear family conflicts, arguing that the show deliberately distances Bran to signal his true identity. The video concludes by inviting viewers to discuss the theory and subscribe for more content.
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Hey you, welcome back to the channel. And guys, today we'll talk about the character of Brandon Stark. You know, as we got into season 7, we've seen a very different Bran, and some show watchers don't quite know how to feel about it. Some are a little put off by it, because when we got the Star Children reunion, uh, they wanted to see more of a Bran they recognized. And we've gotten this very philosophical, emotionalist, uh, Jedi, uh, thing going on with Bran, right? Uh, Bran is far removed from the, you know, things that make people human, right? We would expect him to be very happy to see his family. We would expect him to have a lot more reaction than he has. But of course, we know what the things Bran had seen, that it has changed him quite a bit. But I have another proposal, a One that I maybe haven't quite heard put this way, and that is that what if Bran is not Bran at all? And when I say not Bran, I don't, I don't mean like Bran in the sense of him studying under the Three-Eyed Raven and then becoming this you know, taking on the mantle of the Three-Eyed Raven or being the Three-Eyed Raven's successor, in which the Three-Eyed Raven is a title. But what if it's not so much that the Three-Eyed Raven is a title, but the Three-Eyed Raven is a person? You know, in that, you know, we got to see when the Night's King was was finally closing in on the Three-Eyed Raven inside the weirwood tree, that he had to quickly kind of give all his knowledge over to Bran and all his information. And, you know, when he was destroyed, he kind of went into this— like, if I remember correctly, he kind of dissipated into this like material, this exotic material that just kind of floated off. I'll probably have to watch that scene again, but he didn't die in a normal way, you know, I don't think. But as we look into the Three-Eyed Raven, you know, as we understand him from Game of Thrones, the information, the books, various things like that, Uh, he, when he describes himself, he says that he's been many people, he's carried many names. So we know that the Three-Eyed Raven has in some form, in some way existed throughout history. But when he say he has had many names and that he's been these many people, uh, how could that be unless some type of way he's managing to live many lives, right? Uh, and so, uh, you know, the books talk about, you know, him as Brendan Rivers because he's— he says that although he has many names, that Brendan Rivers was his birth name. Uh, not only was that his birth name, he was a Targaryen bastard. Don't quote me on this, my history might be off, but it might have been Aegon IV 4th, uh, who was his father. Uh, he was also a Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. So he's done all these, you know, he's, he's been this person throughout history, I believe. You know, he talked about him being a sorcerer, various things like that. So apparently he's been able to live way past what he should be able to live as a normal human. So what and who is the Three-Eyed Raven? Who is Brandon Rivers? And in reference to Bran, Bran was very important to him. He needed Bran. But after Bran got this download, if you will, unlike the Bran we knew learning from the Three-Eyed Raven before, where he was learning various things, he was mastering his greensight abilities and all the various things he could do. Throughout all of that, he still remained Brandon Stark. He was still very much invested in his family. We got to see even when he went back to the Tower of Joy scene that he was trying very hard to get the attention of his father Ned Stark, and he was able to a great degree interact you know, almost time travel, right? You know, however, you know, there's some great power we haven't seen before he was able to do. Apparently the Three-Eyed Raven somehow aware that he had this ability and power. Now, not sure how Bran was able to do that. It hasn't been explained to us yet how all that works. That does seem like something far beyond a vision, because in visions usually you just can see see past events, you can't interact with them. We also got him, of course, interacting with Hodor and actually being the cause of Hodor's problem. So how do we come to terms with this? So I'm gonna have to propose, with some limited information, but just the way that the material is feeling, that the show is feeling, I'm gonna have to propose a theory that Bran Stark is not a successor of the Three-Eyed Raven. Bran Stark is and always has been the Three-Eyed Raven, and the Three-Eyed Raven may be some version of Bran that's able to interact with a younger— his younger self. And I know that's a lot of information to take in, but it will— it does kind of make sense and how he sees his family in the interactions. You know, he— the show has made it clear that Brandon Stark has no conflict with coming to terms with becoming the Three-Eyed Raven and what it means in relation to his family. We have seen every other Stark child character, uh, uh, be, uh, in conflict with dealing with, uh, coming to terms with the people they've become. You know, Sansa, um, Arya, you know, they— although they've taken these paths, they've become these different people. Sansa, the Lady of Winterfell. Arya a faceless person. They ultimately have chosen the Stark family, uh, as the road that they wish to travel. All but Bran. Bran has not chosen to be Brandon Stark anymore, and I think it's beyond just him being, uh, becoming the Three— being a successor of the Three-Eyed Raven. I think Bran, this incredible ability to affect past events and various things like that, something that just should create all types of paradoxes, and they do. And maybe that's why he's becoming so far removed from everyone as it is. But I think it's a little bit more than that. I think if it was that simple, I think the show could have easier— or they would have maybe just made it easier to show Bran in conflict with him having to choose being Bran over, you know, or being the Three-Eyed Raven over Bran. You know, also I think the scene with Meera is very telling where she goes, you died in that cave, and and he goes, he remembers Bran Stark. So he's not speaking in terms of he was Brandon Stark and he studied and he became— he trained and he became the successor to the Three-Eyed Raven, and he is symbolically the Three-Eyed Raven now. The language that he's using feels literal to me, at least. It feels like he really is this person, somebody else, just kind of inhabiting Bran's body, you know, and that, and that whoever that Bran was is gone. Another thing, all through the kind of training, if you will, sessions that Bran had with the Three-Eyed Raven, all through those episodes, there was never a feeling of trust with the Three-Eyed Raven. The Three-Eyed Raven always seemed to be hiding something, didn't he? It was always something not clear, and that was never resolved. Even at the end when he was actually destroyed by the Night's King, never resolved. And I don't think that was an error on the part of the writing. So my theory is that Bran is literally the Three-Eyed Raven. Now, this theory isn't so, so much a new one, and that we've seen and we've heard people say, oh, Brandon Stark may be Bran the Builder, he may be some person from the Age of Heroes, various things like that. But I don't think they've ever really referred to it in the sense that Brandon Stark is at this part, or at this period in the Game of Thrones story, is no longer Brandon Stark, literally, that he is something or someone else. I believe he is Brendan Rivers. That's what I'm starting to think. I think he's some kind of way he's Brendan Rivers and whatever exactly Brynden Rivers is or was, because, uh, you know, in my mindset, Brynden Rivers, Three-Eyed Raven, he knew about this great ability from Bran. I think he knew even before Bran knew he could do this. So anyway, guys, that's my thoughts on it. Give me your thoughts about what do you think was going on with Bran. Why is the writing— why is the story making him deliberately so far removed from his family without even presenting it as a situation where he's challenged by it and he's making a decision, uh, based on that, and we get to kind of entertain that and understand that. Why is it a deliberate removal where he is, uh, basically, uh, adamantly letting us know that he is not Brandon Stark? Anyway, guys, comment, let me know what you think. Guys, if you like content like this, don't forget to like, subscribe, and until next time, take care.
