Brandon (Bran) Stark

• Individual Picture Notes
  • Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark in HBO Game of Thrones

• General Notes
  • 
    Catelyn Tully and Lord Eddard Stark's second son, Bran is a seven-year old boy who enjoys climbing and exploring Winterfell. Like his siblings, he is dutiful and tough-minded, though his mother remarks that he is an especially gentle boy -- unlike his brother Robb. He is named for his deceased uncle Brandon Stark, Ned's elder brother. Bran dreams of one day being a great knight. His direwolf companion is named Summer.
    
    King Robert, and several others from King's Landing, visits Winterfell to convince Eddard Stark to serve as his Hand. When the King, Ned, Robb, and many of the visitors go hunting in Winterfell's woods, Bran is deemed too young and stays behind at the castle. He decides to entertain himself by climbing the various castle towers.
    
    While climbing a particular, long-abandoned tower, Bran passes a window through which he can see Queen Cersei and her twin brother Jaime Lannister having sex. When they finally notice his presence, Jaime pushes Bran from the window, with the intention of killing Bran to preserve his secret. Bran survives, surprising everyone in Winterfell, although he enters a coma.
    
    During this time, Catelyn is hysterical with grief, and refuses to leave Bran's side, even to use to privy or to bathe. Bran's fall happened to come just before Eddard, Arya, and Sansa left for King's Landing and Jon Snow left for the Wall. Therefore, Bran's siblings do not know his fate when they leave him, and they have not seen Bran since.
    
    Of the immediate Stark family, just Catelyn, Robb, and Rickon are left behind with Bran. While in a lengthy coma, Bran was primarily treated by Winterfell's Maester Luwin, who fed and sustained Bran with water and honey. Bran's direwolf kept vigil outside of Bran's bedchamber window, howling almost constantly. Although it was suggested that the shutters to Bran's window be closed, it was soon discovered that Bran's condition was inexplicably linked to the wolf.  Specifically, if the sound of the wolf's howling faded, so did Bran's health. Thus, the shutters were left open and the wolf was permitted to maintain his vigil.
    
    As he lay in the coma, another assassination attempt is made on Bran. The Winterfell library, directly across the courtyard from Bran's bedchamber, is set afire, prompting Robb and all of Bran's guards to hastily leave the room to assist in its dousing. Catelyn, still stricken by grief at Bran's condition, opts not to leave his side.
    
    A would-be assassin -- a man not from Winterfell who had been hiding in the castle's stables -- arrives and expresses shock and dismay that Catelyn is in the room. He attacks her first, attempting to cut her throat with a Valyrian steel dagger, notable for its dragonbone hilt. Catelyn successfully defends her life by holding the dagger's blade tightly in her hands while grappling with the would-be murderer.
    
    As they struggle, Bran's direwolf arrives and tears out the assassin's throat, without hesitation. It is decided that Bran's direwolf must never leave Bran's side. Catelyn's investigation into the owner of the dagger is what prompts her to leave Winterfell for King's Landing.
    
    After his mother leaves, while still in his coma, Bran has visions of himself falling again. He dreams of a three-eyed crow, flying by his side, who insists on Bran's flying.  The crow explains mysteriously that he could teach him to do so. With the crow's guidance, Bran opens a "third eye" and begins to fly alongside the crow. He experiences a number of seemingly prophetic visions involving his family's future, and perhaps the future of the Kingdom of Westeros.
    
    Several iconic characters seem to be referenced and linked to the Starks.  Bran sees a knight clad in gold (Jaime Lannister?), a warrior with the head of a hound (Sandor Clegane?), and an enormous knight between them, clad in stone and with no face visible under his helm (Gregor Clegane?).
    
    Bran also sees his mother and Ser Rodrik Cassel on a ship off the east coast of Westeros, unknowingly sailing into a very threatening storm.  While flying in the dream, he also looks north -- toward and then past the Wall. He sees a blinding white, terrifying light moving south toward the seven kingdoms, and awakens from his coma. He is immediately greeted by his direwolf and names him "Summer".
    
    Soon after waking, Bran realizes to his horror that he was left paralyzed from the waist down, clearly leaving him unable to walk and climb. He also realizes that he can never fulfill his dream of becoming a knight of the Kingsguard. He has forgotten the events immediately before his fall, although the reason for this retrograde amnesia (head injury or traumatic repression) is unknown.
    
    Bran slowly recognizes that, although he has lost a great deal in the fall, he has gained awareness of his ability to assume the consciousness of Summer. The rare individuals in Westeros who are able do this are referred to as wargs.
    
    After Robb is crowned King in the North, Bran, as Robb's heir, became the Prince of Winterfell and ruled the castle while his brother warred with the Lannisters -- the War of the Five Kings. During the war, Meera and Jojen Reed of Greywater Watch come to visit Bran and stay at Winterfell to help him. Meera and Jojen are the children of Eddard Stark's most trusted and mysterious friend, Howland Reed.
    
    When they come to pledge the fealty of House Reed, Jojen informs Bran that he has seen him in his "green dreams" --his own experience of prophetic dreams specific to the crannogmen.  Jojen tells Bran that he is "the winged wolf", but bound in chains; he quickly recognizes Bran's ability as a warg and instructs him on how to use this skill properly.
    After learning of Bran's own visions and his experience with the three-eyed crow, Jojen claims that if Bran goes north beyond the Wall, he could find this three-eyed crow.
    
    When Theon Greyjoy betrays the Starks and captures Winterfell, Bran, Jojen, Meera, Summer, Rickon, Shaggydog, Hodor, and Osha hide in the castle crypts until Theon is betrayed and captured in turn by the Bastard of Dreadfort.
    With Winterfell burned and its people slaughtered, Bran, and his companions head north in search of the three-eyed crow. They eventually travel beyond the Wall and reach the ancient dark woods, where they meet Coldhands, an enigmatic figure of uncertain allegiance who pledges to help them.
    
    Bran is associated with much prophesy, and there are several hints made by other characters about Bran's great importance to the future of the Stark family, and perhaps even Westeros.