Bran Stark


 * This article is about the son of Ned Stark, for other uses see Brandon Stark (disambiguation).

"My dreams are different."

- Bran

Brandon Stark, commonly called "Bran", is a major character in the first, second, third and fourth seasons. He is played by starring cast member Isaac Hempstead-Wright and debuts in the series premiere. Bran Stark is a noble boy living with his family in Winterfell. He lost the use of his legs after being pushed out of a tower window. He relies on the servant Hodor to aid his mobility. He has had prophetic dreams.

Bran adopted the direwolf Summer and they have forged a strong connection. He is able to see through the direwolf's eyes while he sleeps, as Bran is a Warg: a person who possesses the magical ability to enter the minds of animals. Bran is also blessed with the magical power of greensight, which gives him prophetic visions in his dreams.

Background
Bran is the fourth child and second son of Lady Catelyn and Lord Eddard Stark. Eddard is the head of House Stark and Lord Paramount of the North. The North is one of the constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms and House Stark is one of the Great Houses of the realm. House Stark rule the region from their seat of Winterfell and Eddard also holds the title Lord of Winterfell. He is also the Warden of the North to King Robert Baratheon.

Bran was born and raised at Winterfell. He has an older brother Robb, and a younger brother Rickon. He has two older sisters, Sansa and Arya. He also has a bastard half-brother, Jon Snow. He is 10 years old at the start of the series. He was named for Eddard's elder brother, Brandon, who was slain by the Mad King. He is only called "Brandon" by his mother when he has done something wrong. He dreams of being a knight of the Kingsguard and one day becoming a bannerman for his brother, Robb. His favourite hobby is climbing the walls of Winterfell and using its old rooftops and passageways to get around.

Season 1
Bran is being trained by his father, brothers and the castle's staff in leadership and combat. Bran is considered old enough to see some of the uglier side of life, and his father takes him to see a deserter from the Night's Watch being executed. The Starks find a litter of direwolf pups and Eddard reluctantly agrees to let his children adopt them because they are the symbol of their house. Bran still hasn't given his pup a name by the time that King Robert Baratheon's party arrives at Winterfell. Eddard agrees to act as the Hand of the King and to accompany Robert back to King's Landing.

During Robert's visit Bran goes exploring. Whilst climbing a decrepit tower, he catches the king's wife, Queen Cersei, and her twin brother, Jaime, engaged in sexual intercourse. To keep his silence, Jaime pushes him out of the tower window. Bran survives the fall, but is left comatose. While he is unconscious an assassin attempts to kill him but his life is saved by his mother who struggles with the killer until the arrival of Bran's direwolf Summer who rips out the man's throat. Bran awakens with no memory of what happened some weeks later, at the same moment as his father is forced to kill Sansa's direwolf, Lady.

Bran is told stories by elderly servant Old Nan, but he is tired of tales of heroic knights like Ser Duncan the Tall. Old Nan instead tells him about the White Walkers. He asks Robb if it is true he will never walk again and Robb says yes. Bran says that he would rather be dead, to Robb's distress. Bran begins to have a recurring dream in which a three-eyed raven flies into the crypts of Winterfell. He is awoken to meet with Tyrion Lannister, who has stopped at Winterfell on his way home. Out of his regard for Jon Snow, Tyrion has designed a special saddle that will allow Bran to ride despite his injuries. Bran takes a lesson on the sigils and mottos of the Great Houses from Maester Luwin, who is confident that Tyrion's saddle will work. Luwin also suggests that Bran could learn to use a shortbow from horseback, in the manner of the Dothraki. Bran bitterly refutes Luwin's assertion that his mother will return home soon.

Bran tries out his new saddle on a ride in the godswood and is thrilled to find that it works. While riding is attacked by wildlings led by Stiv. Robb and Theon Greyjoy defend Bran, killing Stiv and the other wildlings apart from Osha, who surrenders. Robert dies after being injured while hunting. Eddard challenges the legitimacy of Robert's heir, Joffrey, with evidence of Cersei's infidelity and is arrested. Bran says farewell to Robb when he leads the Stark armies to war in response. He also tries unsuccessfully to reassure Rickon that Robb will return. He prays in the godswood for their safe return, and is joined by Osha (now a servant of Winterfell), who tells him that Robb's army is marching the wrong way and the true threat lies to the north, Beyond the Wall.

Bran tells Osha of his dreams featuring the three-eyed crow as he rides on her shoulders, saying that he saw his father in the crypts. Osha is skeptical. Bran taunts her about her fear of the catacombs and eventually she agrees to take him down to the crypt. Bran recites the names of his deceased relatives as they pass them. They approach the place where Eddard was in Bran’s dream. There, they are startled by Shaggydog and Rickon. Rickon has also dreamt of their father in that spot. Osha and Bran go back to the surface and Osha attempts to soothe Bran’s worries about his father. As they exit the crypts, they cross paths with Maester Luwin who reveals that Eddard has been executed for treason.

Season 2
Bran continues to experience strange dreams as he is tutored in ruling Winterfell by Maester Luwin. He dreams that he is Summer as the direwolf roams the Godswood and sees his reflection in the pond there. He has Osha accompany him out to look in the pond himself and is reassured that his waking reflection is his own. He again dreams that he is the wolf. This time Summer enters his bedchamber and he sees himself awakening through the wolf's eyes. He discusses the dream with Maester Luwin who reassures him that magic has been absent from the world for centuries. Bran dreams of a three eyed raven again and seeks advice from Osha. She questions him further and he reveals another dream about the sea flooding Winterfell and drowning Winterfell and its people, including Ser Rodrik Cassel. She does not offer any explanation. Ser Rodrik brings news that Torrhen's Square has been besieged and Bran orders him to take the remaining garrison to relieve the siege.

Bran is awoken by Theon Greyjoy, who tells him that he has seized Winterfell. Theon tells Bran that he should yield the castle to protect his people. Bran reluctantly complies with a public announcement. Rodrik is captured on his return from Torrhen's Square. He insults Theon, calling him a traitor to Eddard Stark, and spits at him. Theon is pressured to execute him by his men. Theon ignores Bran's pleas and carries out a botched execution. Osha tells Bran that his dream came true; the Iron Islands (represented as the sea in the dream) have come to Winterfell. Bran escapes with Osha's help. They are accompanied by his brother Rickon, their direwolves and Hodor.

They flee as far as a nearby farm. Theon tracks them with hounds but loses their scent at the farm. He returns to Winterfell with two charred corpses, displaying them publicly and claiming that they are Bran and Rickon. The escapees actually doubled back, using a stream to mask their scent and are hiding under Theon's nose in the crypts of Winterfell. Bran overhears Luwin telling Osha that the bodies must be the farmhands.

They remain in hiding as Winterfell is besieged by an army of Northmen. The Ironborn flee and the Starks emerge from the crypts to find that their home has been sacked and abandoned. They find Luwin dying in the Godswood and he urges them to go north to the wall. Bran makes a tearful farewell to his mentor and they follow his last piece of counsel.

Season 3
Bran is on the road to Castle Black, along with his brother, Rickon, Osha, Hodor and the direwolves, Summer and Shaggydog. Bran continues to dream about chasing the Three-eyed Raven. But encounters in his dream a strange boy, who he later meets while awake. This is when he meets Jojen Reed and his sister, Meera. Jojen possesses the rare gift of seeing the past and present through his dreams, and is able to speak with Bran through their dreams. Jojen tells Bran that he is a 'Warg' someone who could control the minds of animals.

After seeking shelter in a derelict windmill during a rainstorm, the group notice a band of Wildlings chasing down a Northman. The sounds of thunder terrify Hodor, who shouts out in panic. Fearing discovery, Jojen tells Bran to silence Hodor, who keeps panicking. Bran unintentionally uses his Warg powers to render Hodor unconscious. With the Wildlings still outside, Jojen convinces Bran to Warg through Summer and Shaggydog outside, who then maul to death some of the Wildlings. While in control of Summer and Shaggydog, Bran saw Jon Snow outside fighting the Wildlings. He tells Osha to take Rickon with her to the holdfast of  Greatjon Umber, a loyal bannerman of the Starks. Bran bids a tearful Rickon farewell, who leaves with Osha and Shaggydog, while Bran continues northward with Hodor, Summer and the Reed siblings.

Later, they make it to the wall, and stay overnight in an abandoned castle on the Wall. During the night, Jon Snow's fellow Night's Watch comrade Samwell Tarly, with Gilly and her child, meet Bran and the Reeds in the castle. Samwell, noticing the gigantic Hodor and Summer, realizes who Bran is and offers to take them to Castle Black. But Jojen tells Sam that they are going beyond the Wall, as no force in the realm of Westeros could withstand the threat posed by the White Walkers. Sam reluctantly gives them the obsidian blades found North of the Wall, which he earlier used to slay a White Walker. That night, Bran, the Reeds, Hodor and Summer finally pass beyond the Wall.

Season 4
Bran, Hodor, Jojen and Meera are north of the Wall and Bran is looking through Summer's eyes, now having the ability to look through him whenever he wants. They wake him up which angers Bran but they warn him that if he stays in the wolf too long, he will stay in him permanently and lose everything he have ever known. Summer finds a Heart tree and when Bran wargs with it, he sees his father's execution, he sees him falling from the tower and lastly he sees a dragon flying over King's Landing. He then tells the others that he knows where they have to go.

Behind the scenes

 * On the Season 1 Blu-ray, Bran narrates Complete Guide to Westeros videos on "The Children of the Forest, the First Men, and the Andals", "The Age of Heroes", "The Old Gods and the New" and "House Stark". On the Season 3 Blu-ray, he narrates Histories & Lore video "Wargs and the Sight".

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels Bran is seven years old when the action begins. He has a love of climbing, and has been known to climb the walls of Winterfell and go exploring its ancient nooks and crannies. He dreams of one day being a great knight, but he is also fascinated by magic.

An interesting difference between involving Bran's appearance is that in the books, he is described as having red-auburn hair like his mother, while on the series he has brown hair. Robb Stark's hair was also similarly darkened for the television series, as it was described as being the similarly reddish in the books. It is likely this was done to increase the contrast between Sansa and the rest of her family, who are portrayed as being very much more traditional Northmen in character as well as appearance. Sansa was heavily influence by her mother thus giving Sansa her mother's auburn hair helps color-code this visually, and similarly, giving Bran his father's dark hair helped color-code deeply his father influenced him.

In real life, "Bran" is the word for "raven/crow" in several Celtic languages (Irish, Welsh, Cornish, Breton, etc.). Given that Westeros is loosely analogous to the Britain, the First Men and their Old Gods are loosely analogous to the original Celtic inhabitants of Britain who worshiped druidic nature gods, but were later driven to the fringe of the island by invading peoples (i.e. the Andals are like the Anglo-Saxons). It is unknown if George R.R. Martin intentionally picked the name "Bran" knowing it is the Celtic word for "Crow", but it does neatly associate with Bran and his visions of the three-eyed crow.