I’m not normally that keen on wolf dreams ink ASOIAF, but I found myself really liking how it’s used here, because of the way that the political plot – Theon capturing Winterfell – collides with Bran’s mystical storyline.
Given that these are some of the last chapters before the Battle of Blackwater, I’m convinced that George R.R Martin deliberately created a pattern of threes in order to prime the reader to believe that the Red Keep of King’s Landing will also fall, so that the actual outcome comes as more of a surprise. And this time round reading Bran VI, I started to notice a pattern with castles in ACOK – first, Storm’s End surrenders unexpectedly following the events of Davos II second, Winterfell is captured in this chapter and in the very next chapter Harrenhall will fall thanks to Arya’s weasel soup. For the Starks, Bran VI is that moment – literally on the heels of victory (link), they will go from disaster to disaster, with each mistake creating the conditions for the next, until they find themselves taking their seats at the Red Wedding.Īnd appropriately for a tragedy, disaster strikes from an entirely unexpected direction, as Theon Greyjoy of all people captures Winterfell. Caveat lector.Īs I discussed with regards to Eddard’s storyline in AGOT, there’s a moment in every tragedy where inevitability sets in, where the breaks fail and the rollercoaster begins to pick up speed at a sickening pace and you know that the car’s going to jump the rail at the next bend. SPOILER WARNING: This chapter analysis, and all following, will contain spoilers for all Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones episodes.
Synopsis: Bran awakes from a wolf dream to find that Theon has captured Winterfell, and has to formally surrender the castle to his foster-brother. “Cruel places breed cruel peoples, Bran, remember that as you deal with these ironmen.”
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