Will: I've been trying to wrap my head around it for a while and your explanation helps a bit in that regard. But what exactly do you mean when you say "...because it already happened." How can it have already happened if Bran is doing something for the first time? Doesn't that create an infinite loop with us not knowing what set the whole thing off? It seems like a time travel paradox.
http://www.vox.com/2016/5/22/11722146/game-of-thrones-season-6-recap-hodor-dies-bran-time-travel It's possible, however, that the Three-Eyed Raven was still technically right. Bran might have the power to affect the past, but only in a way that leads to outcomes we already see in the present. Hodor was only capable of saying "Hodor" before the events of this episode. That would mean that Bran couldn't go back in time and prevent Ned Stark from being executed. But he could have played some role in the sequence of events that ended with Ned's execution. Remember, Bran is invisible to the people in the past unless he tries to make himself known, which means that Bran could have been secretly manipulating everything that we've seen on the show so far. In other words, anything that's happened so far could theoretically be Bran's fault... This article I just found cleared up most if not all my confusion.
Spoilers: The article you posted does a very good job summarizing what I was trying to say. In Bran's case, he exists in two different places on the same timeline simultaneously. When he travels "back" in time, he's still in the present. In most time travel stories, the time traveler leaves the present to go back into the past, but Bran stays in the present to go back into the past. That's why he was able to take control of Past-Hodor in order to affect Future-Hodor. He was, in essence, briefly connecting those two points in time, which is partially the reason why Hodor went mad in the first place. But because we've only ever known Hodor to be Hodor, we know the events have already taken place. Otherwise, Hodor wouldn't already be Hodor, but he is already Hodor, so we know that Bran warging into Past-Hodor already happened. This is all known as the Novikov self-consistency principle. What Bran's doing can't be a paradox because what he's doing has already been done. In other words, even if he tries to do the opposite of what you'd expect, he's already done that opposite thing, otherwise he wouldn't be able to be in the "past" doing that thing in the first place. In other words, this is a time-loop, but because Bran's transcending time and space and existing at two coordinates at once, he's able to escape the time-loop and continue on in the same timeline. That means there are no alternate timelines. The entire sequence shows us that Bran is incredibly fucking powerful and there's a good chance he's affected dozens, if not hundreds, of other events that have already taken place. There are already theories that Bran's actually Bran the Builder and that he's the one who drove the Mad King mad in the first place.
Will, you did. I think there's some slightly variable explanations elsewhere (see the Vox article too), but it's all very similar. And honestly, it just made the storyline THAT much more interesting. EDIT: And Will, those theories.... Yeah, it has become scarily possible that Bran is essentially behind all of this, creating the tragedies we are witnessing while trying to prevent them from happening.
I absolute love the Bran = Bran theories. Like if he was each one that would be so sick and so badass.
So to those who are still trying to wrap their heads around it all, I have a quote from Doctor Who for you: Second, spoilers below: Hodor.
[thumb]http://i.imgur.com/7zPQodD.jpg[/thumb] Noooooooo EDIT [thumb]https://scontent-ams3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13255951_2728914987155674_4970932176190955041_n.jpg?oh=a7e90f42f41c1dc733f0ddca7b9b9074&oe=57CAFE12[/thumb]
I don't buy Tommen's sudden turn at all. The way they are drawing out the High Sparrow arc is utterly boring and not interesting. Loved Bran's vision... did we get a look at the Mad King in one of those flashbacks? Loved Benjen's return! He was a badass in season 1. I'm gradually becoming desensitized to the big Khaleesi moments because there's no build up or followup to them. I'd want her to do something else besides conquering random cities and taking their army. /end
What a disappointing episode. This, out of all the episodes this season, suffers the most from lack of build-up. Characters do certain things with seemingly no reasoning whatsoever. Also, little to no fallout after last week's episode. This worries me, as they said that future seasons might have even less episodes.
I see why people are dissatisfied with the twist around Tommen but we knew he was a naive kid who doesn't know who to listen to and we know he adores Margaery so it does make sense to me. But I don't get how the High Sparrow turned Margaery into a fanatic. Oh and I think the theory that Bran/the Three Eyed Raven turned Aerys into madness seems even more likely now.
I like the fact that Benjen is back. And how he came back Brans Visions were cool, i like his storyline. Arya... fucking damnit. YOU HAD ONE JOB. I have a bad feeling now. I mean, she must know what can happen? Poor Samuel :/ Hopefully they can save each other- And TOmmen do what other people tell him. He dont have a kings character, he needs to die. I dont like him, he hasnt any personality.
People have been saying that Tommen and Marjory are just pretending to be on the High Sparrow's side. When he lets his guard down he'll make his move. That's the ONLY way this terrible story decision can be redeemed.
I thought that was pretty obvious? It's where my mind went immediately. The Tyrells are making a play for King's Landing.
Yup, that crossed my mind as well when they were standing next to each other. What about Jamie, then, though? Laying him off from the Kingsguard was a play too?
I sincerely hope Margaery is playing a game. Suddenly we're to believe that Margaery is a believer? The hell. I have zero faith that Tommen is in on it, though. If he was, why would Margaery tell him all about how she's seen the light? Instead, it might be possible that Margaery is playing everyone, for whatever convoluted reason. Also, I don't get how Dragonglass works anymore. So, it can destroy White Walkers, but it also was used to create them in the first place. And now we have uncle Benjen who was wounded by an ice blade (I think that'd turn him into a White Walker), but thanks to the use of Dragonglass that process was stopped. What the shit? Another thing that bothers me: is Arya's story. She drank the water that killed several people before to test whether or not she's become "no one". She passed the test and got her vision back. But now we're to believe she never lost her identity in the first place. How did she avoid death when drinking the water, then?