A theory about The Winds of Winter suggests one possibility for a long-standing mystery, and another the Prince That Was Promised prophecy, the sender of the Pink Letter, and the identity of Coldhands are among the subjects readers are most eagerly awaiting George R.R. Martin's resolution for.
The Game of Thrones ending provided some speculation on how the book series will end, and while it seems that some matters, like Bran becoming king, are set to transpire in the novels, others may not. Game of Thrones season 6 reintroduced Benjen Stark after his disappearance way back in season 1, claiming that the Children of the Forest saved his life after he was stabbed by a White Walker blade and ended up in a half-dead state, preventing him from returning south of the Wall. This was the show's fulfillment of the Coldhands theory.
What We Know About Coldhands In A Song Of Ice & Fire
Coldhands Is A Dead Brother Of The Night's Watch
Coldhands is a mysterious character beyond the Wall whom audiences have seen in A Storm of Swords and A Dance with Dragons. He's wearing Night's Watch attire, has a pale face, and wields a sword, riding around on an elk with a flock of ravens that follow his orders and scout for him. Like Varamyr in A Dance with Dragons, Coldhands is the sort of mystical character that we see in A Song of Ice & Fire only in the true North or deep in Essos, establishing a sense of mystery and intrigue about his identity.
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Coldhands is dead and can't through the Wall, similar to Benjen in Game of Thrones. However, his eyes aren't blue like the Others (White Walkers). In his first appearance, Coldhands meets Sam and Gilly after they flee Craster's Keep. In A Dance with Dragons, Coldhands kills Night's Watch mutineers from Craster's Keep, then escorts Bran, Jojen, Meera, and Hodor to the Three-Eyed Crow's cave, which he also cannot enter. These are the facts we know about this character, and they raise a number of possibilities for who he might be.
Coldhands Won't Be Benjen Stark in The Winds Of Winter
GRRM Has Confirmed It Won't Be Benjen Stark
While Game of Thrones merged the storylines of Benjen Stark and Coldhands, the two threads are going to remain separate in The Winds of Winter. In 2015, Martin confirmed that Coldhands is not Benjen Stark in A Song of Ice & Fire, eliminating one of the major and likely the most obvious candidates for who the character might be. Other common theories include Brynden Rivers (who's also widely believed to be the Three-Eyed Crow), one of the characters from a group called the Raven's Teeth, the Night's King, or either Waymar Royce or Will from the AGoT prologue.
The Night's King is a separate character from the books, not the "Night King" of the White Walkers from Game of Thrones.
These are all the characters we know of who are missing Night's Watch brothers, so unless Coldhands is someone entirely new, he's likely one of these candidates. We only know of the Raven's Teeth from the Dunk & Egg novellas and The World of Ice & Fire, and Brynden Rivers and the Night's King aren't ever mentioned in the TV show. Combining the story with Benjen Stark's in the TV series was a way of simplifying the plot and not incorporating new elements. The books will take a different route.
Theory: Coldhands Is One Of Brynden Rivers' Raven's Teeth
The Raven's Teeth Are The Most Likely Candidates
First, Brynden Rivers was a Targaryen bastard of King Aegon IV who lived during the time of the Blackfyre Rebellions and served as the Hand of the King for Aerys I and Maekar I. During the reign of Aegon V, also known as "Egg," Brynden Rivers was sent to the Wall to the Night's Watch. He eventually rose to become the Lord Commander, then disappeared beyond the Wall. It's commonly believed that Brynden Rivers became the Three-Eyed Crow.
If Brynden Rivers is the Three-Eyed Crow, then one of his ers could be Coldhands.
If Brynden Rivers is the Three-Eyed Crow, then one of his ers could be Coldhands. The Raven's Teeth were a group of guardsmen personal to Brynden Rivers who fought beside him in Westeros and then eventually ed him when he was sent to the Night's Watch. Leaf, one of the Children of the Forest, mentioned that Coldhands died long ago, confirming that he wouldn't be Benjen or one of the other two Night's Watch rangers. We also know that the Night's King betrayed the Night's Watch and made sacrifices to the Others, which would be counterintuitive to Coldhands.
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The Raven's Teeth are the strongest candidates, though it's an anticlimactic theory in a way, as it withdraws a sense of individuality. We don't have a name or personality attached to any of these men, which might push some readers away from ing the hypothesis. Still, it undeniably adds up, and House of the Dragon even bolstered the idea by suggesting Brynden Rivers was their version of the Three-Eyed Raven.
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Could Introduce The Raven's Teeth
The New GOT Spinoff Could Further The Theory
We've already seen House of the Dragon take a stab at some classic A Song of Ice & Fire theories, providing the showrunners' takes on George R.R. Martin's mysteries. For example, the decision to have Laenor Velaryon flee to Essos clears up a vague moment from Martin's text, the Aegon's Dream suggestion adds supplementary material to the motives in the Dance of the Dragons, and, as mentioned, the Brynden Rivers ordeal. Hopefully, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms can continue to do the same.
We won't see Brynden Rivers in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1, which is set to be released later in 2025 as an adaptation of "The Hedge Knight." However, we will meet Brynden and likely some of the Raven's Teeth if the show goes on to season 2, as they were introduced in "The Mystery Knight." They'll be brought back again in "The Sworn Sword."
Of course, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms isn't confirmation of what will happen in The Winds of Winter, but the Game of Thrones prequel has been celebrated by George R.R. Martin. If the show finds success and one of the Raven's Teeth stands out as a character, it could provide a suggestion as to who Coldhands will be, providing material Martin has yet to reveal in his books.
Game Of Thrones
- Release Date
- 2011 - 2019-00-00
- Showrunner
- David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
- Directors
- David Nutter, Alan Taylor, D.B. Weiss, David Benioff
Cast
Jon Snow
Isaac Hempstead WrightBrandon Bran Stark
WHERE TO WATCH
- Writers
- D.B. Weiss, George R.R. Martin, David Benioff
- Franchise(s)
- Game of Thrones
- Creator(s)
- David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
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