Warning: Contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 2's finale.
Summary
- House of the Dragon reveals the Three-Eyed Raven as Brynden Rivers, connecting him to the history of Game of Thrones in a clear way.
- The lack of explanation in Game of Thrones about the Three-Eyed Raven's identity is a missed opportunity to explore important plot points.
- Bran's story as the Three-Eyed Raven was mishandled in the show, lacking detail and explanation that could have enhanced his character development.
House of the Dragon's season 2 finale gave a glimpse of Brynden Rivers, the man who, by the time of Daemon Targaryen's vision that includes Daenerys Targaryen and a White Walker. Unfortunately, it makes Bran Stark's story worse by doing so, highlighting some major flaws in how his character arc was handled in the back-half of the show.
The House of the Dragon season 2's ending can't fix all the problems with the character in just a single vision, especially when it comes to Bran's connection to Brynden.
HOTD Revealing The Three-Eyed Raven Is A Reminder That Game Of Thrones Didn't Explain It
What Bran Being The Three-Eyed Raven Meant Was Never Fully Explored
The Three-Eyed Raven - or at least, the person who will become him - appearing in House of the Dragon is a reminder of just how little Game of Thrones explained about the character. We only ever got surface level, and often very vague, reveals about who the Three-Eyed Raven was or what purpose he served in Westeros. We know that he could see the past, and that he was the enemy of the Night King, but beyond that little was truly elaborated on.
How did Bloodraven become the Three-Eyed Raven, and what's the history behind his relationship with the Children of the Forest? How many people have been the Three-Eyed Raven, and what happened to them? How many times have they encountered the Night King? Exactly how do their visions and powers work, and what are the limitations of them? These are all interesting questions that could have not only made the character more fascinating, but fed into Bran's ending in exciting ways. Alas, Game of Thrones decided to ignore them.
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Bran's Three-Eyed Raven Story Was A Bigger Failure Than Making Him King
This Could Have Actually Helped Make That Story Better
Ultimately, I think the failure of Game of Thrones to explain those core aspects of the Three-Eyed Raven was the real mistake in Bran's ending. Yes, him becoming king was extremely controversial, but there's logic in there with him being the keeper of all Westeros' stories; of being able to see the past and thus learn from its mistakes. But that logic would be a lot stronger if we could properly understand exactly how his abilities worked, and what he was doing most of the time.
We should really understand how [Bran] feels about being the Three-Eyed Raven, what he's doing, and how he functions.
It would also have allowed viewers to better understand his change as a character. After becoming the Three-Eyed Raven, Bran became less human, even saying he wasn't really Bran Stark anymore. We can assume this is because he's spending so much time in the past, but again, it's very vague, and if you're going to make a character king, then it's the sort of thing that ought to be fully fleshed out. We should really understand how he feels about being the Three-Eyed Raven, what he's doing, and how he functions.
This goes hand-in-hand with Game of Thrones' other major Bran mistake - which, again, I think is not only worse than him becoming king (viewed in isolation), but also had a very negative impact on that story choice - and that's him missing season 5 entirely. This was done because he would've "just" been in the tree/cave with the Three-Eyed Raven, but seeing that experience, and learning more of his training and how it changes his character so completely, actually would've been great for where his story ended up.
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Can Game Of Thrones Still Fix Its Three-Eyed Raven Mistake?
Bloodraven May Appear In A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms
House of the Dragon introducing Bloodraven is a small step towards expanding upon the Three-Eyed Raven's story, but is it one that the wider franchise could continue? I'll it it's probably a stretch to think we'll get too much, but Bloodraven is a part of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' story. He appears in the third novella, The Mystery Knight, at which point he is the Hand of the King. It's decades before he becomes the Three-Eyed Raven, but it could at least explain more about who he was before that point.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will release on HBO and Max in 2025; an exact date is TBC.
Depending on how long the show runs, then it's possible - if not necessarily likely - that we'll see more of Bloodraven's story, which takes him to the Wall (where he becomes Lord Commander), and then eventually the Three-Eyed Raven. Getting too in-depth into that would inevitably distract a lot from the Dunk and Egg tales at hand, however. That means there's not much more room for Game of Thrones to fix its Three-Eyed Raven problems, unless another spinoff dives into it properly. At the very least, we know who he was, but I'd like to learn a lot more for better context to understand Bran.
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Game Of Thrones
10/10- 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
StreamingBUYBased on George R. R. Martin's ongoing A Song of Ice and Fire novel series, Game of Thrones is a fantasy drama set in the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos. It follows noble families like the Starks, Lannisters, and Targaryen vying for control of the Iron Throne while a rising threat from the undead looms in the North. The series received significant critical success and amassed a loyal fan base due to its high production values, sprawling sets, iconic characters, and shocking twists.
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House of the Dragon
8/10- Release Date
- August 21, 2022
- Network
- HBO Max
- Showrunner
- George R.R. Martin
Cast
Prince Daemon Targaryen
Emma D'ArcyAlicent Hightower
WHERE TO WATCH
StreamingBUYTaking place about 172 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon tells the tale of the rise of the Targaryens, the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria. The popular HBO spinoff show first starred Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower before they were replaced by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke, who play the older versions of the characters. Also starring in the series is Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen) and Paddy Considine as Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys Targaryen.
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- Created by
- George R.R. Martin
- First TV Show
- Game Of Thrones
- Cast
- Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Sophie Turner, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Iain Glen, John Bradley, Alfie Allen, Conleth Hill, Liam Cunningham, Gwendoline Christie, Aidan Gillen, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Rory McCann, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jerome Flynn, Rhys Ifans, Matt Smith, Graham McTavish, Fabien Frankel, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Emma D'Arcy, Matthew Needham, Olivia Cooke, Milly Alcock, Emily Carey
- TV Show(s)
- Game Of Thrones, House of the Dragon, A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight
Game of Thrones is a multimedia franchise created by George R.R. Martin. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire is the basis for the award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones, which lasted for eight seasons. After the incredibly divisive final season of Game of Thrones, the series was followed up by the prequel series House of the Dragon, which also received critical acclaim.
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