Misplaced Pages

#547452

82-446: Bran is the second son and fourth child of Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn Stark of Winterfell , the ancient capital of the North of the kingdom of Westeros . Bran dreams of becoming a knight since childhood, but is rendered paraplegic by Jaime Lannister in the first novel after stumbling upon the latter's affair with twin sister Cersei Lannister . Awaking from a months-long coma , he

164-536: A ward boy Theon Greyjoy . He is a lifelong friend of King Robert Baratheon , the ruling monarch of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros , who personally visits Winterfell to invite and persuade Ned to become the new Hand of the King at the beginning of the novel. As the moral compass of the story, Ned is content to remain far from courtly intrigues and is unwavering in his view of loyalty and honor. His family name, Stark,

246-403: A Drama Series in 2011. In A Game of Thrones (1996), Ned Stark is introduced as the virtuous and honorable patriarch of House Stark of Winterfell , the lord paramount and warden family of the North . He is happily married to Lady Catelyn Tully and is father to five trueborn children Robb , Sansa , Arya , Bran , Rickon and a bastard son Jon Snow , as well as guardian to

328-583: A giant following, but Thrones is not just about the promise you're going to see one of your favorite actors week in and week out. The star is the story". Bean noted that Ned's death "was as much a surprise to me as anyone" and called it "a very courageous move for a television company". The image of Bean as Ned Stark sitting in the Iron Throne is featured on the covers of the 2011 Season 1 DVD and Blu-ray Disc sets, released in March 2012. The character makes

410-599: A horse. When Robb rides south to relieve Ned 's arrest in King's Landing , Bran becomes the acting Lord of Winterfell. 1998's A Clash of Kings finds Robb named King in the North, and Bran, as Robb's heir, rules Winterfell in his brother's absence. When Theon Greyjoy betrays the Starks and captures Winterfell, Bran and Rickon escape, aided by the wildling Osha . To hide his failure, Theon has two other children murdered and proclaims them to be Bran and Rickon. Having been hiding in

492-423: A knight dashed by the crippling attempt on his life in A Game of Thrones , duty forces Bran to overcome his new limitations and embrace his new abilities. Although he doesn't realize his newfound powers at first, he grows to discover what he can accomplish. His gradual acceptance of his seemingly-prophetic visions (called the "greensight") and his ability to psychically inhabit his direwolf Summer (which marks him as

574-517: A litter of recovered direwolves given to the Stark children and names him Summer. During the King's visit to Winterfell, Bran accidentally interrupts the Queen, Cersei, having sex with her brother, Jaime, who shoves him from the window. While he is unconscious and recovering from his injuries, Summer kills an assassin sent to murder Bran. When he awakens Bran cannot recall the events before his fall and finds that he

656-747: A new Watch recruit, finds Bran first and takes him hostage. Bran wargs into Hodor and snaps Locke's neck. The group then continues on without telling Jon, who Jojen claims would stop them. Bran eventually reaches the Heart Tree but is set upon by wights outside the entrance. Jojen is killed in the attack, but the Children of the Forest lead Bran and his company safely into a magic cave, to meet the Three-Eyed Raven. The Three-Eyed Raven declares that Bran will not walk again but will fly, instead. As part of his training, Bran

738-421: A place where people are playing games and backstabbing... he's a principled man who tries to hold things together. This is a journey that he makes where ultimately his loyalty causes his downfall." Publishers Weekly noted in 1996 that, despite the honest Ned Stark's intervention in court politics, "no amount of heroism or good intentions can keep the realm under control." From his very first introduction, Ned

820-457: A public confession to save his daughters from Cersei's wrath, but Joffrey has Ned beheaded anyway. In the season 6 episode " Home ", Bran sees a vision of Ned ( Sebastian Croft ) as a child with his sister and brother, Lyanna and Benjen. In the following episode, " Oathbreaker ", Bran witnesses the battle between a young Ned ( Robert Aramayo ) and the knight Ser Arthur Dayne at the Tower of Joy. In

902-518: A return in the sixth season, under a recurring capacity, via flashback visions of his youth and childhood seen by Bran and the Three-Eyed Raven using Greensight. In season 1 , King Robert Baratheon travels to Winterfell and asks his old friend and closest ally Eddard "Ned" Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, to assume the position of Hand of the King after the sudden death of their mentor, Jon Arryn . Not interested in politics or

SECTION 10

#1732869987548

984-499: A tough thing to build up a character and make somebody as memorable and impressive as Ned and then get rid of him. But at the same time it leads to a story that is so much more suspenseful because you truly have no idea what is going to happen and who is going to survive. In a review of the Game of Thrones TV episode " Baelor ", James Poniewozik wrote in Time that "the execution of Eddard Stark

1066-554: A type of skin-changer known as a warg . Bran, Hodor, Meera and Jojen travel north to the Wall in search of the three-eyed crow in A Storm of Swords (2000). In A Dance with Dragons (2011), Bran, Hodor, Meera and Jojen are joined by the mysterious Coldhands , and a Child of the Forest named Leaf takes them to the three-eyed crow (actually a human telepath), who in turn offers to train Bran in retrocognition and clairvoyance . Bran Stark

1148-466: A type of skinchanger known as a warg ) show his growing maturity and his worth beyond the loss of his legs. He also manages to enter Hodor's mind, and later skinchanges into crows and even weirwood trees under the mentorship of the Three-Eyed Crow . In A Game of Thrones (1996), Bran accidentally sees Queen Cersei Lannister and her twin brother Ser Jaime having sex; whereupon he is pushed from

1230-522: A younger brother Rickon , and an older illegitimate half-brother Jon Snow . Bran is constantly accompanied by his direwolf Summer, the intellectually disabled stableboy Hodor (who carries him around after his crippling), and the Reed siblings Meera and Jojen . Martin describes Bran as favoring his mother in appearance, having the thick auburn hair and deep blue eyes of the Tullys . According to Martin, Bran

1312-400: Is a word play that both emphasizes the resilience of his noble family and serves as an indication of his personal resistance to moral compromise. Still, his boundaries are increasingly tested over the course of the novel. Finding himself a key player in the escalating political intrigue of King's Landing , Ned struggles as his own sense of honor draws him into corrupt goings-on at court. As

1394-413: Is able to delay the assassin long enough for Bran's direwolf, Summer, to kill him. Senseless, Bran dreams of his falling from the tower and of a three-eyed crow that offers to teach him to fly. With the crow's guidance, Bran wakes; but having been crippled by the fall, he is unable to walk. Thereafter he relies on the giant simpleton Hodor to move around, and a harness designed by Tyrion Lannister to ride

1476-670: Is crippled from the waist down, forced to be carried everywhere by the stableboy Hodor. Slowly, he realizes that he has gained the ability to assume Summer's consciousness, making him a warg or a skinchanger. After his older brother, Robb, is crowned King in the North, Bran becomes Robb's heir and the Lord of Winterfell. After Theon Greyjoy captures Winterfell, Osha helps Bran and his younger brother Rickon go into hiding. To cement his claim on Winterfell, Theon has two orphan boys killed and their bodies burned, and passes their charred corpses off as Bran and Rickon. After Theon's men betray him and Winterfell

1558-454: Is crucial to the story and its themes and everything that follows, but it's also a meta-message to the reader: don't take anything for granted here". James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly stated that tricking the audience into thinking Ned is the hero and then killing him makes the series' story better. Writing that "the big twist here isn't that Ned Stark dies, but who the true protagonists of Game of Thrones are", Hibberd pointed out that

1640-432: Is designed to gain audience sympathy, from his strong sense of honor and moral compass to his compassion towards his wife and children. Readers are led to believe that Ned will be the main character of the series, but ultimately he is, from a literary perspective, a classic decoy protagonist . After struggling to keep himself and the kingdom on a moral path for the entire novel, the only option that remains to save his family

1722-524: Is fascinating to watch Martin's characters mature and grow, particularly Stark's children, who stand at the center of the book." Noting Bran's absence in 2005's A Feast for Crows , James Poniewozik of Time wrote in his review of A Dance with Dragons (2011): Some favorite characters were MIA for eleven long years. ADWD brings them back—bastard warrior Jon Snow, exiled dragon queen Daenerys Targaryen , fugitive dwarf Tyrion Lannister and crippled, mystical Bran Stark, among others—and almost from

SECTION 20

#1732869987548

1804-411: Is finally reunited at Winterfell with Sansa and Arya, who are both concerned by Bran's knowledge about their tribulations following Ned's execution. Littlefinger gives Bran a Valyrian steel dagger (the one used by Bran's would-be assassin in season one), which Bran passes to Arya. Meera leaves Winterfell to return to Greywater Watch; Bran's indifference to her departure makes her realize that Bran "died" in

1886-642: Is injured and his men are murdered. Robert reappoints Ned as Hand and commands him to have Catelyn release Tyrion and make peace with the Lannisters. While Robert departs for a boar hunt, Ned discovers that Tywin Lannister and his forces are laying siege to the Riverlands, the homeland of his wife's house, the Tullys. He demands Tywin present himself in King's Landing and sends a force to bring his bannermen to justice. Robert

1968-416: Is killed just as Ned discovers that his three children by Cersei were actually fathered by the queen's twin, Jaime. Before Ned is able to neutralize Cersei and place Robert's brother Stannis on the throne, he is betrayed by Littlefinger , and the queen has him imprisoned for treason. Ned's eldest son Robb calls in his father's banners and marches an army south in an attempt to rescue his father. Ned makes

2050-617: Is mentioned in a flashback along with his friend Robert Baratheon and also repeatedly by other characters in the subsequent novels A Storm of Swords and A Dance with Dragons , including the surviving Stark children (who all remember him fondly), Stannis Baratheon , Jorah Mormont (who both affirm respect to his honor), House Manderly and numerous members of the Northern mountain clans (who all continue to hold great love to his name). The mountain clansmen, in particular, only join Stannis' march on

2132-443: Is now a hostage ) and Arya (who has escaped alone and is missing), Ned makes a public confession of his "treason", but the sadistic Joffrey has Ned executed anyway for his own amusement and forced Sansa to view Ned's severed head mounted on a spike . In the follow-up novel A Clash of Kings , Ned's execution sparks an all-out conflict between House Stark and House Lannister, with other houses and pretenders also joining in against

2214-423: Is played by Isaac Hempstead Wright in the television adaption of the series of books. Like the other children, Bran is aged up for television. He begins the series a 10-year-old child (3 years older than his book counterpart), and is 17 by the end of the series. Brandon "Bran" Stark is the second son and fourth child of Eddard and Catelyn Stark. He was named after his deceased uncle, Brandon. Bran receives one of

2296-475: Is portrayed as a noble hero and set up to be the heart of the story. With fifteen chapters devoted to his point of view , more than any single character in the novel, he is presented as a primary character in the series, and the main storyline of A Game of Thrones , the drama in King's Landing, is told entirely from his perspective. In the London Review of Books , John Lanchester writes that everything about Ned

2378-405: Is probably the first time a U.S. drama series has ever killed off its main character in the first season as part of its master creative plan … it's just … not done. You don't cast a star, put him on bus stops and magazine ads marketing the show, get viewers all invested in his story, and then dump him nine episodes later just because it arguably makes the story a bit more interesting. Hibberd echoed

2460-506: Is reunited with Jon when he returns to Winterfell with Daenerys Targaryen and her forces. Bran reveals to them that the Night King has reanimated Daenerys' dragon Viserion and used it to breach the Wall. Bran urges Sam to tell Jon the truth of his parentage, upon which Jon abdicates his claim in favour of Daenerys'. Jaime later arrives at Winterfell to aid in the fight against the dead, but Bran does not reveal Jaime's role in crippling him. At

2542-595: Is revealed Bran has decided to exile Jon to the Night's Watch for killing Daenerys as a compromise. As Jon leaves, he apologizes to Bran for not being there for him, but Bran responds, "You were exactly where you were supposed to be." Bran tasks himself with finding Drogon. Eddard Stark Eddard " Ned " Stark , known as The Quiet Wolf , is a fictional character in the 1996 fantasy novel A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin and Game of Thrones , HBO 's adaptation of Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. In

Bran Stark - Misplaced Pages Continue

2624-427: Is sacked, Bran, Rickon, Hodor, Osha and their direwolves head north to find his older brother Jon Snow for safety. Bran and his group encounter Jojen and Meera Reed, two siblings who aid them in their quest. Jojen shares Bran's "greensight" and tutors him in his prophetic visions. After coming close to the Wall, Osha departs with Rickon for Last Hearth (to keep him safe) while Bran insists on following his visions beyond

2706-460: Is shown several visions of the past, including Ned Stark and Howland Reed confronting Ser Arthur Dayne and Ser Gerold Hightower at the Tower of Joy, and sees how the Children of the Forest injected one of the First Men with dragonglass in a ritual to create the Night King, the first White Walker, as a defense against the other First Men. However, the Three-Eyed Raven is always quick to withdraw Bran from

2788-500: Is still infatuated with her betrothal to Prince Joffrey), and the duplicitous Littlefinger has also betrayed Ned and ordered the City Watch to arrest him instead of Cersei. With all of his entourage and guards slaughtered, Ned is charged with treason. A secret deal is struck through the spymaster Varys that Ned will be spared and sent to the penal Night's Watch if he declares Joffrey the rightful king. Fearing for his daughters Sansa (who

2870-459: Is strong willed, but a sweet and thoughtful boy, well-loved by everyone at Winterfell. Before his fall he enjoyed climbing and exploring the walls and ramparts of the castle . He grew up wanting to be a knight for the Kingsguard, but those dreams were quickly brought to an end when Bran had to face the fact that he will never walk again. He is also dutiful and tough-minded. With his dreams of being

2952-412: Is subsequently plagued by dreams of a mysterious figure beckoning him to travel north beyond the Wall . Bran's journey alongside a variety of companions lead him deeper into the lore and magic of the North , where he begins to discover various mysterious powers and abilities. Martin told Rolling Stone in 2014 that Bran's momentous chapter with Jaime and Cersei is what "hooked" many readers early in

3034-430: Is taken back to Winterfell as Stark's ward and a de facto political hostage, although the Starks have treated Theon kindly like a family member. Ned rules the North with justice and praise for nine more years before the events of the novel. At the beginning of A Game of Thrones , Ned's convoy encounter an orphaned litter of direwolf pups and he decides to allow his children to adopt them, although his men suspect

3116-459: Is the bastard son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, but Sam mentions a former High Septon's record of annulling Rhaegar's marriage to Elia Martell so that he could marry Lyanna. Bran uses greenseeing to confirm that the marriage took place, and then revisits the vision of the Tower of Joy, discovering that Jon's real name is Aegon Targaryen. Bran declares that Jon is therefore the heir to the Iron Throne. Bran

3198-459: Is the character most deeply involved in magic, and the handling of magic and sorcery and the whole supernatural aspect of the books is something I'm trying to be very careful with. So I have to watch that fairly sharply. All of which makes Bran's chapters tricky to write. Booklist cited Bran as a notable character in 1999, and the Publishers Weekly review of A Game of Thrones noted, "It

3280-417: Is the hero of the story. He's young King Arthur. We're going to follow this young boy—and then, boom: You don't expect something like that to happen to him. So that was successful [laughs]. In 2000, Martin called Bran the hardest character to write: Number one, he is the youngest of the major viewpoint characters, and kids are difficult to write about. I think the younger they are, the more difficult. Also, he

3362-412: Is to put aside his honor; he does so, but is betrayed anyway. Calling Ned's execution "shocking", The New York Times noted in 2011 that the novel was "famous for dispatching a thoroughly admirable major character with whom readers have been identifying for most of the book". In an interview for Entertainment Weekly , author George R. R. Martin commented on this misdirection: I knew it almost from

Bran Stark - Misplaced Pages Continue

3444-548: The Stormlands and another ward of Arryn's. Robert is eventually betrothed to Ned's sister Lyanna , but before he can marry her, Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen absconds with Lyanna. Ned's father and older brother Brandon go to King Aerys II Targaryen and demand that Lyanna be freed, only to be both sadistically executed by the so-called "Mad King". When King Aerys demands the killing of both Ned and Robert, Lord Arryn rises in revolt along with House Baratheon and Stark, and secures

3526-554: The season 7 finale, " The Dragon and the Wolf ", where Lyanna whispers Jon's true name to Ned - Aegon Targaryen. Bean was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television , a Scream Award for Best Fantasy Actor , and an EWwy Award for Best Actor, Drama for the role. IGN named Ned its Best TV Hero of 2011, and Bean won the Portal Award for Best Actor. Meera Reed Too Many Requests If you report this error to

3608-579: The Bolton-controlled Winterfell in honor of Ned's legacy. In A Feast for Crows , when Queen Dowager Cersei is sentenced to the walk of atonement by the Faith of the Seven , she is frequently haunted by the imaginary vision of Ned silently mocking her in the crowd. In January 2007 HBO secured the rights to adapt Martin's series for television. When the pilot went into production in 2009, one of

3690-454: The HBO adaptation, told Entertainment Weekly that when he read the novel: I was in shock. From your training in seeing so many movies and reading books, you know your hero is going to be saved ... Someone has something planned, because they're not really going to chop off his head—right up until the moment when they chopped off his head. I was shocked, and then admiring of George's ruthlessness. It's

3772-451: The Lannisters. Ned subsequently agrees to the appointment to protect Robert, and travels south to King's Landing with his daughters Sansa and Arya . Catelyn later comes to the capital in secret, under the protection of her childhood friend Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish , to tell Ned of an assassination attempt on their crippled young son Bran . Ned's longstanding mistrust of the Lannisters is further fueled by Littlefinger's confirmation that

3854-520: The Night King when he emerges. The Night King eventually breaches the castle and approaches Bran, killing Theon in the process. He is about to kill Bran, but Arya intervenes and manages to stab the Night King with the Valyrian steel dagger, eliminating the Night King as well as all the other White Walkers and undead he resurrected. Westeros is left without a ruler when, after Daenerys successfully wrests King's Landing from Cersei Lannister, she proceeds to burn

3936-502: The Three-Eyed Raven's cave. For that reason, Bran remains aloof from his siblings as well. He uses his greenseeing abilities to discover Littlefinger's betrayal of Ned. When Sansa confronts Littlefinger about his treason towards House Stark, Bran corroborates the accusations leveled against him, and Arya executes Littlefinger at Sansa's command. Samwell Tarly arrives in Winterfell and comes to visit Bran. Bran tells Sam his discovery that Jon

4018-538: The Wall. Bran and his group encounter Sam and Gilly, who try to persuade Bran not to venture beyond the Wall, but Bran claims it is his destiny and leaves through the gate with Hodor and the Reeds. During their travels beyond the Wall, Bran and his group stumble across Craster's Keep, where they are captured and held by Night's Watch mutineers, led by Karl Tanner. Night's Watchmen led by Jon eventually converge on Craster's Keep, but Locke, an agent of Roose Bolton, pretending to be

4100-514: The White Walkers several years prior but was revived by the Children. Benjen whisks the duo to safety and advises that Bran is now the Three-Eyed Raven and must learn to control his powers before the Night King attacks the Seven Kingdoms. Benjen leaves Bran and Meera at the weirwood in the Haunted Forest, as the Wall's magic prevents the dead (and therefore, Benjen) from passing it. Bran touches

4182-500: The appearance of direwolves to be a bad omen of a long, harsh winter. Later, Catelyn informs Ned that his mentor Jon Arryn, who had been serving as the Hand of the King , had died suddenly of illness, and that King Robert intends to offer Ned the position as Hand of the King. Content to be far from court intrigue, Ned is reluctant to accept the offer until he receives a letter from Arryn's widow, who believes that her husband had been poisoned by

SECTION 50

#1732869987548

4264-421: The army of wights until they overwhelm him. Bran witnesses how his warging accidentally linked Hodor's past and present mind, inducing a brain damaging seizure in young Wylis and causing him to repeat Meera's command to "hold the door" over and over, until he can only slur the word "Hodor". After the wight army catches up to them again, Bran and Meera are rescued by Bran's uncle Benjen Stark, who had been killed by

4346-416: The beginning. Not the first day, but very soon. I've said in many interviews that I like my fiction to be unpredictable. I like there to be considerable suspense. I killed Ned in the first book and it shocked a lot of people. I killed Ned because everybody thinks he's the hero and that, sure, he's going to get into trouble, but then he'll somehow get out of it. David Benioff , executive producer and writer of

4428-564: The boy's maternal parentage. Meanwhile, Catelyn has delivered Ned's son and heir, Robb , conceived on their wedding night, and Ned continues raising Jon along with his subsequent children. Six years after the end of Robert's Rebellion, Balon Greyjoy , the Lord of the Iron Islands , declares independence from the Iron Throne . Ned aids King Robert in putting down the Greyjoy Rebellion. Balon surrenders, and his sole surviving heir, Theon ,

4510-568: The chance to safely exile with her children. Before Ned can tell the king, Robert is fatally wounded while boar hunting and names Ned Protector of the Realm, to function as regent until his "son" Joffrey comes of age. Ned alters Robert's will, replacing Joffrey's name with "my rightful heir" to make the succession ambiguous. With the palace in chaos, Ned rebuffs multiple offers to increase his own power, instead opting to support Stannis as king. Cersei, however, outmaneuvers Ned due to informing by Sansa (who

4592-541: The city and murdered King Aerys and the entire Targaryen royal family. Disgusted by the dishonorable massacre and Robert's tolerance of the Lannister treachery, Ned departs in anger to lift the siege of the Baratheon stronghold Storm's End , and later attempts to rescue Lyanna, only to find her dying in "a bed of blood"; her last words are "Promise me, Ned". Ned returns to Winterfell with an infant boy Jon Snow , whom he claims to be his own bastard son but refuses to elaborate on

4674-793: The crown, leading to a major civil war later called the War of the Five Kings. After Tyrion Lannister is sent to King's Landing to salvage the political mess, he returns Ned's remains to his widow Catelyn, who sends them north to be finally laid in House Stark's ancestral crypt, but it is not confirmed whether it has ever arrived at Winterfell as the road back to the North has been cut off by Ironborn invaders. Lady Barbrey Dustin of Barrowton, who holds past grudges against Ned, later claims that she personally will never let Ned's bones to be returned and laid to rest in Winterfell's crypt if they are found on her fief. Ned

4756-445: The crypts of Winterfell, Bran and his companions emerge to find the castle in ruins. They come upon a mortally wounded Maester Luwin, who advises their traveling party to split. Osha takes Rickon in the direction of White Harbor, while Bran, Hodor, Meera , and Jojen Reed set off north to seek the three-eyed crow. Meanwhile, Bran has slowly accepted the veracity of his dreams, and his ability to psychically inhabit Summer, which makes him

4838-477: The dagger used by the would-be assassin once belonged to Tyrion Lannister . Increasingly disgusted by the political intrigues at court, Ned finally resigns his position when Robert insists on having Aerys' only surviving child, the young Daenerys Targaryen , assassinated in exile. Meanwhile, Catelyn has impulsively taken Tyrion prisoner at the Eyrie, and in retaliation Jaime Lannister attacks and seriously injures Ned in

4920-504: The episode " The Door ", Bran watches Ned bid Benjen and his father, Rickard, farewell as he departs for his fosterage at the Vale. In the following episode, " Blood of My Blood ", Bran briefly glimpses Ned's hand amongst someone's blood, revealed in the season finale, " The Winds of Winter ", as belonging to Lyanna ( Aisling Franciosi ), dying of childbirth in the tower. She makes him swear to protect her son - Jon Snow . Bran revisits this moment in

5002-424: The fact that "main character" Ned was slated to die "was a selling point for them". Noting that the network has killed off characters in other successful series, he said that this sense of jeopardy "completely ups the ante for any moment when a character is in a dire situation if you know another character didn't survive a similar situation". HBO programming president Sue Naegle concurred, saying that Ned's death made

SECTION 60

#1732869987548

5084-495: The first casting announcements was Sean Bean as the "lead" Eddard Stark. As the show premiered in 2011, the Los Angeles Times called Bean's Ned "the strong and brooding headliner of the series". As in the source novel, Ned is beheaded in the ninth episode of season 1 , " Baelor ". Though praising the character's demise for its role in propelling the story, James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly later noted that: This

5166-485: The first novel. Bran's characterization in later seasons of the show, including his relationship to the White Walkers and the Night King , has generated many theories in the fandom , as well as significant critical interest. The youngest point of view character in the novels, Bran is in the very first chapter and was set up by Martin as a young hero of the series. Mikal Gilmore of Rolling Stone noted in 2014 that

5248-420: The first season of Game of Thrones , as a child by Sebastian Croft in the sixth season, and as a young adult by Robert Aramayo in the sixth and seventh seasons. Bean was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television and a Scream Award for Best Fantasy Actor for the role. He and the rest of the cast were nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in

5330-418: The get-go that gives it a narrative edge over its companion book. Each, in his or her own way, is dealing with a question of power. Bran is seven years old at the beginning of A Game of Thrones (1996). He is the fourth child and second son of Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark of Winterfell, Hand of the King, and his wife Lady Catelyn , and has five siblings: an older brother Robb , two older sisters Sansa and Arya ,

5412-661: The intrigues of the court, Ned accepts out of duty, as well as to discover how Arryn died. Ned travels to King's Landing with his daughters Arya and Sansa , the latter of which is betrothed to Robert's eldest son, Prince Joffrey . Meanwhile, Ned's wife Catelyn has Tyrion Lannister captured, believing he was responsible for sending an assassin to kill Bran and that the Lannisters also killed Jon Arryn. Ned and Robert soon find themselves at odds regarding Daenerys Targaryen , and Ned steps down as Hand in defiance against Robert's wishes to have her killed. Soon after, Ned and his guards are attacked by Tyrion's brother Jaime Lannister ; Ned

5494-446: The kids to be the true protagonists of this story—only by sacrificing the fatherly mentor figure can our heroes come into their own. As established in A Game of Thrones , Eddard "Ned" Stark is the second son of Rickard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell . Years before the events of the novel, the quiet and shy young Ned is fostered in the Vale by Lord Jon Arryn . During this time Ned becomes close friends with Robert Baratheon , heir to

5576-554: The lords of Westeros rather than inheriting the crown. When Tyrion asks Bran if he is willing to be king, Bran replies, "Why do you think I came all this way?" The council holds a vote and all agree except for Sansa, who instead requests the North's independence. Bran agrees, being stylized as Bran the Broken, King of the Six Kingdoms. He appoints Tyrion as his Hand of the King. Later, Brienne, Bronn, Davos, and Sam form Bran's Small Council. It

5658-406: The moment in A Game of Thrones in which Jaime Lannister pushes Bran to his likely death "grabs you by the throat". Martin commented in the interview: I've had a million people tell me that was the moment that hooked them, where they said, "Well, this is just not the same story I read a million times before." Bran is the first viewpoint character. In the back of their heads, people are thinking Bran

5740-450: The series' focus proves to be the "new generation" of leaders, in particular the Stark children but also Daenerys and even Tyrion. He noted: Ned Stark doesn't die in vain ... It takes the Stark kids—who are all too young to face these responsibilities—and thrusts them into a struggle where they're forced to quickly grow as characters. Martin busts many cliches in his writing, but this move is traditional Heroes Journey stuff if you consider

5822-420: The show creatively more attractive, adding that "The book series was filled with unexpected twists and turns. I loved this idea we'd bring together the group of characters, then once you started to believe all the tropes of heroes, you pull the rug out from under them. It's the opposite of feeling manipulated". Noting that the story and world of the series is bigger than any one character, Naegle said, "Sean brings

5904-409: The show's producers' statement that "the move lays down a dramatic precedent for the show: Nobody is safe". He called it a "risky" move that would probably lose the show viewers who had tuned in for Bean, but would hopefully attract others impressed by the boldness of it. Executive producer and writer D. B. Weiss told Entertainment Weekly in 2011 that when he and Benioff pitched the series to HBO,

5986-444: The story progresses, he begins to see the importance of moral and practical compromises to achieve a just end. He is ultimately forced to choose between his family's safety and doing what is right. Sean Bean said of the character, "He's a good man trying to do his best in the middle of this corruption, he's a fish out of water, he's used to being up north in Winterfell where people are pretty straight and pragmatic, and he comes down to

6068-492: The storyline, Ned is the lord of Winterfell , an ancient fortress in the North of the fictional continent of Westeros . Though the character is established as the main character in the novel and the first season of the TV adaptation, a plot twist involving Ned near the end of the novel and the end of the first season shocked both readers of the book and viewers of the TV series. Ned is portrayed by veteran English actor Sean Bean in

6150-529: The street before he and his daughters can depart King's Landing. Visiting a wounded Ned, Robert reappoints him as Hand. Ned eventually concludes that all of Robert's heirs with his wife Cersei Lannister are illegitimate products of incest with her twin brother Jaime. Further, Ned suspects that Arryn had been poisoned to conceal the truth, as both Arryn and Robert's brother Stannis have been searching for Robert's other bastard children. In private, Ned confronts Cersei, who confesses to infidelity , and offers her

6232-607: The support of House Tully with Ned marrying Brandon's betrothed Catelyn Tully . Ned leaves for war the very next morning after his consummation with Catelyn. At the decisive Battle of the Trident, the rebels scatter the Targaryen army, with Robert killing Prince Rhaegar in single combat but being injured in the duel, so Ned takes over command and marches on the capital King's Landing . Upon arrival, Ned finds that House Lannister — who has previously posed neutrality — has already sacked

6314-408: The surrendered populace of the city, during which Cersei is also killed. Jon fails to dissuade Daenerys from further destruction and ultimately assassinates her. He is arrested. Weeks later, Tyrion Lannister proposes choosing Bran as the new king before a council of the lords and ladies of Westeros. He reasons that it would make a good story to unite the people, suggesting that future kings be elected by

6396-408: The transfer is completed the White Walkers attack the cave, killing the Three-Eyed Raven, Summer, and the Children of the Forest. Bran, still caught in the vision, wargs into Hodor through the latter's younger self (named Wylis), and he and Meera flee as Hodor carries Bran's unconscious body out of the cave. Meera carries Bran into the forest, while Hodor gives his life to hold back the cave door against

6478-416: The visions, warning that he may become trapped in them if he stays too long. Growing bored with his slow progress, Bran enters a vision on his own and witnesses the Night King in the present day, who sees Bran and marks him, making the Three-Eyed Raven's cave vulnerable to the White Walkers' magic. The Three-Eyed Raven enters Bran into another vision of Winterfell's past to impart all his knowledge, but before

6560-505: The war council before the battle against the dead, Bran explains that the Night King desires to create an endless winter and will try to kill him during the battle, due to his ability to hold humanity's collective memories. He convinces the council to let him wait in the Godswood as bait for the Night King. Theon, who has returned to Winterfell to fight the dead with his men, offers to defend Bran, and Jon and Daenerys plan to hide in wait to attack

6642-413: The weirwood and witnesses the rest of the vision of Ned Stark at the Tower of Joy. He discovers that Lyanna Stark died giving birth to Rhaegar Targaryen's son Aegon, whom Ned found and raised as Jon Snow at Lyanna's dying request. Bran returns to Winterfell, which has been rebuilt and reoccupied by the remaining Starks. Jon Snow has traveled to Dragonstone to meet with Daenerys Targaryen , after which he

6724-405: The window by Jaime to keep the incest a secret, but he survives in a coma. Although it is speculated by some characters that Jaime and Cersei pushed Bran, there were no public accusations made against the crown. While Bran remains unconscious, a fire is set at an opposite tower as a distraction while an attempt is made on his life. Catelyn, who has remained with Bran while Robb takes care of the fire,

#547452