Bran Stark’s Impact on GoT Season 5
Bran Stark DeviantArt illustration by Someone
With the aorta punishing season five now in the books, viewers are shocked to learn that their favorite character may not return. Stabbed in the back, Bran was treated as an afterthought, as he was nowhere to be found in the popular HBO serial. Last season, Bran, the magical toddler Stark-child, was under duress until some pale ghost from Guillermo del Toro’s Devil’s Backbone rescued him. When I sent George RR Martin a message about this scene, from my hotmail account, I received no response. The finale of season four shows Bran crawling through the belly of some twisted, cavernous hole in the ground, only to arrive at the feet of the three-eyed raven (a man that’s basically an older version of Diaval, played by Sam Riley in Disney’s Maleficent). There is a scene, somewhere in the episode, where Rickon does something that no one remembers because Rickon.
During season five’s blood-specked conclusion, I expected to see Bran fighting The Mountain in a chariot, but the writers found that to be less than important, apparently. Instead, we see Stannis, morose and defeated, at the gnarled roots of a tree as he cries out for one last cigarette. Elsewhere, Theon and Sansa hurdle from the top of a castle wall and onto the wings of a capricious dragon, as they ride off to safety. And, finally, we see that the Hound is still bleeding to death at the base of a rock (I’m not sure if that scene is in this episode). After reading some information somewhere on the internet, there’s a sense that Ramsay Bolton will probably fight The Mountain at some point.
The Mountain, as seen in Season 5 episode 10
Most viewers were upset that Jon Snow was not killed off sooner, but were glad that Game of Thrones favorite, Ollie, ended up putting the sword through the gut of that miserable character. I’m hoping to see Ollie squint, wince, and purse his lips more than ever in season 6. Many Game of Thrones fans need the reviled Ramsay Bolton to be a big jerk, almost immediately, in season 6, since season 5 was so unforgivably slow for such a long period of time. And with the show’s only remaining hero, Meera Reed, there to stop him, there may be some dire consequences. With the newly resurrected Jojen Reed set to lead the white walkers, there’s much to be worried about in Winter Fell.
