Games of Thrones season 6, episode 6: What Bran's latest visions mean – and why they matter

What his latest set of visions mean - and what they could potentially spell both for Westeros' past and its future

Clarisse Loughrey
Monday 30 May 2016 08:11 BST
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*CAUTION: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR GAME OF THRONES SEASON 6, EPISODE 6*

Though the latest episode of Game of Thrones may have appeared a little on the tame, slow-moving side; there's still certainly a few shocks and revelations to be found, for those with beady eyes and a working pause button on their remote.

The previous episode had seen Bran launched into a series of visions of Winterfell, after Bloodraven told him it was time for Bran to become the Three-Eyed Raven himself; with this episode seeing Bran still trapped within those same visions (screenshots via Tech Insider).

Significantly, we were given our first glimpse at the Mad King Aerys Targaryen, father to Daenerys; in a flashback which saw his death at the hands of Jaime Lannister during the sack of King's Landing 20 years ago.

Jaime killed the Mad King in order to save the people of King's Landing, after Aerys threatened to "burn them all" with wildfire; though, because only Jaime was witness to his madness, it was an event that tarred him with his reputation for dishonour.

Bran also saw the preparation of wildfire taking place, a liquid that will never stop burning once it's ignited; previously used by Tyrion to defeat Stannis at the Battle of Blackwater.

Here, however, is where past appears to shift into future; we see the wildfire explode, and rip through King's Landing. This can't be a flashback to the Mad King, as Jaime killed him before his order was carried out, leading to the question of - who will set off the wildfire?

Game of Thrones - Season 6 Episode 7 Preview

It could be Daenerys, and her dragons; but the most likely candidate here is Cersei, who could be looking to use wildfire to defeat the High Sparrow and his cohorts.

Then, a very intriguing shot; a bloodied hand and a woman's torso. The fact this immediately cuts back to Ned Stark asking, "Where's my sister?", would appear to suggest this is indeed from the Tower of Joy scene; making the woman Lyanna, dying after giving birth.

Bran also saw flashbacks of the deaths he'd witnessed himself, including the murder of Catelyn Stark at the Red Wedding; is this an indication that even more death is in the air? Probably; this is Game of Thrones, after all.

The vision did seem to be connecting both House Stark and House Targaryen; with glimpses of Daenerys, and the image of a flying dragon which may (or may not be) Drogon.

What's most intriguing, however, is a shot of a dragon shadow over the burnt, wrecked rooftops of King's Landing. Is this a glimpse of Daenerys' arrival into the city?

Tie that into the heavy involvement of White Walkers in Bran's vision, with a flashback to the moment the Night's King turned a human baby into one of his own, reaffirming exactly how formdiable a foe these creatures are.

So how does this all work together? It's difficult to tell, but the link between the Targaryens and the Starks as both sides of "Fire and Ice" may suggest that it is only together that they can defeat the Night's King and return some sense of stability to the lands.

And if the theories are true, the one place Targaryen blood and Stark blood may meet is within the veins of a certain Jon Snow.

Game of Thrones airs on Sunday nights in the US, at 9PM on HBO; and will be simulcast at 2AM on Sky Atlantic in the UK.

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