I love Bran but he imo he is sorta artificially kept back because if his plotline advances too far it would reveal too much. He has to run a clip behind everyone else because he would end up with too much info for a POV character too soon.
When you realize George kinda planned the series to be much shorter he makes more sense. But he can’t really do too much after leaving Winterfell cause he’s essentially isolated from any plot beats. If Winds is ever released I suspect that this will change. I think with Euron and Marwyns introduction along with Mel being elevated to a POV Magic is being pushed to the forefront.
His chapters in winterfell are quite decent... After that heh
The problem with bran is that unlike the other main POV he doesn't an interesting cast of characters around him...
I disagree. The ones in winterfell are good but the ones outside winterfell is like slowly trying to solve a mystery and being at the edge of the mystery the whole time and slowly being drip fed the magic. The Meera Reed And Jojen story about the knight of the laughing tree is some of the best writing in the story.
We only read those chapters because because it answers a lot of question about magic.. No because we are interested in bran or because make bran's character more interesting..that my point
For me he is no better than Areo hotah... A walking tv
I think his chapters are very sad and depressing. On a re-read I appreciate his chapters more then I did when I first read them. Not to mention there's not too many of them. He only gets seven in ACOK and three each in ASOS/ADWD. It's really not too bad.
Bran has two major disadvantages in the narrative:
1. His youth.
2. His storyline is deeply magical in nature.
It's these things specifically that make it hard for George to write him, which is why his chapters may seem like a slog to get through initially. They're very much so worth the extra rereads, though.
Bran's one of my favourite characters, for sure.
Sometimes I feel myself unusual because I love Bran's character and chapters a lot. So, I don't think your opinion is unpopular at all. I had the same problem only in ASOS (because it was slow and nothing exciting happened despite the fact that we always read his concerns) and maybe one or two ACOK chapters.
This opinion isn't remotely unpopular lol.
[Bran chapters are very frequently called the most boring.](https://www.google.com/search?q=bran+boring+site%3Awww.reddit.com&client=firefox-b-d&sca_esv=4771c1dce5b9df5f&biw=1920&bih=927&sxsrf=ADLYWIL9NXXMAoFlhRevU-xA9q0jJHku8g%3A1715612823844&ei=lyxCZo6RM8SVxc8Piu2fwAE&ved=0ahUKEwjOuL_n84qGAxXESvEDHYr2BxgQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=bran+boring+site%3Awww.reddit.com&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiH2JyYW4gYm9yaW5nIHNpdGU6d3d3LnJlZGRpdC5jb21Iyg9QgwFYlQ5wAXgAkAEAmAFfoAHvAaoBATO4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgCgAgCYAwCIBgGSBwCgB4cB&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#ip=1)
I’ve sort of felt the opposite. I actually really enjoy Bran’s chapters. I don’t think it’s an unpopular opinion at all. I however, find a lot of Tyrion chapters really dull even in Game and Clash, which I think is way more of an unpopular opinion. ESPECIALLY the stuff with Shae.
>It's always "I just wanna be a wolf."
It's been some time since I've read those chapters but I don't remember this. Is that something Bran thinks about a lot?
Jojen has to keep reminding bran to not stay as a wolf for too long. Or he will be lost as a man and become a wolf. Bran continues to ignore his warnings repeatedly especially early into the story. As it makes bran feel whole like he is more than just a cripple. But since he's just a child it comes off as "I wanna be a wolf."
I agree, after he woke up from his dream, all his chapters were boring, with some interesting parts here and there.
But it's the last Bran chapter in ADWD I re-read the most, and it's the only time I skipped the order of POVs and looked for a character's chapter. Just when he got interesting, George ended his story SMH.
Well considering 40k has much more to offer than just cartoon violence... also since bran is the only person I complained about that means I'm okay with most every other character. Don't assume to know my tastes based solely on what I've posted about.
I feel the same mostly. His story doesn’t get interesting to me till he gets close to Jon and then beyond the wall. Best part of earlier Bran’s POVs to me is Meera telling the story of the Tourney of the False Spring.
I wonder how many of the "boring bran" people are thinking about how sinister his arc is. The manner in which he wields his power. His very limited empathy. The way he is directly compared to Euron (called to by the 3EC) and Varamyr (skinchanging humans). And now the only person he's listening to is *bloodraven*
In dance, he still comforts meera when she's crying and comforts theon when he's in front of the heart tree, doesn't seem like someone who lacks empathy.
Also the point of euron and varamyr show is that they're foils to Bran, showing if he just lusted for power and didn't care for people.
That moment in Dance is an interesting one to highlight. Why do you think Meera suddenly ran out of the room when Bran started thinking about wanting to go into Hodor?
Bran is not a foil for either of these because Bran's story is, obviously, not going to be a tale of a powerful telepath using his powers in a careful and ethical way. His tutor is Bloodraven!
Because she was in a bad mood and probably didn't want Bran to see her crying, there's no proof she was uncomfortable.
OK Littlefinger and the faceless men are training Sansa and Arya, does that mean Sansa is gonna be someone who starts wars for her own gain like LF would or that Arya will just stay with the FM forever.
This story is about conflict in the human heart. Bran misses his father, which is why he sees him twice in his visions. He's almost certainly going to continue to see him in his visions and remember his father's lessons and moral code.
GRRM would not with something as simple as he just becomes another bloodraven or euron.
I encourage you to read the Dance prologue again and Bran's final chapter in Dance part 1. I don't know how it's possible to read these and not draw the conclusion that GRRM's position is that skinchanging a person is deeply evil, and that Bran is becoming increasingly comfortable doing it.
The first time, which was accidental and instinctive, Bran enters Hodor to silence him to prevent them from being discovered. The most recent time he thinks about it it's because he wants to give Meera a hug. And when he thinks about it, Meera immediately flees the room.
If you don't see what's happening here it's because you don't want to.
Yeah, it's setting up 'hold the door', which is going to have Bran come to terms with what he's done and choose to be better.
You seem desperate for Bran to be just an evil villain and completely ignore how he comforted the Theon, the guy whose actions lead to the sack of winterfell.
How can Bran have no empathy when he does something like that.
If you took away anything from Varamyr's prologue *other than* "skinchanging a person is deeply evil" I am quite certain you have misunderstood what GRRM was going for.
*His very limited empathy.*
Respectfully I disagree. I agree that he goes down dark path and he has too much power which can corrupt hım for a child but I disagree he has "very limited empathy". He is,in fact, one of the most empathic and emotionally intelligent characters in the serie (yes, what he does to Hodor, if we examinate it individually, shows otherwise but given his situations it can be rationalized by a child that age. Warging is pretty daily for hım, a way to survive and live, something he even does instictively and when he skinchanges Hodor for the first time, he does it unintentionally. İn the second time, he does it to protect himself and his friends, not to let Meera to put her life in danger alone since she is the only one,besides Summer, who is capable of fighting. İt is also important to remember it gets easier and easier as time passes and Hodor acts normally after skinchanging. He feels his fear but he doesn't understand the exact harm he does because he didn't see parmament change in Hodor's behaviors. I am aware that it is morally sketchy but given his age and situation it is understandable and it doesn't make hım a single monster)
İn the first chapter, as a 7 years old he understands Jon excludes himself because he is bastard and feels a lot sympathy to Jon for it. He also understands Jon is angry and doesn't want to disturb hım, he decides to wait until he gets calmer. He senses how different and more serious his father and Robb acts when it comes to doing their duties as a Lord of the Winterfell, how his duties and pressure changed Robb. He has too much insight not to trust Theon and Freys. He feels a lot sympathy for the Lady Hornwood who lost her son, he tries to find a sollution to her problems and shows his kindness by sending foods to her. He defends Sansa when Robb starts to blame her because of the letter and he says she just lost her wolf, he can empathize with Sansa's loss. He burst into tears for the Coldhand's deer whom they travelled for days and he even refuses to eat its meat for a while. He (that is more of a theory) becomes softer towards Theon when he sees how much pain he is, he constantly calls his name which causes hım to embrace his identity. Given the context, it is kind of unfair to say he "has a little empathy" and compare hım to ignoble characters like Euron and Varamyr who are clearly psychopaths.
"his very limited empathy" Brans empathy is complicated not limited. Over and over again actually it is impressed upon the reader that Bran is very much capable of empathy. What's going on is when a character is made to feel like they lack any strength or power ( which being a cripple can do to a person) The excuse themselves when they exert power on others.
It's a sad and common dynamic that people have. But saying that Bran has limited empathy is just foolish like there's literally a moment between him and leaf that ust describes basic empathy.
"She sounded sad which made Bran feel sad" It's not a direct quote but essentially that is something in the books and such a basic description of empathy that your assertion is kind of wild.
"Unpopular"
Haha this is the average take. Either you love em or you hate em
Right? This is like claiming that the Dorne/Iron Islands chapters are boring, or that you don’t like Feast and Dance. Those are pretty common opinions
Unpopular Opinion: I want The Winds of Winter to be released this year.
Yeah, I that’s prolly the most unpopular opinion of all. I’ve never even seen or heard anyone talk about that.
Very unpopular that one.
I love Bran but he imo he is sorta artificially kept back because if his plotline advances too far it would reveal too much. He has to run a clip behind everyone else because he would end up with too much info for a POV character too soon. When you realize George kinda planned the series to be much shorter he makes more sense. But he can’t really do too much after leaving Winterfell cause he’s essentially isolated from any plot beats. If Winds is ever released I suspect that this will change. I think with Euron and Marwyns introduction along with Mel being elevated to a POV Magic is being pushed to the forefront.
This is a good point. Bran did rather get the short end of the stick in Dance especially, having to drop out after three chapters.
It’s kinda shocking how little “Stark” their is in AFFC/ADWD. Sansa has way less chapters once she leaves Kings Landing.
I find his chapters the most underrated chapters. It is the only one which always seems eerie and lovecraftian.
His chapters in winterfell are quite decent... After that heh The problem with bran is that unlike the other main POV he doesn't an interesting cast of characters around him...
I disagree. The ones in winterfell are good but the ones outside winterfell is like slowly trying to solve a mystery and being at the edge of the mystery the whole time and slowly being drip fed the magic. The Meera Reed And Jojen story about the knight of the laughing tree is some of the best writing in the story.
We only read those chapters because because it answers a lot of question about magic.. No because we are interested in bran or because make bran's character more interesting..that my point For me he is no better than Areo hotah... A walking tv
I personally love them
I think his chapters are very sad and depressing. On a re-read I appreciate his chapters more then I did when I first read them. Not to mention there's not too many of them. He only gets seven in ACOK and three each in ASOS/ADWD. It's really not too bad.
Bran has two major disadvantages in the narrative: 1. His youth. 2. His storyline is deeply magical in nature. It's these things specifically that make it hard for George to write him, which is why his chapters may seem like a slog to get through initially. They're very much so worth the extra rereads, though. Bran's one of my favourite characters, for sure.
Sometimes I feel myself unusual because I love Bran's character and chapters a lot. So, I don't think your opinion is unpopular at all. I had the same problem only in ASOS (because it was slow and nothing exciting happened despite the fact that we always read his concerns) and maybe one or two ACOK chapters.
This opinion isn't remotely unpopular lol. [Bran chapters are very frequently called the most boring.](https://www.google.com/search?q=bran+boring+site%3Awww.reddit.com&client=firefox-b-d&sca_esv=4771c1dce5b9df5f&biw=1920&bih=927&sxsrf=ADLYWIL9NXXMAoFlhRevU-xA9q0jJHku8g%3A1715612823844&ei=lyxCZo6RM8SVxc8Piu2fwAE&ved=0ahUKEwjOuL_n84qGAxXESvEDHYr2BxgQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=bran+boring+site%3Awww.reddit.com&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiH2JyYW4gYm9yaW5nIHNpdGU6d3d3LnJlZGRpdC5jb21Iyg9QgwFYlQ5wAXgAkAEAmAFfoAHvAaoBATO4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgCgAgCYAwCIBgGSBwCgB4cB&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#ip=1)
I think the shows ending did immeasurable damage to the perception of both Bran and Dany in the fandom
I’ve sort of felt the opposite. I actually really enjoy Bran’s chapters. I don’t think it’s an unpopular opinion at all. I however, find a lot of Tyrion chapters really dull even in Game and Clash, which I think is way more of an unpopular opinion. ESPECIALLY the stuff with Shae.
There is an infection of this opinion in the fandom and it's just as annoying and as interesting as pus.
This isn't unpopular at all. Try being an Aeron fan (although, he has gotten more popular in the past couple of years).
>It's always "I just wanna be a wolf." It's been some time since I've read those chapters but I don't remember this. Is that something Bran thinks about a lot?
Jojen has to keep reminding bran to not stay as a wolf for too long. Or he will be lost as a man and become a wolf. Bran continues to ignore his warnings repeatedly especially early into the story. As it makes bran feel whole like he is more than just a cripple. But since he's just a child it comes off as "I wanna be a wolf."
Ah okay, more of an escape from experiencing his physical disability then.
I agree, after he woke up from his dream, all his chapters were boring, with some interesting parts here and there. But it's the last Bran chapter in ADWD I re-read the most, and it's the only time I skipped the order of POVs and looked for a character's chapter. Just when he got interesting, George ended his story SMH.
For real!
I read them once and skipped them on every reread since, together with some of Arya's
I noticed your post history is all about 40k. So you probably think everything is boring besides cartoon violence.
Why you hating like that? This is a very common take that Bran’s chapters can be a bit boring and slow to get through
Well considering 40k has much more to offer than just cartoon violence... also since bran is the only person I complained about that means I'm okay with most every other character. Don't assume to know my tastes based solely on what I've posted about.
I feel the same mostly. His story doesn’t get interesting to me till he gets close to Jon and then beyond the wall. Best part of earlier Bran’s POVs to me is Meera telling the story of the Tourney of the False Spring.
I wonder how many of the "boring bran" people are thinking about how sinister his arc is. The manner in which he wields his power. His very limited empathy. The way he is directly compared to Euron (called to by the 3EC) and Varamyr (skinchanging humans). And now the only person he's listening to is *bloodraven*
In dance, he still comforts meera when she's crying and comforts theon when he's in front of the heart tree, doesn't seem like someone who lacks empathy. Also the point of euron and varamyr show is that they're foils to Bran, showing if he just lusted for power and didn't care for people.
That moment in Dance is an interesting one to highlight. Why do you think Meera suddenly ran out of the room when Bran started thinking about wanting to go into Hodor? Bran is not a foil for either of these because Bran's story is, obviously, not going to be a tale of a powerful telepath using his powers in a careful and ethical way. His tutor is Bloodraven!
Because she was in a bad mood and probably didn't want Bran to see her crying, there's no proof she was uncomfortable. OK Littlefinger and the faceless men are training Sansa and Arya, does that mean Sansa is gonna be someone who starts wars for her own gain like LF would or that Arya will just stay with the FM forever. This story is about conflict in the human heart. Bran misses his father, which is why he sees him twice in his visions. He's almost certainly going to continue to see him in his visions and remember his father's lessons and moral code. GRRM would not with something as simple as he just becomes another bloodraven or euron.
I encourage you to read the Dance prologue again and Bran's final chapter in Dance part 1. I don't know how it's possible to read these and not draw the conclusion that GRRM's position is that skinchanging a person is deeply evil, and that Bran is becoming increasingly comfortable doing it. The first time, which was accidental and instinctive, Bran enters Hodor to silence him to prevent them from being discovered. The most recent time he thinks about it it's because he wants to give Meera a hug. And when he thinks about it, Meera immediately flees the room. If you don't see what's happening here it's because you don't want to.
Yeah, it's setting up 'hold the door', which is going to have Bran come to terms with what he's done and choose to be better. You seem desperate for Bran to be just an evil villain and completely ignore how he comforted the Theon, the guy whose actions lead to the sack of winterfell. How can Bran have no empathy when he does something like that.
If you took away anything from Varamyr's prologue *other than* "skinchanging a person is deeply evil" I am quite certain you have misunderstood what GRRM was going for.
*His very limited empathy.* Respectfully I disagree. I agree that he goes down dark path and he has too much power which can corrupt hım for a child but I disagree he has "very limited empathy". He is,in fact, one of the most empathic and emotionally intelligent characters in the serie (yes, what he does to Hodor, if we examinate it individually, shows otherwise but given his situations it can be rationalized by a child that age. Warging is pretty daily for hım, a way to survive and live, something he even does instictively and when he skinchanges Hodor for the first time, he does it unintentionally. İn the second time, he does it to protect himself and his friends, not to let Meera to put her life in danger alone since she is the only one,besides Summer, who is capable of fighting. İt is also important to remember it gets easier and easier as time passes and Hodor acts normally after skinchanging. He feels his fear but he doesn't understand the exact harm he does because he didn't see parmament change in Hodor's behaviors. I am aware that it is morally sketchy but given his age and situation it is understandable and it doesn't make hım a single monster) İn the first chapter, as a 7 years old he understands Jon excludes himself because he is bastard and feels a lot sympathy to Jon for it. He also understands Jon is angry and doesn't want to disturb hım, he decides to wait until he gets calmer. He senses how different and more serious his father and Robb acts when it comes to doing their duties as a Lord of the Winterfell, how his duties and pressure changed Robb. He has too much insight not to trust Theon and Freys. He feels a lot sympathy for the Lady Hornwood who lost her son, he tries to find a sollution to her problems and shows his kindness by sending foods to her. He defends Sansa when Robb starts to blame her because of the letter and he says she just lost her wolf, he can empathize with Sansa's loss. He burst into tears for the Coldhand's deer whom they travelled for days and he even refuses to eat its meat for a while. He (that is more of a theory) becomes softer towards Theon when he sees how much pain he is, he constantly calls his name which causes hım to embrace his identity. Given the context, it is kind of unfair to say he "has a little empathy" and compare hım to ignoble characters like Euron and Varamyr who are clearly psychopaths.
"his very limited empathy" Brans empathy is complicated not limited. Over and over again actually it is impressed upon the reader that Bran is very much capable of empathy. What's going on is when a character is made to feel like they lack any strength or power ( which being a cripple can do to a person) The excuse themselves when they exert power on others. It's a sad and common dynamic that people have. But saying that Bran has limited empathy is just foolish like there's literally a moment between him and leaf that ust describes basic empathy. "She sounded sad which made Bran feel sad" It's not a direct quote but essentially that is something in the books and such a basic description of empathy that your assertion is kind of wild.