The Brandor Conundrum: Thinking about Bran’s story in ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’

Bran has always fascinated me and something that has always struck a chord with me is whether he is on the verge of becoming morally corrupt due to the influence of Bloodraven or his own choices. I understand why the debate circles around Hodor so much particularly their relationship in terms of Hodor being one of Bran’s “skins” and how they might be changing each other as a result despite the very practice being, as Haggon would tell Varamyr, “abomination”. It has been on my mind for a long time.

Thanks to Bran’s reliance on Hodor to get around we get allusions to them working in tandem early on even before the first skin-changing incident in Queenstower. It is primarily Hodor who fulfils the tasks Bran can’t do himself anymore, from getting dressed to getting about. He was a ‘gentle’ pair of hands, ‘always smelled faintly of horses’ and ‘trotted’ around Winterfell with Bran in a specially designed wicker basket, much like the special saddle Bran uses to ride Dancer. Despite being a man and ‘not a mule to be beaten’ (Bran VII, AGoT), sometimes Hodor feels like an animal companion, like a noble steed that carries the knight (a dream that Bran can no longer fulfil) and also makes up for what Bran has lost physically. This isn’t lost on Bran;

“If I still had my legs, I could beat them all.” He remembered the last time he’d held a sword in his hand, when the king had come to Winterfell. It was only a wooden sword, yet he’d knocked Prince Tommen down half a hundred times. “Ser Rodrik should teach me to use a poleaxe. If I had a poleaxe with a big long haft, Hodor could be my legs. We could be a knight together.”

– Bran VII, AGoT

As much as he could, Bran preferred to dress himself, but there were some tasks—pulling on breeches, lacing his boots—that vexed him. They went quicker with Hodor’s help. Once he had been taught to do something, he did it deftly. His hands were always gentle, though his strength was astonishing. “You could have been a knight too, I bet,” Bran told him. “If the gods hadn’t taken your wits, you would have been a great knight.”

“Hodor?” Hodor blinked at him with guileless brown eyes, eyes innocent of understanding.

“Yes,” said Bran. “Hodor.” He pointed.

– Bran II, ACoK

The second quote is, it goes without saying, loaded with more connotations than we can swing a cat at. As far as my theory goes, despite Luwin’s insistence that it will only break his heart, Bran never lets go of his secret desire to be a knight (even in ‘A Dance with Dragons’ he still laments over it), factors Hodor into his “bargaining” ways to still be a knight, and even acknowledges that Hodor has the right strength and gentleness that would make a great knight of the sorts of stories Bran enjoys. So, there are two sides to this early Bran-Hodor — the broken knight and his surrogate horse (especially after Dancer dies, he becomes Bran’s only form of transportation) and as the replacement “bottom-half”. It is all very much the prelude to what eventually happens as well as an allusion to Hodor becoming a knight or Bran-Hodor becoming a knight together.

The only way to truly allow them to become a singular knight is through Bran’s ability to skin-change. There is no denying the sinister aspects of what their relationship becomes once Bran starts actively skin-change Hodor, taking away his autonomy. Though the first time was an accident, later attempts stem from two motivations — Bran’s altruism towards his friends (one in particular but I’ll get to that later) and a personal desire to be strong again.

The Bran-Hodor skinchanging dynamic truly begins for Bran “like trying to pull a left boot on your right foot…fit all wrong, and the boot was scared too, the boot didn’t know what was happening, the boot was pushing the foot away.” (Bran IV, ASoS) yet as of his final chapter in ‘A Dance with Dragons’, as far as I can see, the process of Bran and Hodor becoming “one” (or “Bran-Hodor”) is nearing completion:

The fight has pretty much gone out of Hodor now though this is the end result of what was a long process. Their ‘struggle for dominance’ is not dissimilar to the way Jojen sees the Bran-Summer dynamic. He asks Bran to “remember who you are” (Bran VII, ACoK), as a separate being from Summer in a stern attempt to keep Bran from essentially ‘letting Summer win’. There is not only the physical risk but the mental one:

“Remember that, Bran. Remember yourself, or the wolf will consume you. When you join, it is not enough to run and hunt and howl in Summer’s skin.”

It is for me, Bran thought. He liked Summer’s skin better than his own. What good is it to be a skinchanger if you can’t wear the skin you like?

Bran I, ASoS

Here, Jojen seems to fear that Bran will become more ‘Summer’ and less ‘Bran’ as Bran forgets to consciously do things to assert himself (like scratching the trees), allowing Summer to rule what they do. This worry is not unfounded as Bran’s thoughts drift off to the desire to become the wolf again because he understandably enjoys the mobility and freedom he enjoys as Summer compared to his own crippled body. “Bran the broken. Better Bran the beastling. Was it any wonder he would sooner dream his Summer dreams, his wolf dreams?” (Bran VII, ACoK) Yet, by the start of ADwD, Bran has a greater the dominion over Summer, reminding him of their “pack” and mentally scolding him for salivating over Coldhand’s elk. There are even times when he “grew tired of being a wolf” (Bran I, ADwD), prompting him – essentially out of boredom – to slip into Hodor’s skin instead.

All this considered, it makes sense that the Bran-Hodor dynamic would mirror the Bran-Summer one. Much like he has asserted dominance over Summer, he has done so with Hodor. The likeness of Hodor to a dog in the above quote might even be to underscore their similarity, as is the boot simile. As Varamyr remembers from Haggon’s teachings, that a wolf can “even be broken” and dogs are “like putting on an old boot, its leather softened by wear” (Prologue, ADwD). Taking Hodor with such ease now is not only demonstration of Hodor having given up the fight but Bran’s growing power.

A huge black shape heaved itself up into the darkness and lurched toward the moonlight, and the fear rose up in Bran so thick that before he could even think of drawing Hodor’s sword the way he’d meant to, he found himself back on the floor again with Hodor roaring “Hodor hodor HODOR,” the way he had in the lake tower whenever the lightning flashed.

Bran IV, ASoS

It is interesting to consider whether Hodor’s fight was easier for Bran to overcome become because Hodor is “simple” or because Bran is significantly more powerful than other skinchangers such as Varamyr who also tries to take Thistle’s body. I say this because Hodor does struggle and win out against Bran in certain circumstances. The first time Hodor is skin-changed, it only lasts a few seconds with Bran barely understanding what he had done. “He had been Hodor for half a heartbeat. It scared him.” (Bran III, ASoS)  as well as the fact that Bran feels him “pushing [him] away” the second time…

It is Bran’s own fear that allows Hodor to push him out to regain control. Both are frightened and, I suppose, the home team always wins. Even in the wight skirmish outside Bloodraven’s cave, despite having a much greater hold over Hodor, Bran still loses his grip on the skin-change because seeing Leaf reminds him of Arya, invoking sadness. Again, it is not unlike Bran initially finding it difficult to stay in Summer after his injury by the wildling group. Ultimately, the calmer and more assured Bran is the more he is able to assert himself. The braver Bran becomes, the greater his hold on Hodor. The more Bran-Hodor get used to the process, the more fluid the skinchanging becomes.

What will happen if it kills me? the boy wondered. Will I be Hodor for good or all? Will I go back into Summer’s skin? Or will I just be dead?

Bran II, ADwD

It is easy also to argue that Bran’s choice to skin-change Hodor now and then on their way to Bloodraven’s cave is a cruel act because of how much it disturbs Bran yet at the same time there is no denying that through Hodor Bran is able to keep the team safer than it otherwise would be. I feel this is reinforced quite a bit in the skinchanging incident outside of Bloodraven’s cave. While struggling towards the cave, Bran hears Hodor whimpering and suddenly finds himself “not Bran, the broken boy crawling through the snow, suddenly he was Hodor halfway down the hill.” (Bran II, ADwD) It’s an interesting moment because it is ambiguous whether Bran actively chose to take control of Hodor or whether his “reaching” cave instinctively made him reach for Hodor, his ‘mount’ who could get him to the cave. Yet even then Bran does not opt to save himself. By skin-changing the meeker Hodor he saves him from the wight attacking him and then violently decapitated it with Hodor’s (the unnamed Stark King’s) longsword. “Deep inside [Bran] could hear poor Hodor whimpering still, but outside he was seven feet of fury with old iron in his hand.” (Bran II, ADwD)  He is then promptly saved in turn by Meera twice: she disables the wight attacking “Bran-Hodor” and then goes back to retrieve Bran’s buried body in the snow, protected throughout the attack by Summer. As for Bran-in-Hodor, rather than saving his own body he opts to carry the equally helpless Jojen, weakened by their long journey. Despite putting Hodor’s body through a lot, the ends justified the means — Bran’s act of bravery saved Meera, Jojen and Hodor, potentially abandoning his own body to do so.

This altruism Bran feels towards his friends is recurs throughout his plot and it seems reasonable to believe it will happen again. Yet this selflessness extends a lot more to his other companions, more so than it does to Hodor. The character it is often targeted towards is Meera. It is no secret to the reader that Bran has had a precocious infatuation with her since first meeting her. He generally enjoys her company more, admires her and takes her advice often seeming more susceptible to her ‘charm’ (of persuasion). Bran’s choice to skin-change Hodor at the Night Fort is born out of his fear of what might happen to her if she fights the ‘rat cook’ alone, thinking he “can’t let her fight the thing alone” (Bran IV, ASoS). Then in the wight skirmish, he is filled “with a sick sense of helpless terror” (Bran II, ADwD) when during the wight fight when he realises she is walking straight into the fray with unconscious Jojen in tow.

It is a little worrying as in these cases where Bran took Hodor’s skin out of necessity it can feel he puts a higher value of Meera’s life and Jojen’s life than he did his own or Hodor’s. When he skin-changes him he almost ceases to see Hodor as anything other than the soul quivering in fear in that deep place where Bran can’t reach him. Bravery aside, Bran does not hesitate to put Hodor’s body in danger as if it were his own. Hodor has become like Summer – Bran loves Summer but he sees his wolf and himself as “one”. Hodor is becoming that, too. Meera and Jojen are people separate from himself while Hodor and Summer are his vassals. Take all of this how you wish but it certainly makes me think that Bran will not only continue to take the “child-man” as a skin but he will do it at least once more in order to fight.

(As a side note, I have seen it put forward in a few threads and other places that Bran might be moving onto “better game” with his skin-changing. “She was right there, only a few feet from him, but so far out of reach it might have been a hundred leagues.” The whole in the semi-infamous campfire scene when he might have accidentally slipped his skin and “touched” Meera, prompting her to run out suddenly, might mean she’s going to work out that Bran-Hodor is a thing. Especially since I really don’t see him actually taking control of her.)

As Bran skin-changes Hodor more, I really wonder if Bran would ever able to change Hodor? Just as the wolf can change the warg (you might even argue the source of Bran’s developing bravery and more aggressive side is Summer), can the Skinchanger change the Skin? A defining aspect of Bran in contrast to Hodor is his bravery and willingness to use “their” strength” to fight when the infantile Hodor, probably with a younger mental age than Bran at this point, wouldn’t hurt a fly. Is it possible for simple Hodor to ever willingly make a brave stand without Bran forcing him to?

I’m not sure but it’s something to think about…

Wielding Dark Sister

As far as I can estimate, Dark Sister either had two fates: destroyed at Summerhall or it is still with Bloodraven and he has it in his cave. It presents the question of whether the Targaryens would allow their ancestral sword to go with him to the Night’s Watch or not especially since the reason he was there was for a crime. Yet we don’t hear about it again after him so… it is odd.

If it is around, it is in one of the two (maybe three) possible locations that to me don’t lead to either of them having the sword. While a resurrected, dreamer and skinchanger Jon or a Faceless man Arya might be considered “sorcerers”, they have their own weapons of significance. I know I’m being overly romantic here but I feel Dark Sister shouldn’t just be a cool weapon for one of our favourite characters or [insert Targ here] to swing around. I would prefer Dark Sister to fall into the hands of a character without a named “companion” sword. An unlikely wielder.

If it was destroyed or is in pieces somewhere in the Red Keep or Dorne, then if it reappears it will likely be as an all-new weapon and we won’t fully realise it.

So, let’s assume Bloodraven has it and it is still in his weirwood root cave. That gives us four possibilities for wielders, all of whom are in some ways magically inclined one way or the other. I have obsessed thought way too much a lot about the swords from the crypts of Winterfell for a long time and whether they will ever be used, like Chekhov’s gun, or used a promptly broken, leading to the need for convenient Dark Sister.

Jojen is unlikely as we have never seen him wield a weapon though we can’t rule him out in life of death situation as he is the only one of the gang unarmed. Plus, he is a type of “sorcerer” with his dreams.

Bran-via-Hodor or Hodor might make sense. However, I do feel that if Hodor’s sword were to break from him using it, he would probably just panic and curl up in a ball as he often does, so I feel it would have to be our significantly braver Bran to find an alternative weapon for them. Bran, as you said, is very much a type of sorcerer and Hodor is becoming “one of his skins”, making them more and more like one entity.

Hodor, surprisingly enough, is pretty married to this rotten old sword he took from the crypts:

“Hodor,” [Bran] said, “why don’t you go outside and train with your sword?”

The stableboy had forgotten about his sword, but now he remembered. “Hodor!” he burped. He went for his blade. They had three tomb swords taken from the crypts of Winterfell where Bran and his brother Rickon had hidden from Theon Greyjoy’s ironmen. Bran claimed his uncle Brandon’s sword, Meera the one she found upon the knees of his grandfather Lord Rickard. Hodor’s blade was much older, a huge heavy piece of iron, dull from centuries of neglect and well spotted with rust. He could swing it for hours at a time. There was a rotted tree near the tumbled stones that he had hacked half to pieces.

Bran I, ASoS

His sword is very old and rusted. Even when Barb and Theon go down to the crypts to note the four missing swords, Theon notes, “Streaks of rust remained to show where it had been.” So, it might well break not just against an Other but simply from the stress of hacking at wights to pieces. We know that whenever Bran uses Hodor’s body, he goes for Hodor’s sword, which is in the gentle giant’s belt;

A huge black shape heaved itself up into the darkness and lurched toward the moonlight, and the fear rose up in Bran so thick that before he could even think of drawing Hodor’s sword the way he’d meant to, he found himself back on the floor again with Hodor roaring “Hodor hodor HODOR,” the way he had in the lake tower whenever the lightning flashed.

– Bran IV, ASoS

Bran ripped Hodor’s longsword from his belt. Deep inside he could hear poor Hodor whimpering still, but outside he was seven feet of fury with old iron in his hand. He raised the sword and brought it down upon the dead man, grunting as the blade sheared through wet wool and rusted mail and rotted leather, biting deep into the bones and flesh beneath. “HODOR!” he bellowed, and slashed again. This time he took the wight’s head off at the neck, and for half a moment he exulted … until a pair of dead hands came groping blindly for his throat.

– Bran II, ADwD

I wonder if this sword will break sooner rather than later due to day-to-day play fighting, leading to “Hodor’s” new sword being Uncle Brandon’s sword (Bran’s), embolic of them becoming one person.

Hodor wandered through dark tunnels with a sword in his right hand and a torch in his left. Or was it Bran wandering?

No one must ever know.

– Bran III, ADwD

However, if Brandon’s sword breaks too in a crucial confrontation with an Other this could lead to “convenient Dark Sister”. It has long been a headcanon of mine that if “dragonsteel” does refer to Valyrian steel that it will be someone in Bran’s team who will demonstrate this fact. If the Other has already destroyed one, two or even all three of the crypt swords the gang brought with them, he might get a little cocky like the ones who taunt poor ol’ Waymar Royce in the beginning, only to get the shock of his life when Dark Sister is used.

Thematically, for Bran to use Dark Sister while using Hodor’s body to wield cement the dark-sorcerer aspect of that sword perfectly, especially if the use of Hodor in this conflict somehow leads to him getting seriously hurt or even dying. Using a sword that has been used for a lot of injustice and evil while doing what is arguably a dark and evil act of taking autonomy from another human being might not be totally lost on Bran.

Finally, there is Meera. Logically, she is the one who seems most likely to use the sword aside from Bran-in-Hodor. While not a sorcerer per se I have always seem the prized crannogmen abilities to “breathe mud”, “fly through trees” and have those super sensitive senses are almost supernatural. Besides, she is the daughter of a sort-of sorcerer character, Howland (his name is probably a reference to Wizard Howl from DJW’s books) who don’t have traditional greenseer abilities but, in fact, seems like a more complete version of what Meera herself might one day become.

As for “why Dark sister?” In the same way Hodor’s sword is too old, Meera’s sword – Lord Rickard Stark’s sword – seems to have never been used by her because it is far too heavy:

Meera had claimed Lord Rickard’s blade, though she complained that it was too heavy.

– Bran VII, ACoK

She always uses her slender, three-pronged spear even when fighting the wights. In a life or death situation, if her spear is broken or destroyed, Rickard’s sword will not make for a good alternative. Dark Sister, a smaller sword made for a woman’s build, is a much better alternative.

Plus, it is possible that at some point she might take the sharp, sharp sword from the unruly Hodor (or Bran-in-Hodor). This probably reading too much into it but I’ll leave this as food for thought:

The lightning flashed again, and this time the thunder came at six. “Hodor!” Hodor yelled again. “HODOR! HODOR!” He snatched up his sword, as if to fight the storm.

Jojen said, “Be quiet, Hodor. Bran, tell him not to shout. Can you get the sword away from him, Meera?”

“I can try.”

Hodor, hush,” said Bran. “Be quiet now. No more stupid hodoring. Sit down.”

“Hodor?” He gave the longsword to Meera meekly enough, but his face was a mask of confusion.

– Bran III, ASoS

In conclusion, I think both ideas of how Dark Sister could be employed in the Bran storyline if BR has it could be used in tandem. As I said, it makes sense in terms of your observations of a sorcerer – especially one using “dark arts” – wielding the weapon. Bran is destined to be the next “wizard” to succeed Bloodraven as “a wizard, dreamer… last greenseer” who himself was the last wielder of Dark Sister.

However, if his use of the sword is tied intrinsically to his use of Hodor, and that ends badly, then he might choose to give up the sword to someone more deserving and who does not conform to these images of darkness. This might be an alternative way Meera gains use of the sword. It is more suitable for her body and she is anything but dark — in many respects she is a symbol of light and love for Bran. In other words, she might be the “bright” sister to counteract the Dark Sister.

This is where my speculation from the Sorcerers and Swords thread come in.

So, to summarise, if we presume that Bran or his companions come face to face with the Others at some point then the swords the stolen from the Winterfell crypts might all end up becoming broken as Waymar Royce’s sword in the Prologue of ‘A Game of Thrones’. Leaf could equip them with dragonglass but it is just as possible that Dark Sister is somewhere in Bloodraven’s cave and will be of use to them. It has long been a headcanon of mine that if “dragonsteel” does refer to Valyrian steel that it will be someone in Bran’s team who will demonstrate this fact. To me, it thematically makes sense for Bran to use Dark Sister while using Hodor’s body to wield it.

Essentially, I want to go over the possibility of Bran-Hodor becoming “one” in the same sense that Bran is “one” with Summer; how Hodor has become (and perhaps always been) an extension of Bran, and why I ultimately feel thematically it makes sense that the Bran-Hodor skin-changing plot might culminate in them wielding fighting as one entity will one day lead directly or indirectly to Hodor’s death. In other words, the last question I’m wondering is… will losing potentially being the direct cause of Hodor’s demise cause a part of Bran to die too.