Who Is The Bloodraven, AKA Brynden Rivers?

The phrases of Home /Movie are Fireplace, Blood, and Spoilers. Warning: This text discusses main occasions from the season 2 finale of “Home of the Dragon.”

What number of Targaryens does it take to persuade Workforce Black’s greatest wildcard to easily assist his spouse? It is no fault of Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) that she could not do that on her personal, given her husband Daemon’s (Matt Smith) obnoxious ambitions to seize energy for himself, however fortunately an surprising ally in Harrenhal swooped in to get our favourite rogue prince again on observe. The secretive Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) has been messing with Daemon’s head for virtually everything of season 2 up to now and it has been closely implied she’s chargeable for all of the hallucinations and goals which have plagued the Targaryen and given us a number of surprising shock cameos, equivalent to younger Rhaenyra performed by Milly Alcock and even the return of Paddy Considine’s King Viserys in latest episodes. However each of these pale compared to one surprising look of one other Targaryen throughout Daemon’s newest imaginative and prescient — and it is not the one you are pondering of.

The Daenerys Targaryen tease deserves a breakdown all to itself, however an much more surprising shock comes early on within the dream sequence. The very first thing Daemon sees after touching the paranormal weirwood tree is a hidden determine who virtually seems to be rising out of one other weirwood tree. That is adopted by a three-eyed raven flying away, and those that’ve watched “Sport of Thrones,” together with e-book readers who’ve finished their homework on creator George R.R. Martin’s “A Track of Ice and Fireplace” novels, could have a reasonably good thought of who that is speculated to be: Bryden “Bloodraven” Rivers, who might have been the mysterious man calling himself the Three-Eyed Raven that we met in “Thrones.”

Large information for essentially the most annoying particular person you already know (“A Track of Ice and Fireplace” lore fans like myself): Brynden Rivers has lastly been depicted on-screen and that is an enormous deal. In Westerosi historical past as laid down by George R.R. Martin within the companion e-book “The World of Ice & Fireplace,” this legitimized bastard son of King Aegon IV Targaryen (generally often called “Aegon the Unworthy” as a result of, nicely, he was just about the worst king to ever sit the Iron Throne) performs an enormous function in world occasions — although, apparently sufficient, he is not truly born till a long time after the Dance of the Dragons as depicted in “Home of the Dragon.” So, between him and Dany, Daemon sees visions of two future main Targaryen figures who do not but exist.

However Brynden, who’s described by Martin as basically an albino with a “winestain” birthmark on his face roughly within the form and colour of a bloodied raven (therefore his nickname), looms massive within the historical past books. He would ultimately take part in his personal Targaryen civil struggle down the road, often called the Blackfyre Riot, and dealt the decisive blow to finish the battle for good. He went on to function Hand of the King, however his prior actions would end in his exile to the freezing Wall within the far North and his becoming a member of the Night time’s Watch. After ascending to the place of Lord Commander, nonetheless, Bloodraven disappeared past the Wall and was by no means seen once more … till, the fan-theory goes, Bran Stark and his pals bumped into a person calling himself the Three-Eyed Raven (performed by Max Von Sydow in “Sport of Thrones”) who, within the books, admits that his true title is Brynden.

The plot thickens!

If there’s one factor this Daemon subplot tells us, it is that one needs to be cautious when within the presence of weirwood bushes and the enigmatic weirdos hanging round them. Daemon’s removed from the primary particular person in Westeros to study this the onerous method, as Bran the Damaged (he has essentially the most fascinating story ever instructed, do not you already know!) would go on to turn into a greenseer who was able to utilizing this huge community of bushes to journey by way of time and spy on essentially the most vital historic occasions in all the Seven Kingdoms. He solely did so with the assistance of his mentor, the Three-Eyed Raven, and one of many greatest theories amongst “A Track of Ice and Fireplace” followers has all the time been that he and Bloodraven are, the truth is, one and the identical.

This cameo in “Home of the Dragon” is not only a enjoyable nugget to throw at e-book nerds, nonetheless. Throughout the course of Brynden’s travels, he crosses paths with a sure knight by the title of Ser Duncan the Tall, who escorts him to exile on the Wall — the exact same Duncan who’s the primary character of the upcoming spinoff sequence, “The Hedge Knight.” Within the official canon, that is little greater than the briefest of interactions … however would not this upcoming present be an ideal alternative to develop past the pages and lay much more groundwork for the Bloodraven’s legendary exploits? The fan-favorite character may simply function the lead of his personal present altogether, however maybe some extra connectivity between “Home of the Dragon” and “The Hedge Knight” may very well be the following smartest thing.

All eight episodes of “Home of the Dragon” season 2 at the moment are streaming on Max.