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Referring to this and this questions about Game of Thrones, we may (or may not) assume that there can be some relation between Stark children and Direwolfs.

In S01E01, Jaime pushes Bran Stark out of a window of a tower after which Bran goes into coma. In S01E02, Lord Stark kills Sansa's direwolf Lady. Right after that in the next scene Bran recovers from coma. Bran couldn't remember what happened at the tower or how he fell off after recovering from coma.

Are the scenes of killing Lady and the recovery of Bran from coma correlated?

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  • I don't think so, I think it was just a matter of editing things for dramatic effect, but it's an interesting question...
    – KutuluMike
    Jul 14, 2016 at 11:54
  • @KutuluMike: agree with you. As its GOT, there is at least 1% chance of something more would be possible :D
    – Uniruddh
    Jul 14, 2016 at 11:59
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    Interestingly, in the book the chapter in which Bran wakes up (Bran III) directly follows Eddard III, that ends with Ned killing Lady. Jul 14, 2016 at 12:07
  • 3
    @ChanandlerBong : your comment has increased my curiosity from 1% to 10% !!!
    – Uniruddh
    Jul 14, 2016 at 12:16
  • 1
    Dude. Spoilers. Come on. (yes, I'm joking.)
    – anon
    Jul 14, 2016 at 18:18

2 Answers 2

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tl;dr: Officially no, but we can't rule it out either.


Neither the book nor the show ever explore this idea, or even bring it up, but it's not entirely without merit. There's certainly enough circumstantial evidence to say it's possible.

For starters, the timing is very coincidental. In both the TV show (Season 1 Episode 2) and the novel (Game of Thrones), the scene/chapter of Bran waking up is placed directly after the scene/chapter of Ned killing Lady. The showrunners have been pretty free with rearranging things to suit the pacing of a TV show when needed, but chose to keep that sequence of events intact. This isn't necessarily conclusive -- it was a pretty dramatic scene change, which may be why they kept it -- but it's still interesting.

We also know that Bran's wolf sense seems to expand beyond just his own wolf. While I don't think we ever seem him warg/skinchange into any of his sibling's wolves, when he's possessing Summer he is aware of where they are: he sort-of knows what's going on with Nymeria, he recognizes that Lady is dead, and that Ghost is beyond The Wall, etc. His connection to the wolves is deeper than the other Starks' seems to be.

We also know that Bran was warged into Summer during his coma, though at the time I don't think we knew what it was, only that he seemed to be dreaming about wolves.

So, while neither the show nor the novels has never made a point to mention this idea, it's very possible that Lady's death "shocked" Bran awake when Summer sensed her disappearing from his awareness.

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  • 9
    Wasn't there also some sort of "I have felt a great disturbance in the force" type moment for Bran/Summer when the red wedding happened, in the books? Jul 14, 2016 at 12:56
  • 1
    that's also true, I believe. I'll have to go find it.
    – KutuluMike
    Jul 14, 2016 at 13:09
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I have to disagree with most of the current answer, in that "Yes, we can rule it out". I do agree that the show shot the scene for dramatic effect. However...

In the chapter that Bran awkens he is not warged into Summer. He was with the three-eyed raven, who was telling Bran he must fly. He only see the part of the interaction down on the Kingsroad

He saw his father pleading with the king, his face etched with grief. He saw Sansa crying herself to sleep at night, and he saw Arya watching in silence and holding her secrets hard in her heart. - A Game of Thrones, Chapter 16

However, right after that he then has a vision of the Free Cities, Vaes Dothrak, and Asshai.

Finally Bran finds himself seeing North of the Wall into the Lands of Always Winter. Bran is falling and the three-eyed raven is trying to get Bran to fly.

North and north and north he looked comedy the curtain of light at the end of the world, and then beyond that curtain. He looked deep into the heart of Winter, and then he cried out, afraid, and the heat of his tears burned on his cheeks.

'Now you know', the crow whispered as it sat on his shoulder. Now you know why you must live.

'Why?' Bran said, not understanding, falling, falling. Because winter is coming

Bran figures out how to fly and it seems the three-eyed raven opens Bran's third eye as well.

It took to the air, flapping its wings in his face, slowing him, blinding him. He faltered in the air as its pinions beat against his cheeks. It's being stabbed at him fiercely, and Bran felt a sudden blinding pain in the middle of his forehead, between his eyes.

'What are you doing?' He shrieked.

the crow opened its beak and cawed at him, a shrill scream of fear, and the grey mist shuttered and swirled around him and ripped away like a veil, and he saw that the crow was really a woman, a serving woman with long black hair, and he knew her from somewhere, from Winterfell, yes, that was it, he remembered her now, and then he realized that he was in Winterfell, in a bed and some chilly tower room, and the black haired woman dropped a basin of water to shatter on the floor and ran down the steps shouting, 'he's awake, he's awake, he's awake'.

So we see that it is the three-eyed raven that woke Bran. I do not feel that it could have been the killing of Lady because Bran has not even show a connection to Summer at this point.

Again, the show was going for dramatic effect, but I feel that since the show was being very faithful the source in Season 1, that an answer from the book is appropriate.

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