Bran

Bran’s dreams of becoming a knight of the Kingsguard were destroyed when he was pushed from the tower. As Ned points out, a boy can dream of becoming anything. Some boys dream of becoming a knight, some boys a maester, others a king. Bran’s dream of becoming a knight was not for lust of power. The king ranks higher than the knight and holds more power than him. So Bran’s aspiration toward knighthood speaks to a desire to do good deeds in the world for the sake of doing good deeds. That’s what knights are for. They rescue maidens, old men, old women and children. They mentor squires so that they may become knights themselves one day, and they swear undying loyalty to their lord and king.

With one dream destroyed, Bran is offered a different dream in its place. You will fly, the man in his dreams promises him. The cool older kids from the crannogs assign Bran the same purpose, whether he wants it or not. Travel north and meet me beneath the tree, and I will teach you. I will grant you more power than you can imagine.

There it is. Power. The thing he never really wanted. But now he’s being told to want it. And he’s getting a taste of it, too.

Bran uses Summer to escape the tragedy of his life. Being dragged, hoisted and carried around all day is miserable. It makes him feel powerless, impotent, increasingly bitter about his circumstances, and increasingly rebellious toward his caregivers.

Meera, Jojen and the Three-eyed Crow all warn Bran not to use his powers so much, but he does it anyway in secret. He risks starvation with the amount of time he spends in Summer. He skinchanges Hodor and witnesses the horrible effects it has on the stableboy. But Bran keeps doing it anyway when it’s convenient. But it’s okay, because nobody ever needs to know about it. Hodor will never tell.

I think Bran’s internal conflict is one that relates to power. A person’s true character, it might be said, is defined by what he does when nobody is watching. I’m waiting to see if Bran will be corrupted by his powers and the bitterness of a stolen future that causes him to abuse them.

I have an inexplicable gut feeling that Bran will be the one to kill Daenerys.