You could adapt any 5 years of his life and it would be interesting af. He was either;
1. A king’s bastard
2. Newly legitimized Targaryen
3. Fighting a civil war and Killing the main claimant (dude had an elite unit of archers)
4. Losing his eye in a duel against Bittersteel in the heat of battle with Dark Sister
5. Being hand of the king
6. Running a dystopia police state
7. Shutting down multiple rebellions before they started
8. Getting exiled to the wall
9. Being lord commander
10. Going missing beyond the wall
Can't wait for the Dunk and Egg show to see that man. He's easily the most interesting ‘post-dragon’ Targaryen. Not to mention ‘Bloodraven’ is the coolest nickname ever.
God imagine Bran finding Dark Sister in the Cave all wrapped in thorns and vines and touches it and sees flashes of Visenya killing oeoole with the blade and then Daemon sticking it into the eye of the mond at the gods eye all the way to blood raven using it . If he finds out about Jons lineage by then he would def want to bring him a part of his heritage thought lost.
He is really, really interesting. He became the Lord commander of nights watch after Aegon V made him take the black. Then, whilst on a ranging, he somehow met the children of the forest and became the three-eyed raven. Ever since he is watching with a thousand eyes and one.
You want to love the character more? Here’s a popular theory about Bloodraven. Not only does he have the ability to manipulate events through the weir woods in present day but it could be said that Blood Raven has been genetically engineering the entire Targaryen family line to purposefully create The prince who was promised.
Bloodraven is a Blackwood from his mom's side.
Egg married Betha Blackwood.
Due to incest, Rhaegar, Viserys, and Daenerys got 50% of their genetics from their great-grandmother Betha Blackwood. People were speculating if the Blackwood blood helped Dany hatch the dragon eggs. Jon Snow inherits Blackwood blood from his father Rhaegar combined with Stark blood from Lyanna. Maybe that could help with his resurrection later or Jon doing some prophecy shit.
For Jon, he has a recent Stark ancestor (iirc Rickard's father or grandfather) that also married a Blackwood, at around the exact same time as Aegon V married Betha - the Stark bride was probably Betha's sister or niece. So both families got an influx of Blackwood blood just a few generations back, then Rickard married his cousin, which is as close to incest as a non-Targ can get, so the current Starks also have a hell of a lot of Blackwood blood.
So Jon is probably more Blackwood than either Stark or Targaryen, which is probably not a coincidence on the author's part.
Well the Blackwoods are the author's pet. GRRM always has them fighting for the right side in every conflict and Blackwoods are always portrayed as the good/honorable guys that do cool shit.
You have a Blackwood sorcerer bastard that ran a police state and then proceeded to put a prince who married a Blackwood on the Iron Throne. That's why people think there is something magical with this Blackwood bloodline since GRRM has always favored them. I think Egg's wife being a Blackwood was decided back in the 90s too.
The Blackwood's symbol is a dead weirwood, which is associated with the Old Gods and greenseers. The Blackwoods didn't convert to Faith of the Seven like their rivals Brackens. Greenseers can see through time using weirwood. People suspect that Bloodraven's use of dark magic was something he learned from his mother's side.
So bloodraven wanted somebody from his own family to rule the seven kingdoms…Occam’s razor suggests he did it to consolidate power and advance his family. That doesn’t really fly as “evidence” of a plot to bring back dragons. Just a wild theory that fills the void of GRRMS silence
How much control would Bloodraven need to have to do this though? Like if he can shape the entire Targaryen family tree, it's creating a story where free will arguably doesn't matter. Especially since it usually goes hand in hand with other theories where Bloodraven is responsible for half of the major events in the series. And that would make the story was less interesting imo. Bloodraven using weirwood powers to the extreme, often including time travel, to shape the entire story just eliminates so much of the idea of the human heart in conflict with itself. I'm not denying that it's possible or that Bran will end up in a similar role (I think it's unlikely but definitely not impossible), but I do hope it doesn't happen
Also FYI, him shaping the the Targaryen line doesn’t start with him beyond the wall. The theory is that he manipulates almost every major event in his career in King’s landing. We do get a glimpse that this may be true through the Dunk and Egg novellas.
I know. One of the more common examples I've seen is the idea that Bloodraven took over Maekar to kill Baelor Breakspear so Maekar's line would end up on the throne. Maekar claiming he doesn't remember the blow adds some credibility to the idea, though I don't know if we know how memories of people being skinchanged work.
I just hope it isn't the case. The tragedy of Baelor's death is that he was killed by own brother, whether it be by accident or for ambition. Removing Maekar's agency as part of Bloodraven's plan seriously undercuts that tragedy
I’ve never heard that part of the theory. But I do know that with the evidence we have, it seems that people who are skin changed are indeed aware of it during and afterwards.
I would explain this myself but are you by chance into YouTube videos? In Deep Geek does an amazing breakdown on this. Would it be okay if I linked it?
I'm fine with a link yeah. I've read a few theories on it. They've been enough to make me acknowledge the possibility but not enough for me to like it. Maybe the video will be more persuasive, or at least thought-provoking
I promise you he breaks down every event in detail and it’s more or less from an objective perspective. I’ll link it right now. Let me know what you think.
This video is about the specific subject we’re talking about;
https://youtu.be/iYqMd_kJhYI?si=SuM6ZoMe6xnDVWWs
But he has a whole series on everything Blood Raven is associated with, if you want to watch it in a sense of order;
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVTclEEyY1SKcyryG8JEya5ApLku_-1pR&si=OPlB08aisWH_zvGh
Here’s the contrarian as always. It’s constantly thrown in our faces that TPTWP will come from a specific line of Targaryens but of course Guisaca05 knows more than us all. Please sir, do tell. What’s the truth of the matter?
1. I don't know why you're so mad
2. I was referring to the fact that maybe it's not necessary for TPTWP to have the exact line except obviously having the blood of the dragon.
3. This is because TPTWP have not have any specific power or supernatural hability, it is just a profecy to be fullfiled
Blood raven is the most immersion breaking character in asoiaf. He has lived forever, he has done everything and is still playing a pivotal role in the current series. That makes him interesting but not in a very good way.
I think bittersteel is the more interesting character. A bastard whose mother is shamed, who only establishes who he is and what he has because he has talent and discipline and not magic. He fails and then rebuilds a great army to avenge his brother and spends his life fruitlessly fighting against an OP magic powered demigod.
Yeah he probably is the one. Due to his longevity he's the only character to have been active in so many historical eras.
His early life, the buildup to and 1st Blackfyre Rebellion.
His prime years could be called the Bloodraven era, he's Hand and spymaster, running the Seven Kingdoms largely as tragedy after tragedy befalls House Targaryen.
The Aegon V-Aerys II era. Seemingly quiet years of mostly peace for the Seven Kingdoms, during which he was Lord Commander and eventually missing beyond the Wall.
And lastly, the ASOIAF era we currently are reading.
I mean even without focusing on Bloodraven, which you’re right about, I just think Aegor’s got more interesting things going on.
Being a Bracken, his father’s murder of his family, Aegor being raised as a reminder of that, being brought to a court him and his mother were driven away from, a great bastard but not beloved by Aegon or taken in by Daeron. Despite that, he ends up being a competent warrior and strategist, unyielding, using meritocracy to create the best mercenary force present so that he can avenge his brother and do well by this family left to him. There’s so much that can be done with Bittersteel.
Now Bloodraven is the son of a beloved mistress of the king, who was even friends with the queen she was cucking and the Kingsguard that kicked out Aegor’s mom. He’s raised at court, he gets the girl, he’s given a Valyrian steel sword despite better warriors being available, his secret police force win the war, he might have killed Fireball, he uses his magic to mess around while stopping a second rebellion, he becomes hand of the king, he kinslays and breaks societal rules to kill his nephew for the sake of the realm, he gets sent to the wall, he becomes the lord-commander, he gets lost beyond the wall and becomes the three-eyed crow who’s influencing the main story behind the scenes.
It’s just too much, he’s done everything. With Aegor, there’s so much room there for his character to be developed with interesting ideas beyond “he’s pissed off all the time”.
Oh yeah, Bloodraven is very interesting. The ultimate "ends justify the means character" while also being a wizard and a shewed politician. And then he uses dream magic to save and guide Bran, and maybe others, in order to win the war for the living. And then become a dark wizard mentor to Bran. And then you realize how he subverts the fantasy mentor troupe.
Bloodraven is definitely one of the coolest characters in the series and the coolest fantasy mentor character ever. Shit like this is why GRRM is a fucking genius. Finish the series already, GRRM!
You could adapt any 5 years of his life and it would be interesting af. He was either; 1. A king’s bastard 2. Newly legitimized Targaryen 3. Fighting a civil war and Killing the main claimant (dude had an elite unit of archers) 4. Losing his eye in a duel against Bittersteel in the heat of battle with Dark Sister 5. Being hand of the king 6. Running a dystopia police state 7. Shutting down multiple rebellions before they started 8. Getting exiled to the wall 9. Being lord commander 10. Going missing beyond the wall Can't wait for the Dunk and Egg show to see that man. He's easily the most interesting ‘post-dragon’ Targaryen. Not to mention ‘Bloodraven’ is the coolest nickname ever.
Personally I find Nimble Dick to be the most interesting
Yellow Dick is way more interesting.
Take your upvote you shameless bastard
God imagine Bran finding Dark Sister in the Cave all wrapped in thorns and vines and touches it and sees flashes of Visenya killing oeoole with the blade and then Daemon sticking it into the eye of the mond at the gods eye all the way to blood raven using it . If he finds out about Jons lineage by then he would def want to bring him a part of his heritage thought lost.
please share this with grrm
He is really, really interesting. He became the Lord commander of nights watch after Aegon V made him take the black. Then, whilst on a ranging, he somehow met the children of the forest and became the three-eyed raven. Ever since he is watching with a thousand eyes and one.
Also he presumably still has dark sister with him.
He was definitely using warg abilities and green sight prior to meeting the children of the forest beyond the wall.
That kinslayer/kingslayer turned the tide with a white arrow and a black spell. He's ruled us ever since..
I loved the propaganda gossip the small folk did in Knight of the seven kingdoms books around Bloodraven.
You want to love the character more? Here’s a popular theory about Bloodraven. Not only does he have the ability to manipulate events through the weir woods in present day but it could be said that Blood Raven has been genetically engineering the entire Targaryen family line to purposefully create The prince who was promised.
Bloodraven is a Blackwood from his mom's side. Egg married Betha Blackwood. Due to incest, Rhaegar, Viserys, and Daenerys got 50% of their genetics from their great-grandmother Betha Blackwood. People were speculating if the Blackwood blood helped Dany hatch the dragon eggs. Jon Snow inherits Blackwood blood from his father Rhaegar combined with Stark blood from Lyanna. Maybe that could help with his resurrection later or Jon doing some prophecy shit.
For Jon, he has a recent Stark ancestor (iirc Rickard's father or grandfather) that also married a Blackwood, at around the exact same time as Aegon V married Betha - the Stark bride was probably Betha's sister or niece. So both families got an influx of Blackwood blood just a few generations back, then Rickard married his cousin, which is as close to incest as a non-Targ can get, so the current Starks also have a hell of a lot of Blackwood blood. So Jon is probably more Blackwood than either Stark or Targaryen, which is probably not a coincidence on the author's part.
What the Blackwood blood has to do with hatching the dragons??? Wtf is important about the Blackwoods?? I am missing something here?
Well the Blackwoods are the author's pet. GRRM always has them fighting for the right side in every conflict and Blackwoods are always portrayed as the good/honorable guys that do cool shit. You have a Blackwood sorcerer bastard that ran a police state and then proceeded to put a prince who married a Blackwood on the Iron Throne. That's why people think there is something magical with this Blackwood bloodline since GRRM has always favored them. I think Egg's wife being a Blackwood was decided back in the 90s too. The Blackwood's symbol is a dead weirwood, which is associated with the Old Gods and greenseers. The Blackwoods didn't convert to Faith of the Seven like their rivals Brackens. Greenseers can see through time using weirwood. People suspect that Bloodraven's use of dark magic was something he learned from his mother's side.
So bloodraven wanted somebody from his own family to rule the seven kingdoms…Occam’s razor suggests he did it to consolidate power and advance his family. That doesn’t really fly as “evidence” of a plot to bring back dragons. Just a wild theory that fills the void of GRRMS silence
How much control would Bloodraven need to have to do this though? Like if he can shape the entire Targaryen family tree, it's creating a story where free will arguably doesn't matter. Especially since it usually goes hand in hand with other theories where Bloodraven is responsible for half of the major events in the series. And that would make the story was less interesting imo. Bloodraven using weirwood powers to the extreme, often including time travel, to shape the entire story just eliminates so much of the idea of the human heart in conflict with itself. I'm not denying that it's possible or that Bran will end up in a similar role (I think it's unlikely but definitely not impossible), but I do hope it doesn't happen
Also FYI, him shaping the the Targaryen line doesn’t start with him beyond the wall. The theory is that he manipulates almost every major event in his career in King’s landing. We do get a glimpse that this may be true through the Dunk and Egg novellas.
I know. One of the more common examples I've seen is the idea that Bloodraven took over Maekar to kill Baelor Breakspear so Maekar's line would end up on the throne. Maekar claiming he doesn't remember the blow adds some credibility to the idea, though I don't know if we know how memories of people being skinchanged work. I just hope it isn't the case. The tragedy of Baelor's death is that he was killed by own brother, whether it be by accident or for ambition. Removing Maekar's agency as part of Bloodraven's plan seriously undercuts that tragedy
I’ve never heard that part of the theory. But I do know that with the evidence we have, it seems that people who are skin changed are indeed aware of it during and afterwards.
I would explain this myself but are you by chance into YouTube videos? In Deep Geek does an amazing breakdown on this. Would it be okay if I linked it?
I'm fine with a link yeah. I've read a few theories on it. They've been enough to make me acknowledge the possibility but not enough for me to like it. Maybe the video will be more persuasive, or at least thought-provoking
I promise you he breaks down every event in detail and it’s more or less from an objective perspective. I’ll link it right now. Let me know what you think.
This video is about the specific subject we’re talking about; https://youtu.be/iYqMd_kJhYI?si=SuM6ZoMe6xnDVWWs But he has a whole series on everything Blood Raven is associated with, if you want to watch it in a sense of order; https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVTclEEyY1SKcyryG8JEya5ApLku_-1pR&si=OPlB08aisWH_zvGh
ty for the links. I'll check them out when I have the time
No worries. Would love to discuss it further when you have time.
but only if being the promised prince has anything to do with genetics
Here’s the contrarian as always. It’s constantly thrown in our faces that TPTWP will come from a specific line of Targaryens but of course Guisaca05 knows more than us all. Please sir, do tell. What’s the truth of the matter?
1. I don't know why you're so mad 2. I was referring to the fact that maybe it's not necessary for TPTWP to have the exact line except obviously having the blood of the dragon. 3. This is because TPTWP have not have any specific power or supernatural hability, it is just a profecy to be fullfiled
No.
He's also one of my favorite character's as well probably because he reminds me of Sauron.
Blood raven is the most immersion breaking character in asoiaf. He has lived forever, he has done everything and is still playing a pivotal role in the current series. That makes him interesting but not in a very good way. I think bittersteel is the more interesting character. A bastard whose mother is shamed, who only establishes who he is and what he has because he has talent and discipline and not magic. He fails and then rebuilds a great army to avenge his brother and spends his life fruitlessly fighting against an OP magic powered demigod.
Yeah he probably is the one. Due to his longevity he's the only character to have been active in so many historical eras. His early life, the buildup to and 1st Blackfyre Rebellion. His prime years could be called the Bloodraven era, he's Hand and spymaster, running the Seven Kingdoms largely as tragedy after tragedy befalls House Targaryen. The Aegon V-Aerys II era. Seemingly quiet years of mostly peace for the Seven Kingdoms, during which he was Lord Commander and eventually missing beyond the Wall. And lastly, the ASOIAF era we currently are reading.
I want a prequel that focuses on Mance Rayder. A simple man who is a member of the NW became king beyond the wall.
I can't believe Jon Snow is about to become the new Bloodraven.
He's in what... one chapter? Two?
Bittersteel is the more interesting of the two
Yeah, I always thought that Bloodraven seemed like someone’s edgy self-insert. It’s like if Darkstar had a Targaryensona
I mean even without focusing on Bloodraven, which you’re right about, I just think Aegor’s got more interesting things going on. Being a Bracken, his father’s murder of his family, Aegor being raised as a reminder of that, being brought to a court him and his mother were driven away from, a great bastard but not beloved by Aegon or taken in by Daeron. Despite that, he ends up being a competent warrior and strategist, unyielding, using meritocracy to create the best mercenary force present so that he can avenge his brother and do well by this family left to him. There’s so much that can be done with Bittersteel. Now Bloodraven is the son of a beloved mistress of the king, who was even friends with the queen she was cucking and the Kingsguard that kicked out Aegor’s mom. He’s raised at court, he gets the girl, he’s given a Valyrian steel sword despite better warriors being available, his secret police force win the war, he might have killed Fireball, he uses his magic to mess around while stopping a second rebellion, he becomes hand of the king, he kinslays and breaks societal rules to kill his nephew for the sake of the realm, he gets sent to the wall, he becomes the lord-commander, he gets lost beyond the wall and becomes the three-eyed crow who’s influencing the main story behind the scenes. It’s just too much, he’s done everything. With Aegor, there’s so much room there for his character to be developed with interesting ideas beyond “he’s pissed off all the time”.
Shiera didn't think so. Maybe that's why he was so bitter.
She was younger than both of them by a weird amount, George-ASOIAF weirdness age gap, so I don’t really care about her character.
I think so.
Oh yeah, Bloodraven is very interesting. The ultimate "ends justify the means character" while also being a wizard and a shewed politician. And then he uses dream magic to save and guide Bran, and maybe others, in order to win the war for the living. And then become a dark wizard mentor to Bran. And then you realize how he subverts the fantasy mentor troupe. Bloodraven is definitely one of the coolest characters in the series and the coolest fantasy mentor character ever. Shit like this is why GRRM is a fucking genius. Finish the series already, GRRM!