Time-traveling in both Outlander and Game of Thrones has been in my head for the last few weeks. Until recently, only Outlander exhibited time-traveling as one of its fantasy elements. However, a recent episode of Game of Thrones, Episode 605 – “The Door,” revealed that greenseers are capable of some time-travelling. If you are not familiar with Game of Thrones, do not worry – I will be explaining some of the time-traveling dynamics. I just need to mention that this post is of a speculative nature since time-traveling is in fact pure fantasy.
In A Song of Ice and Fire, some individuals are different than the rest of the population, wargs and greenseers. A warg (or skinchanger) is somebody who can go inside any beast and inhabit it. They see and experience the world through the animal. Of course, a warg can go back to his or her body. Even though it is a good skill to have, it is not recommended to remain inside the beast for long. One may acquire characteristics of the beast. At the same time, the warg’s body needs to get nutrition too. Wargs are not common. According to the Three-Eyed Crow (the Last Greenseer), less common are greenseers:
“Only one man in a thousand is born a skinchanger,” Lord Brynden said one day, after Bran had learned to fly, “and only one skinchanger in a thousand can be a greenseer.”
The Three-Eyed Crow is training Bran Stark in his skills to become the next one. In the books, greenseers are part of the weirwoods – they become one with a “magical” tree. This connection enables them to have visions of the past, present and future. However, it is not necessary for them to be connected all the time to have visions. They can have visions at random times too. In the books, Bran has had visions of the past, present and future. TV Bran has not had any visions of the future yet. I guess the adaptation wants to avoid spoilers as much as possible. The question is whether greenseers are able to manipulate the past or the present to change the future. Two cases provide us with some information. In the books, Bran sees his father, Eddard Stark, praying in the Godswood at his home, Winterfell.
“Father.” Bran’s voice was a whisper in the wind, a rustle in the leaves.”Father, it’s me. It’s Bran. Brandon.”
Eddard Stark lifted his head and looked long at the weirdwood, frowning, but he did not speak. He cannot see me, Bran realized, despairing. . .
The TV adaptation portrays a similar situation. In Episode 603 – “Oathbreaker,” Bran calls his father by his name after Eddard finished killing the surviving members of Aerys’s Kingsguard. Eddard does listen to him and turns around to see who is calling him. However, the Last Greenseer tells him that it was probably the wind.
Up to this point, the viewer or reader perceives greenseers as ghosts. They are witnesses to many events regardless of time. Nobody can see them, or at least, that is what we are led to believe. However, greenseers present at the same event can see each other.
The following characters are with Bran hidden in a cave:
Meera Reed: Bran’s friend
Hodor: A simple-minded stableboy. He is tall and robust and says “Hodor” all the time. These physical attributes allow him to carry Bran, who cannot walk. Episode 602 – “Home,” revealed that Hodor as a teenager was shy but smart, with a normal mind. He used to engage in conversation. His real name was Willas.
The Children of the Forest: A mythical race of child-like people. They possess powerful magic. Their religion is associated with praying to the weirwoods. Humans (the First Men) used to be their enemies. However, they united to fight against the White Walkers (another race from the cold North). The Children and the First Men succeeded the first time, but they did not exterminate the White Walkers. In fact, the White Walkers have made a comeback, and they have an army of wights (zombies) at their disposal.
The Last Greenseer is training Bran for a purpose – to take his role as the Three-Eyed Crow, and to fight against the White Walkers, whose commander is the Night’s King (possibly the Great Other in the books). Episode 605 reveals that the Night’s King was originally a man, mostly likely a greenseer, who the Children of the Forest created to fight against humans. This plan backfired on them.
Bran is curious by nature, one of the reasons why he became invalid. His curiosity also leads him to connect to the weirwood and have visions without the Last Greenseer’s supervision. He sees the present, the army of wights standing still somewhere. Bran is confident that he is not perceived (a ghost) until he reaches the White Walkers. He sees the Night’s King, who establishes eye contact with him. At this moment, the whole army of wights turns around to look at Bran. Furthermore, the Night’s King touches him leaving a mark on him. Subsequently, Bran wakes up from this vision abruptly. The Three-Eyed Crow tells him that he has to leave since the Night’s King knows where they are hiding. Furthermore, the White Walkers can now bypass the magical barrier that protects the cave. To make things even worse, the Night’s King can teleport not just himself but his whole army.
Comparisons with Outlander
Rule 1: If you know the future, do not do anything to alter it.
The Last Greenseer realizes that his time has come, especially once the wights are at the cave’s entrance. He tells Bran: “The time has come for you to become me.” Bran has to be the new Three-Eyed Raven. The Last Greenseer does not do anything to change his fate. He has to die. He has probably seen his death in some of his visions. In regards to Outlander, some characters know how historical events will unfold, and they opt not to get involved. A good example is the relationship between Claire and Benedict Arnold. Claire does like him as a person, but she does not prevent him from becoming a traitor. Of course, based on her experience in trying to stop Culloden from happening, it is no longer worth in trying to change the future. There are also cases involving minor characters such as Maisri, the Seer, in Dragonfly in Amber, who always faces the dilemma in revealing the fate of individuals.
Rule 2 : Time seems to be “unilinear.” There are no alternatives. One can affect the past and the present, but the future will not change.
As the White Walkers and their wights start to get in, the Last Greenseer takes Bran to have a vision of the past. He sees his father before he leaves to the Vale to be a ward for House Arryn. Of course, young Hodor is there. Even though their lives are endangered in the cave (present), what matters at this stage is that Bran has to be in the past as a “ghost.” At the same time, Meera is trying to wake him up. She needs Bran to warg Hodor (which he has done a few times). The Last Greenseer tells Bran to listen to Meera. In fact, both Bran and the Three-Eyed Crow can listen to Meera while being in the past. Eventually, a warged Hodor transports Bran out of the cave towards a door while Bran is “dreaming” (warging or greenseeing). The Last Greenseer stays behind and is killed by the Night’s King. The Children remained fighting the wights. I think they become extinct in this battle (their precious magic backfired on them terribly bad). They knew their time was coming, but they needed to be there to allow Bran to escape.
What happens next is confusing. Bran is already out of the cave, and Meera is telling Hodor to “hold the door,” which he does. After witnessing the Last Greenseer’s disintegration into nothing in the past (he is killed in the present), Bran wargs young Hodor for the very first time. This action produces seizures in Hodor. He ends up on the ground. He starts screaming “Hold the Door!” in the past. One wonders whether he is having a vision of the future, the one in which he meets his death by holding a door. He ends up simple-minded, and the “Hold the Door!” expression becomes simplified: “Hodor.” His mind is severely affected to the point that “Hodor” is the only word he can say.
Few observations can be deduced from this incident:
- The Last Greenseer wanted Bran to be in the past to warg Hodor
- Bran has no choice but to warg Hodor. In fact, Hodor needed to be simple-minded to carry Bran, a physically handicapped teenager, from Winterfell to beyond the Wall. Furthermore, a warged Hodor saved Bran from Locke, who probably wanted to kill him or take him to Roose Bolton a few seasons back. A simple-minded person can be ordered to stay still at a particular location, holding a door, regardless of the danger surrounding him or her.
- Bran feels sad about ruining Hodor’s mind in the past, but he has to do it so that he can survive and become the next Three-Eyed Crow. He does it so that he can fight the White Walkers and save humanity. He does it for a greater good (like Jamie and Claire trying to save Scotland).
The implication of this event is that there is somebody from the future affecting someone in the past. However, it does not mean that the future will be changed. Hodor’s future is destined to be simple-minded, and to die by holding a door. Furthermore, if a greenseer can change the future, the Last Greenseer could have prevented the second coming of the White Walkers.
Of interest is how this event relates to Outlander. Roger MacKenzie always muses about time-traveling and how it relates to two religious beliefs: predestination and free will. I tend to think that these beliefs are a fact in both series. Characters do make choices, but the major events will always end in the same way, regardless of how time-travelers affect it. Of course, the element of choice lies on how they affect the past. I would like to add the following passage from one of my previous posts: Maisri’s Oddness
Throughout book 2, Jamie and Claire have risked their lives to stop a significant historical event, but their efforts are futile. Other characters, such as Otter-Tooth and Geillis, have attempted to change the past only to lose their lives in the process. In later books, Claire meets Benedict Arnold, and she likes him as a person. However, she most likely will not be able to stop him from betraying the Americans. Knowledge is power but also a curse. Of course, later books reveal that small changes can be made, especially when secondary characters are saved from dying by a healer. For example, Duncan Innes used to have a cleft lip as a newborn. If it were not for a “healer,” he would have died of malnourishment. Maisri gives another instance: she saved somebody from drowning by telling what she saw to this person’s in-law (ch. 41). Maisri’s comments about having the “sight” bring to mind Roger MacKenzie’s internal musings about predestination and free will. As a seer, Maisri can tell people what will happen and even their deaths. It is their role to do something about it, if possible. As a result, there is a combination of both predestination and choice. Claire summarizes this notion:
Doom, or save. That I cannot do. For I have no power beyond that of knowledge, no ability to bend others to my will, no way to stop them doing what they will. There is only me (ch. 41).
This passage is Claire’s thoughts after she asked Maisri what she is seeing. Maisri only sees Claire. Overall, it is possible to make small-scale changes in the past because it involves the decision of few. However, in regards to major historical events, one person cannot persuade several people to change their minds. There are many factors at play.
Overall, characters in the past have a choice – to follow or not follow the predictions of a seer or time-traveler. If they save themselves by choosing the advice of the seer or time-traveler, it is because they are predestined to survive.
In Game of Thrones, the element of choice is fully eliminated. There are more options for characters in Outlander. Bran does not have much of a choice but to warg Hodor. One wonders what would have happened if Hodor was not warged in the past. The timeline would have been a mess. It looks like Bran’s fate is predetermined. Everything that he has altered in the past has taken place in the present.
Rule 3: Do not play with magic.
In Game of Thrones, there is nothing good associated with magic. Some Children of the Forest thought that they could use magic to their advantage to fight humans. The creation of the White Walkers backfired on them. Instead of eliminating their enemies, they created a new enemy that brought extinction to them. At the same time, Bran’s curiosity and misuse of his greenseer abilities lead to the death of many of his friends. In Outlander, time-travelers have perished either trying to go through the stones or attempting to change the past (or future). People who practice the occult do not fare well. In the case of Claire, she mainly practices modern medicine in the past, and sometimes that is not seen in a positive manner. In fact, it has caused her sometimes serious problems. One wonders what will happen when she starts healing with the power of touch (emanating the blue light).
I hope this post clarifies certain unexplained things associated with changing the past or the future. Thanks for reading.