'Game of Thrones': Is Bran Secretly the Night King?

08/31/2017 03:31 pm EDT

WARNING: Major Spoilers ahead for Game of Thrones Season 7! Continue reading at your own risk...

The seventh season of Game of Thrones has been surrounded by fan theories on every side. However, there seems to be one theory that has stood out from the crowd, getting more attention than all the rest.

Certain evidence points to Bran Stark, now the Three-Eyed Raven, actually being the Night King. While this seems ridiculous on the surface, it actually makes a lot of sense when you start diving into it.

Now, there are two ways this theory could actually happen, so let's break them both down.

First, there are some fans who believe that Bran messed up during one of his visions, causing the Night King to retroactively gain the mind of the Three-Eyed Raven.

During one of his visions, Bran saw the Children of the Forest tie a man to a tree, and insert dragonglass into his heart. This created the White Walkers. The theory suggests that Bran tried to warg into the mind of that man so that he could save his life, keeping the White Walkers from ever being created. While Bran was in the man's mind, he was stabbed with the dragonglass and the Night King's mind was then joined with the Three-Eyed Raven's.

The second version of this theory is much different, and involves Bran's actions in the future, rather than the past.

Some fans believe that the Song of Ice and Fire is actually referring to the balance that the world has to keep in order to move forward. This theory suggests that the Night King isn't actually evil, but that he's just fulfilling his purpose by matching fire with ice.

See, when Daenerys gave birth to her dragons it created an imbalance between the two. Dany's conquest, paired with the growth of her dragons, sent the Night King's actions into motion.

Bran knows basically everything, and he's become somewhat cold over the last couple of seasons. This leads people to believe that he has actually learned the secrets of fire and ice, and that he's controlling the Night King in order to make sure the balance is achieved. He essentially knows that the world will crumble without the correct balance, so he's in charge of getting the job done.

Both of these theories have some solid ground to stand on, but most fans are hoping they aren't true. Bran could be the key to stopping the Night King, so Jon Snow will need him on his side.

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