Hidden Clues in Old Nan Stories | She knows about Bran Stark | A Song of Ice and Fire Theory 

I love old Nan. She has such little screen time in the books, but she has a huge influence. Every Stark mention her in their chapters, you can tell that she's a big part of their up bringing and was very involved in raising them. She's so well revered by the Starks that even though she's retired they let her stay and live in Winterfell, even Sansa and John seem to remember her and her stories fondly. Sadly I do believe she's dead, I know she was taken to the Dreadfort and I don't think she would survive that place.

- _"... before me and after me."_ It's a good opening line, but still a little detached from the audience. - _"Before you too."_ The best storytellers know how to draw their audience into the tale.

I've always thought there were many secrets in old Nan's stories! I'd love to read a book filled with just her stories, called "Short Stories by Nan" .

I am suprised that you didn't point out the fact that when Arya was at Harenhall she thought of Old Nans story about genies who granted three wishes. The first wish was always a test the second one was always a mistake and the third one was the deciding one. The only one that matters. In the third and final wish either the genie killed the human by twisting their words or a human outsmarted and tricked the genie. Old Nan never said how they outsmarted the genies though only that they were very clever about it. So she decided to be clever about it. That is the day she tricked Jaquen H'ghar and he decided to spare her life and give her an iron coin to go to Braavos. Also she was called Nan at the time she was at Harenhall so that might bring another layer to all of this too. In short, Old Nan's stories are real and there is plenty of evidence to prove it

"And before you too." This could be interpreted as the stories being ahead of Bran, rather than behind him, as if he has a part to play in them.

Old Nan is so old, she sees time almost like a Weirwood. That's why all the Brans meld into one, the way Bran can see thousands of years in one spot and moment from the eyes of a Weirwood.

She is my favorite minor character she's got all the tea. She's definitely older than we think she definitely knows the know about the starks and about the nights king and maybe even jon. Old Nan is a huge key in figuring out the mystery that is the vast north. I love this part of grrm's writing getting the history and lore through the stories of the minor characters

I know a story about a boy who hates stories... "Old naan"

That makes sense why the north remembers Cause they really forgot what to remember

“Immmmm every Brandon they’re all in meeeee” (to the tune of Every Woman)

Old Nan is a greenseer placed in Winterfell by the three eyed raven and the children of the forest to guide Bran.

You should teach a class in GOT lol ! I learn more from you than anyone.

The red comet is the return of magic id say then the return of dragons, they seem to be intrinsically linked

This theory is not tinfoily to me at all. The 'before you too' is very telling. Well spotted Gray!

Great video! Note how Bran liked to be in high places, above everyone, where no one could see him but he could see everything. Before he even fell this is how he was. Also I wonder if all the Bran the Builder stuff isn't all about the future. Storm's End, High Tower, the Wall, and Winterfell are all at risk of soon being destroyed. What a coincidence. Maybe the stories were about king Bran rebuilding them all after the Long Night, and there was never another long night before, it's the first one coming, but people confused the visions of the future with stories of the past.

Old nan confusing Bran with other Brandons .. I think there is much more in this line than it seems at first sight

I needed this juice, girl! I was dry af on lore!

There is an interesting scene where Bran's party camp out at the Nightfort. Bran wakes in the middle of the night hearing noises, and he starts imagining all sorts of supernatural horrors that are closing in on him. He recalls Naan's tale of the Rat Cook and imagines a swarm of rats coming for them all. Then he starts to hear sounds emanating from the staircase below and on the roof. When the rest of the party awaken, Bran is relieved that his imagined, supernatural horrors had perfectly, logical explanations. It was his direwolf, into whom he can warg. And it is Sam, Gilly, and the baby coming up stairs after passing through a magical, talking door; and they were helped by Bran's dead Uncle Benjen (a.k.a. Coldhands) who was killed by the Others but was reanimated--and rides around on an elk. Nope--no magic here.

I like this theory a lot. Doesn't seem tinfoil at all. Old Nan is one of the characters I'm most looking forward to seeing again in Winds. As I recall, the last we hear of her is that she's being held captive at the Dreadfort, then in ADWD Theon thinks she's probably dead. Seems to me George is queuing up an epic return🤷‍♀️.

Hello Lady Gray! I always thought that Old Nan had the real juice! I hope that we'll get her back because her stories are true!

Juice Time!!!!!!!

I just love a framing narrative! Old Nan is so much fun. I really want to believe she is Rohanne Webber weaving a spider's web with those clicking needles. Probably not though...

Interesting. Nan saying, "... Before me. Before you." Is exceedingly strange. I never noticed it before. I have never subscribed to the time traveling Bran theories. However, what you have proposed here makes a lot of sense within the story. Great catch @GrayArea

Ok you just blew my mind with the Brandon/Brynden deal. This is what got me hooked on GOT youtube videos. I guess it was Nan's stories and the legends. It was GOT's history, not the present, I found so interesting. I've never read the books. I have them, but I have ADHD and I have a hard time sitting down to read them, especially since I've seen the show first, and it's different, and usually you like best what you see first,,at least in my case. All I can say is more! More! More! Do more like this, please.

WHAT?!?!?! "broken boys will grow up to be knights" ... Wait a minute... did he just tell us that Bran will become ... the KNIGHT KING. I'll keep listening just barely got to the 2 min mark and this hit me!!!

If you take Nan saying "the stories are before me, and after me. They're before you too." Could be taken literally, 'before' can also mean in front ie 'I stand before you'. Also notice how she doesn't say and after about bran, tinfoil but I believe it could mean that she IS a story in herself( a story *before* bran) , which you could argue is very true considering the history we know of her, & after could mean that the story continues even when she's gone. BUT when she speaks about bran, who IS a story before her she doesn't mention an after, which I interprete to mean Bran IS the end of the story, and we know he does become king, so considering the series is called a SONG of Ice and Fire GRRM has said multiple times that a song in this context is a STORY, means to me that Bran is the end of A Song(story) of Ice & Fire, and there is no after Bran. Hopefully that makes sense?

Your voice is so soothing. I can listen all day. I'm wandering if the old lady ever hinted at Bran being evil? There are theories. Bran has never really helped or saved anyone but now sits the iron throne. I remember LF saying, "that is true power." Bran knows everything.

omg the other day it just popped in my head, how brynden is so close to brandon. agree with everything 100% love your channel.

I wasn't in until the Brendan, instead of Brandon and then the fact the next 2 Brandons die prematurely( not counting Ned's brother, honestly I think he's a brute and isn't THE Bran) and look! Already thinking in those terms! Great Job!!!

Old Nan is a secret green seer

@10:00 her old age makes her a prime candidate for dimentia, also u can have dimentia and only have certain things be affected(like blending all the brandon starks) and still seem otherwise normal. There are levels to that

Very thorough analysis of a mysterious minor yet very important character. Great job.

Not out there at all, terrific analysis. I can never get enough Old Nan, one of my favorite characters because you -know- she has the goods!

Whomever sits the Iron Throne in the end shall peel their faceless man's mask away to reveal the true mastermind - OLD NAN

Do you think Nan has a secret identity? I've heard that she is Shiera Seastar and that she is helping Bloodraven get Bran

I love Old Nan, I think she is like a lot of old people, cannot remember what she had for breakfast, but remembers things from the past, mostly just random but some incredibly important.

This, Gray!! This is why I follow you! ❤️ I’m so happy when you post something like this, with just your voice, and your insight. You are so talented and have the coolest voice. I would buy Game of Thrones audiobooks if you read them! 😀 Thank you for this content!

This is incredibly awesome. Bran and Dark Sister. Yes. Thanks for this...I always felt Nan was important. It also makes sense that she is a female domestic worker, whose voice is of course ignored in the "official history" but whose words hold more truth than those histories ever will.

Theory expansion suggestion: the Brans given to the Children by the Starks were either Greenseers or White Walkers. (Or the Night's King - but in book cannon there is no evidence of a White Walker "leader" so far.)

Keep making videos about Old Nan. She is the best story teller!

Love that you’re still around talking about the books/show and asking the deeper questions. I was one of the people who was so disappointed with the HBO ending. It left so much unanswered and went totally against my intuition, even though I was prepared for an unhappy ending. I wonder if George R. R. Martin has just abandoned it altogether...?

Come over here after watching the Bran direwolf city video. Woah that’s a lot of juice! Loving that your content is keeping love for ASOIAF alive because I’ve been so pissed off with the show. Anyhoo I agree that Blood Raven is like Loki the Trickster. I believe BR has tricked the reeds and Bran to going north in order to plant the seed that Bran’s a greenseer (which he is but I think Greenseers are actually the Weirwoods and those they deem worthy they share their knowledge with like Yggdrasil and Odin in Norse mythology) I think Blood Raven is the true Big Bad and that he needed to trick the reeds to come with Bran for 2 reasons, so Jojen could be the blood sacrifice and Meera his aid getting out of the cave when he ultimately body jumps Bran to free himself from the Weirwood that has actually tied him up to keep him from the world. Once free he will use his influence on those fighting the wars in Westeros, he’ll wait while Dany and Aegon fight until one is killed he then has the means to body jump either Jon or Dany to claim the right to the throne (possibly Dany so that Bran has to tell Jon that he needs to destroy her to fulfill the Nissa Nissa prophecy) but before this Bran will take control of the white walkers or work with them to fight against BR (like Odin is able to wake the dead and also in LOTR with the rightful king and the army of the dead) that is why Bran is the true ruler but not in a King way more in a balance of nature and magic way. I don’t see him sitting the throne in Kings Landing his throne will be the tree because of his sacrifice to be a guardian. I love puzzling out where the story’s going to take us but fuck me what were Dan and Dave serving up?! 🤦‍♀️

🤔. I think one of those stories is just a combination of Icarus flying too high and the fate of the Titan Prometheus

Perfect way to start the beginning of the weekend! Love me some Old Nan and all her scary, magical stories 😊 thank you Lady Gray!!!!

Gray Area!!!

Really like _this_ analysis. I think The red comet is an invert of Wittgenstein’s story of The Beetle in The Box.

I like the idea of him being reborn every so often. I’m kind of obsessed with reincarnation stories though. The real life instances are really fascinating to me

Bless you, child. For you really have returneth. Now THIS is the juice 🧃 spiked with the good stuff!!!! 🍸

I wouldnt call it a tinfoil theory, but its definately one that lacks evidence currently. I think we will get a lot fo the needed evidence in WoW tho

I enjoy your posts so much! You convey thoughts and ideas in such a clear way. Cheers!!!

You never cease to blow me away with your theories Gray!! Another amazing job ❤🔥🐲

First off. Bran went into the cave of the 3 eyed Raven, but never came out. What came out of that cave is far older than mankind, and even older than the children of the forest. It also HATES humanity and isn't done with Westeros.

GA!!!

You posted this at the perfect time. Thank you!

Granny always knows best.

Nan is Leaf.. and when you figure it out you also know she was there during the dance of dragons.

I’m getting your book TODAY!! More juice 🤗

Great storyteller easy to listen to will be listening more thanka

Your analysis is so cool. It's text and myth based, but not unhinged (like so many out there). Thank you for that content.

I LOVE this video! Old Nan is beyond awesome. And it think this is just the right amount of tinfoil. 😘

There was just one Bran in all the lores because "Bran" is always a greenseer "wed to the trees". "Bran" is the sentient weirwoods warged into a greenseer. The Knight of the Laughing Tree was a tree warged into Howland Reed. The weirwoods built the wall, hence the reason Queen Alysanne's dragon could not fly north. The weirwoods built Storm's End to protect the weirwood heart tree to act as a sentinel for those in the north. There is no magic, but there is science fiction in this post-apocalyptical world where the first men crawled out of nuclear winter fall out shelters, (shortened to "winter fell"). Over the thousands of years of immense radiation, some humans became wargs, others evolved to smaller forest creatures, some became "strange, beautiful" creatures of winter, and some amphibians grew wings and spat fire. We have telekinesis, telepathy, and evolution, but no magic.

I love this idea and It makes sense, I wonder if Brandon was meant to go North if he had Raven Dreams as well Also, where is Old Nan and if we ever see her again? I would love a Bran Old Nan reunion

I IRL laughed at "loose from the cootch". Really love your voice and accent!

I think the crow pecking away his sight is the three eyed crow open his third eye.

I love the video and all of your ideas, the Old Nan stories always seemed like the big plot points being discussed to me as well. I was curious as to the Tony video you mentioned at 13:28, about Brandon and his companions. What is the channel name or video in discussion? i'm a huge follower of @indeepgeek and am new to your page but just subscribed and thank you again for this awesome content!!

You are quite the sleuth. I always enjoy your content.

There is without a doubt a theme of a cycle in the story, that’s also heavily tied in with the cycle of the seasons. Magic dies out as the North and specifically the Stark’s forget their history and ties to the children and the magic of the old gods. The Dragons begin to wither and eventually die out after the Doom of Valryia. Then after the last dragon dies the Targaryen dynasty begins to weaken eventually crumbling and the seven kingdoms are in my opinion beginning to separate. This kind of ending the cycle started by the first long knight, doom of Valryia, and Aegons conquest. And so the new cycle begins and my theory is it starts with the birth of Jon and Dany, which triggers the birth of Bran and the return of magic. So you’re theory isn’t tin foil at all it very could be the rebirth of Bran. I also believe that out of all the story tellers who tell tales of prophecy and the past, the Nan is the most reliable. The fact that George writes her as a crazy old lady who everyone dismisses so easily plays into the irony George loves to create.

I tend to agree with 99% of what you say so yessssss to all of this! I can’t wait for TWOW

Nan knows what's up

Old nan specifically did not say that the stories were after bran, only before. That makes me think she knows that he is the last.

Old Nan’s stories are always on the money

This was such a fun watch

Yeahhhhhh get it girl. Love these vids.

Gray, I have been a fan for a long time. Your voice just instantly improves my mood. You have only gotten better over the years. Your analysis is insightful. You are Kind and professional to people on the podcast. I hope you get rich doing this.

Yes Grey!!! Listening on my way to work. 🤘🏼

I think Old Nan is hinting that the 'stories" she tells are actually history, not fables.

This juice was TOO good!!!

So glad you didn't say that Bloodraven is the three-eyed crow, that infuriates me. Bran gets no more crow visions once he goes north of the wall, and Bloodraven doesn't recognize the phrase at all.

Glory be the day when WoW is released!!!

She might have meant they are before him as in a path that is before someone - not saying he is older, but that all these stories are going to come back around and he needs to be prepared

Yes! 🔥🐉🐉🐉 I can listen to you talk for hours.

Loving the juice Gray❤❤

🧃old Nan passes the vibe check 👏🏽

❤Old Nan. I demand an Old Nan series!

I think it’s really interesting that you say the north forgot because one of their sayings is the north remembers and maybe just maybe that’s why?

I love that you don't deny coarse language.

I love listening to you share your essays on SoIaF. Live streams are distracting, lol! I'm glad we have one awesome writer/speaker bringing us the juice!

I love your ASOIAF videos!

Old Nan!! From FL with love Gray ❄🐺 ⚔ ♥

I just love you .. you have been getting me though my GOT withdrawals 😭😭😭 .. my family can’t take me seriously at this point they just don’t feel my pain 😔

I love this chick's voice haha I could listen to the tonfoil weaving for hours haha

Gray Lady returns

There are definitely reoccurring archetypes in Georgia's story but I don't think it's anything more than that. You said it yourself, the Bran of our story doesn't like the same stories as other Brans that old Nan has looked after Though I do agree the legends a Bran the builder are sus, but maybe that's because he was ½ childhood of the forest or something, and has an extended life span 🤷🏼‍♂️ Whatever the case, I enjoyed the video as I do all of your work : )

This is the first time I’ve listened to you since got ended

Old Nan needs to make a comeback in Winds of Winter ❄️! I love Old Nan! Imagine Old Nan speaking to The Dragon Queen Daenerys Targaryen when she gets to Winterfell? I smelled your dragons when they were born your Grace as her needles go click click click?

Great theory. Cool vid, thanks

This is amazing! I'm at the end of the video and already I wanna watch again hahahaha!

I think you're right. But did she come for Bran just to get his mind focusing and maybe doing some pre-memory recognition, or what? Like why, how, and who? And does it all tie together?

So all happened because starks neglected to keep a few brandons alive.... if push comes to it, they could have named all boys brandon (brandon the first, second, junior, septimus, octavius, etc.....) i mean there is bound to happen a few brandons alive that way. (Maybe call a few girls brandoneess too. worked for valerians. Arya could have made quite a mean brandoneess i think. a Winters Queen Arya! if you will.)

Winds of Winter ❄️ is almost done! It's going 2 be the longest book on the series bigger than A Storm of Swords ⚔️! That tells me that Rhaegal, Viserion and Drogon will be much bigger than the show ones. I hope her character doesn't die but I get Queen Rhaella vibes!