The Game of Thrones universe is expanding. As HBO expands the franchise based on George R. R. Martin’s fantasy world, each new series examines a new period of Westeros’ history. Programs such as House of the Dragon explore the blood-smeared history of the Targaryen family, and the newest spawn A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, explores a later phase that was full of knights and political intrigue.
Fans often expect famous Targaryen names to appear across these stories. After all, the family had been ruling Westeros for nearly three hundred years, and their influence covered several generations. However, quite intriguingly, there is only one character with Targaryen connections who ties up all ends of this growing franchise, the mysterious Three-Eyed Raven.
That is the character of Brynden Rivers, alias Bloodraven. The connection between various periods of Westeros in his story is silent and is via visions, politics, and ancient magic. Through his life as a mighty royal advisor to his subsequent incarnation as the enigmatic Three-Eyed Raven, Bloodraven connects the past, present, and future of the saga. His significance in linking the chronicle of this universe is now becoming even more evident with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms promising his presence in future seasons.
The Targaryen bastard who shaped Westeros
Brynden Rivers, or Bloodraven, was not a legitimate prince of the Targaryen, but he remained a member of this dynasty. He was the illegitimate son of King Aegon IV Targaryen and Melissa Blackwood, and he was one of the “Great Bastards” later legitimized by the king.
Bloodraven was a political figure of substantial force in Westeros, renowned for being pale and bearing a red birthmark in the shape of a raven. He was Master of Whisperers and thereafter Hand of the King, and he was also loyal to the Targaryen crown during the Blackfyre rebellions. He was punished and taken to the Night Watch after he orchestrated the death of a competitor claimant. Beyond the Wall, he later transformed into the mysterious greenseer called the Three-Eyed Raven.
How A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms completes the Bloodraven trilogy
The HBO series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set some 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones and tells the story of Ser Duncan the Tall and his young squire Egg (Aegon V Targaryen). Although the plots revolve around the journeys of a smaller scope, the political world of Westeros is still influenced by the Targaryens.
Brynden Rivers, or Bloodraven, is a strong politician in this era who was engaged in the wars that ensued after the Blackfyre Rebellions. He is not the protagonist, but his image as a clever plotter and an alleged sorcerer already surrounds him.
His appearance in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms could be somewhere between Seasons 2 and 3 of the show, connecting different eras of the Game of Thrones verse and allowing royal politics to be linked with the mystical path that eventually turns him into the Three-Eyed Raven.
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Edited by Sroban Ghosh