Fan Theory: Could 'Game Of Thrones' Season 7 Be Just One Massive Series Of Visions?

For many, Game of Thrones has been a refreshing addition to their television watching experience, and Season 7 has given fans plenty to be excited about: Jon's heritage revelation, the Starks reunited, Gendry's return and of course a sky filled with dragons. Yet there's been one consistent complaint since the show's return earlier this year — the timeline. For some fans, it's baffling how quickly everything is unfolding in Season 7, but perhaps there's a certain Stark child to blame for the continuity of each episode: Bran, the newly dubbed Three-Eyed Raven.

In the first five episodes of Season 7, #GameofThrones fans have been thrown for a loop at how quickly events are unfolding. In the first six seasons, we arduously watched Arya journey for months from King's Landing to Braavos. We witnessed the long journey for Daenerys to even reach the Narrow Sea (let alone cross it), we followed Bran for eternity as he traveled towards the Wall. Every event seemed realistic in terms of continuity, yet Season 7 seems to have changed everything. Hell, it seems like suddenly the entirety of Westeros has access to Doctor Who's Tardis and can teleport from one time to another in an instant.

For example, in the last episode we saw Ser Davos travel from Dragonstone to Flea Bottom to get Gendry; then back to Dragonstone; then by sea they venture to Eastwatch to go beyond the Wall. All this in an hour long episode seems rather preposterous by comparison to previous seasons.

Some fans chalk this up to the Game of Thrones team trying to rush the story since there are less than 10 episodes remaining and a lot of ground to cover. It makes sense for the series to wrap things up fairly quickly, but what if there is one particular character responsible for the change of pace?

How Is Bran Stark Responsible For The Story Pacing?

In the original George R.R. Martin book series — A Song of Ice and Fire — each character's storyline is narrated, but in Game of Thrones there is no narration. Much like any other dramatic #TV show, we watch from an omniscient perspective, jumping from one plot to another with relative ease. In the #HBO series, we know that Bran is capable of hopping from one location to another seamlessly while exploring different memories and events thanks to his greenseer abilities. We already know that Bran is capable of interacting with the timelines, so it stands to reason that we could simply be watching Game of Thrones through his flashbacks and visions.

You might be asking: how does that explain the drastic change in pacing for Season 7? Well, think of it like a journey for Bran as well. From the very beginning Bran has been slowly learning about his powers and, quite honestly, still has a personal investment towards his family, dragons, queens and the fate of the people who have wronged him.

When we first met Bran, he was a young, emotional boy who hadn't even realized that there was more to the world outside of his family and the various sins of the Lannisters. Yet as he began to learn of his greenseer abilities and became the new Three-Eyed Raven all the intricacies of the show began disappearing and we witness only the major plot points.

With thousands of years of events to travel through, it's a foregone conclusion that he would soon become numb to all the small details of even his family's plight. Remember how indifferent he was while commenting to Sansa on her appearance the night she was raped by Ramsey Bolton? If Game of Thrones is truly just unfolding as Bran learns of it — slowly building as his powers begin to flourish — perhaps it's that he's currently attempting to tell his successor — the next Three-Eyed Raven — how the Night King was defeated in his lifetime.

Whatever the reason behind the expedited pacing, fans are anxiously waiting for the explosive conclusion to the war for mankind against the Night King, and the battle for the Iron Throne.