The 2024 Song of Ice and Fire Calendar Is Kinda Wild

Рет қаралды 8,901

5 ай бұрын

Does the 2024 A Song Of Ice And Fire show us Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark happy together on the isle of faces? We will explore. Also does this confirm Old Nan to be right about the ice spiders that the others ride?

Пікірлер: 145

@charlinethom1624 5 ай бұрын

This art piece is absolutely Canon. There is a blog post from GRRM where he says he asked the artist specifically to work on this calander.

@osmya0044 4 ай бұрын

Yeah, all art is commisioned and approved by Gurm

@archaon1400 5 ай бұрын

Wait. Knight of the Laughing Tree. Its obvious its a Green Wierwood. Inversion of creepy, bloodsucking wierwoods with agony-shaped mouths. instead alive, green, fertile and joyfull original wierwoods. Lyanna was onto it. She had to know which means Howland is even more involved, he told her something before the love story began.

@l.mcmanus3983 5 ай бұрын

You are right! So interesting! Is there any knowledge or theory discussion about why Knight of the Laughing Tree was chosen as a name? Was it somehow Howland’s input?

@jsull81 5 ай бұрын

I think you're right. And even if she knew nothing of the weirwoods true nature before going to Harrenhal, I'm sure she asked Howland where he was coming from which would give Howland an opportunity to tell her some of what he just learned/witnessed And I'm sure Howland was told not to tell anyone what he was taught, but Lyanna isn't just anyone, she's the daughter of his liege lord & a Stark no less. Hell, the Green men may have instructed him to tell her!

@Sea_Barb 4 ай бұрын

This is a great observation

@TinfoilMaester 5 ай бұрын

Varatil here. I got so pumped when I saw this video thumbnail! You're one of my favorite theorists, so I'm happy to have helped! 😊

@MotherofSocialAnxiety 5 ай бұрын

Never thought about the "leaf" theory you have going but it makes so, so much sense. Especially the Isle of Faces having green leaves on the Weirwoods there where green magic seems to have a strong hold and still "works" correctly in this corrupted net of magic now dominating Westeros...you just keep hitting it out of the park man! Keep up the wonderful work!

@deffdeff9520 5 ай бұрын

I got this calendar for Christmas!! I don't know if it helps, but every page includes a quote from the books on the bottom, and for the Ice Spider page it's actually a quote from Old Nan. "[T]he Others smelled the hot blood in [the last hero], and came silent on his trail, stalking him with packs of pale white spiders big as hounds." So I'd guess it's an artistic depiction of that tale. I'd still take the image as a hint that we might get Others riding on giant spiders in Winds or sth tho. (also the poster of Rhaenys on Meraxes in the middle is AMAZING)

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 5 ай бұрын

Good call, a companion of the last hero dying could be it... Yo with coldhands as January's pic what if that is coldhands before he was killed if he was with the last hero and they killed him "long ago". Just throwing out guesses but I do think last hero companion is a good call for that one.

@Taykoe88 5 ай бұрын

@@michaeltalksaboutstuffI was wondering if it could be the last hero himself before he had sought out to make/become Azora Ahai, but the companion idea before sounds better.

@emrek99205 4 ай бұрын

Curious what the caption is for the weirwood trees image. Does it specifically say that it is the Aisle of Faces? Or just that they are green weirwood trees? I'm guessing the caption is probably about the people instead and leaves (pun) the identity of the trees ambiguous.

@deffdeff9520 4 ай бұрын

@@emrek99205 It's about Lyanna. "Lyanna had only been sixteen, a child-woman of surpassing loveliness. Ned had loved her with all his heart. Robert had loved her even more." (AGOT)

@brushrunner 2 ай бұрын

I love Justin sweet work as a concept artist myself. But conceptwise missed opportunity here to have the other ride the icespiders as skateboard, on their feet. Since, they are big as hounds, they are not good to mount i think. And since they are both made of ice, ice glues themselves together

@Nemenon 4 ай бұрын

He does look like he's wearing black, but with LOTS of frost covering him. It also look's like he might be wielding valyrian steel since those swords are typically black.

@willymo1729 5 ай бұрын

The color of the leaves never even crossed my mind as we have seen faces carved in non weirwood trees in ASOIF BUT I love you where you went with that. And I do think it’s the Isle of Faces where they are depicted. Nice!

@Sunspear7 5 ай бұрын

Ice spiders are a Chekov's gun, I want literal ice spiders

@emrek99205 4 ай бұрын

My ADHD brain suddenly went to Sulu running around with Needle and drunkenly trying to poke everyone with the pointy end.

@angelajansons9037 5 ай бұрын

Also, i always knew R and L went to the Isle of Faces because Ned brought Howland with him and only 5 other men. They left their horses on the shore. Only 7 would fit in the boat and that's why Dustin's horse survived.

@willymo1729 5 ай бұрын

I have it already hanging up here at work. I absolutely love how dark this years calendar is.

@emrek99205 4 ай бұрын

I personally like the idea (in a morbid way) that the faces on the trees are not carved but is merely what is left after a tree has grown around something stuck into it. As a kid we had a bird feeder hanging from a maple tree by a rope. The feeder disappeared but the rope remained. Over the (30+) years the limb gradually grew over and enveloped the rope. For the longest time only the hanging part of the rope remained. It didn't look tied but just disappeared into the limb as if it had been stabbed by it. The limb itself had only a minor color change, a scar, but no rope was seen. The faces could be a similar thing. If you leave a person who cannot die tied to a tree trunk the tree will eventually grow around them and only a strange outline of their body will remain. Given thousands of years even the outline will disappear and only what is most forward (ie. Faces) will be the last to be covered and centuries after that even the overgrown traces of faces will be overwritten. At the time of the SOIAF books, all that is left to see are the tree scars in face shapes. So while the CotF caused the faces to be there by tying men (or other children) to the trees they weren't necessarily carved.

@SingingSealRiana 5 ай бұрын

My thought was that they are in the South, where weirwoods are supposedly extinct and oaks for example get used AS heart trees instead.

@Certosinij 5 ай бұрын

I put your Wall of Trees theory at equal value to Preston Jacob's "Dorne's Masterplan"! Love the videos keep them coming.

@thegreatother25 5 ай бұрын

The calendar is fantastic, I picked up on the Weirwood being green rather than the traditional red and it just made me think of your videos! Hope we get some T on this and all things leading to Roberts Rebellion from The Iron Throne stageplay set to come in December. I love the inclusion of Shiera, I can't wait to see the Quaithe reveal in TWOW. Your vids are great Michael, keep going our watch is not ended yet.

@l.mcmanus3983 5 ай бұрын

Awesome video! I am so happy every time I see you have a new one! I too think that this is a huge lore hint drop by Martin and that it could definitely mean the next book is coming sooner rather than later… I hope!!! Martin loves to drop hints, and creating teasers such as this could help motivate him to write perhaps? One point you touch on that I think deserves examination from a different perspective is the idea that green magic and the Isle of faces was purposefully preserved by the people of the past who turned the majority of weirwood network towards blood magic. I see there being much more conflict, chaos, and confusion involved in those events. Perhaps blood magic was tried somewhere and the taint start spreading through the network uncontrollably. Cutting down trees in the south was an attempt to stop the spread. Perhaps the Isle of Faces was barely preserved after a desperate struggle. Perhaps some people tried to encourage the destruction of green magic. I do not know enough lore to expand much on these ideas, but I would love to hear your thoughts!

@robertrub5503 5 ай бұрын

Good job Michael awesome sauce

@Lee-it1qr 4 ай бұрын

Nice Work! Well done, Michael. I think you hit the nail on the head.

@umwha 4 ай бұрын

This is based on the assumption that the illustration is the isle of faces , and that the tree is a weirwood which we don’t have confirmation over. I assumed it was just a regular heart tree : we do have confirmation that normal green trees are used as heart trees

@KarlKarsnark 5 ай бұрын

"Weirwoods are used to bear witness to important ceremonies such as marriages and oaths, since followers believe that the old gods watch through the faces.[1] It said that it is impossible to lie in the presence of a heart tree." (asoiaf wiki) Sure looks like a wedding/marriage "oath" ceremony, which means they're surely at the Isle of Faces as their union was a "sacred" act from the start, and vital to fulfilling the overall "Prophecy"(at least in their own winds'). The fact that they were "allowed" on the Island would seem to support this and having such an important event "witnessed by the Gods" makes sense too. Who knows, Jon may have even been conceived there. "A wedding and a bedding!", mayhaps? "Divine witnesses" for a "prophetic" event. The question then becomes how/why they're safe and remain "green" while all the "other" WWs seem to have long since been "drained", as if by a horrendous horticultural tree vampire (aka "Lumber Leeches"). Part of it definitely seems to come from the fact that they're physically isolated/cut off from the surrounding land(s) by water in particular. This use of "Magical Moats" pops up over and over in IRL myth and folklore, as well as in the books. " "Moat" Calin" was once a great structure, that has since become "boggy". The Arm of Dorne was shattered, creating a water barrier(moat). Pyke in the Iron Islands is a series of isolated rocky promontory islands surrounded by water (moats). Riverrun is effectively an island fortress(moat). The Freys' have the only bridge across a river(moat), and The Wall itself is essentially a giant, frozen, above ground "Moat"/water barrier, as well. Even Doran Martell isolates himself in his "Water Gardens". The use of water as a barrier to keep away "Evil" is age old IRL and probably best known in Vampire folklore. Tolkien uses the same idea with his Ring Wraiths(Black Riders) and it looks like the Wights can't really cross water/swim either (Squisher notwithstanding, of course). Add to this all the subterranean rivers, etc...and the "aqua vitae"/"water of life" (i.e. the "Green(ing) Sea") of Westeros seems to be the key to keeping the WWs going, regardless of the Season. Thanks for the great vidya. Cheers & Tschuss!

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 5 ай бұрын

The idea of Jon being conceived on the isle of faces is super interesting and something to think about. Surely could be some magical implications to that... Also agreed in terms of them being isolated by the water of the gods eye. Whether all water would do it or special spells are done on the lake, or just the root network is isolated and kept separate by stone and water and such. It would make sense that all the weirwoods used in this big blood magic network we seem to see roots connect physically and therefore all you would need to do is make sure to cut that connection to preserve a green magic weirwood net somewhere. I think on the isle of faces they did that some way or another.

@KarlKarsnark 5 ай бұрын

@@michaeltalksaboutstuff It's as if the WWs are effectively growing "Hydroponically" in the "River of Time"/Green Sea, rather than getting nutrients from the soil they're planted in, per se. Jon being conceived under the eyes of the Gods and Men, just sort of fits too and supports the notion that R+L were both sold on the "Prophecy" and its importance, and so wanted to initiate it in a sacred place. Cheers!

@timmyruzicka7860 3 ай бұрын

Ice spiders were already in the 2020 calendar, but the green weirwood leafs are trully cool

@angelajansons9037 5 ай бұрын

The COTF broke the trees! The blood sacrifice to bring the Hammer of the Waters!

@nateh9917 20 күн бұрын

on that ice spider picture: the others in that one look way more like shadows/shadow babies than from previous years

@molleh3180 5 ай бұрын

This is way cool. I'm really enjoying your theories more and more

@zvrdoz4988 4 ай бұрын

Could the prophesied Great Summer be this rebirth of the Green Magic

@JamieEgg-qs9mc 5 ай бұрын

SPOILERS: The author of Attack on Titan was inspired by Norse mythology and one of the same authors that inspired GRRM. If you watch the final episodes of Attack on Titan, you will see it is telling our same Wierwood/Yggdrasil story where the protagonist, Eren, is time traveling Bran. The Titans are the Others. And Eren uses the tree to work his way through all the possible timelines and control the Titans in order to cause the cycle of rebirth where most, but not all, of humanity dies.

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for this, I have heard a lot of people compare the two but this is spelled out in a very direct and easy to get way. Very cool connection. I have that on my list of things to take a look at one day. But most of those will have to wait until at least after I finish the biggest parts of this video series. Huge thanks for the channel support!

@JamieEgg-qs9mc 5 ай бұрын

@@michaeltalksaboutstuffSPOILERS: I want to add another book that potentially predicts a showdown between Bran as the Night King and Jon Snow as the Last Hero: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, who also shares the same inspirations as GRRM. Whereas the Jungle Book is about a boy who is raised by the inhabitants of a jungle, the Graveyard Book is about a boy, Bod, raised by the inhabitants of a graveyard. Symbolically, this graveyard is analogous with Yggdrasil, or the wierwood from our story. Bod is Bran, or the Night King. The man who fills Jon Snow’s role is Jack Frost. Jack is another name for Jon and Frost is another name for Snow. Jack Frost is the last remaining man from an order of men who wear black and is trying to kill Bod with an obsidian dagger, “sharper than any razor.” This quote is a biblical term that both authors use that is analogous to the power of God, but also accurately describes the properties of an obsidian dagger. Silas from the Graveyard Book plays the role of the Others, Ms Lupescu is the direwolf, the witch is Old Nan, the ghouls are the ratatosk, or gray rats. In the first chapter, Bod puts on his night shirt, outlined against the stars, like Waymar’s black cloak in AGoT prologue, which essentially means blocking out the sun or stars. At the end of the story, Bod defeats Jack Frost with the help of the graveyard and goes on to create his life beyond the graveyard, whose inhabitants are dead, unlike Bod. The Graveyard book shares much mythological symbolism with ASOIAF. One example is Bod as a Promethean hero. Another example is a serpent at the bottom of a well. Another is Bran’s time spent in the crypts of Winterfell. If The Graveyard Book correctly predicts a showdown between Bran and Jon Snow, that could back up the theory of the red leaf wierwoods and the Children associated with them are opposed to the green leaf wierwood faction. Might Euron be the blue leaf paragon???

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 5 ай бұрын

@@JamieEgg-qs9mc That is super interesting and something I will have to remember to look into. In GRRMs original outline that leaked he mentioned an estrangement between Bran and Jon and maybe there could be some of that still worked in where they end up in slightly opposing factions somehow magically. I do wonder if Jon's role may be to pull Dany away from going full fire and Bran away from going full ice but idk. If Bran and Jon end up on opposite sides I think it seems clear from the show that Bran wins. He ends up as king and Jon has to stab his girlfriend and get banished. In terms of Euron representing like the human leader of the shadow magic faction in this whole end times thing I could see that.

@JamieEgg-qs9mc 5 ай бұрын

⁠⁠⁠@@michaeltalksaboutstuff Yes but the show really simplifies things compared to the books. And leaves out many things. My thoughts are that GRRM is weaving a dark tale where no human or humans truly “win.” After all, the prologue is the overture to the story and everyone from the prologue died. “Life is not a song.” Although Bran ends up on the “throne” at the end of the show, our story has a major theme of sitting on the throne being a negative thing: the throne weighed heavily on Robert, the iron throne is an “uncomfortable chair,” and Bran’s “throne” in the cave underneath the wierwood may well be a prison. It is theorized that the Seastone Chair throne as well as wierwood trees themselves were used as receptacles for blood sacrifices. Even in the show, Meera leaves Bran and tells him he is no longer himself anymore, that the real Bran died. Bran may be a prisoner who is used by the red leaf wierwood for his powers. At least Jon, alive or dead, has his own agency at the end. My theory is that Bran’s powers were used to tell the Targaryens to “burn them all” at King’s Landing. Much like he told Hodor to hold the door. However, trees see all our lifetimes in the blink of an eye and the messages may have been sent to multiple generations of Targaryens. I think HotD has simplified things to where a prophecy was successfully passed down many generations of Targaryens, but in the books I am thinking that many Targaryens throughout the generations are receiving and interpreting dreams and voices. Props to your Seed Vault theory. “The seed is strong!”

@emrek99205 4 ай бұрын

@@JamieEgg-qs9mcObsidian when knapped can create an edge that literally is only 1 molecule thick. Probably its most supernatural ability. Most other materials cannot resist this type of edge. However this thinness is also its downfall as the edge is very easy to break if any sort of shearing force is used. Spear tips and arrowheads have impact from generally one direction and survive, but a blade could be used with any number of different angles and that's why we don't see many swords made of obsidian.

@angelajansons9037 5 ай бұрын

Also also, ha, Ned was able to pull down the tower and make cairns because it would've been just stones and mud not masonry.

@cbob213 5 ай бұрын

Not all Heart trees are Weirwoods and it’s not only Weirwoods that have carved faces. So it’s not a stretch to say that it’s not a Weirwood at all. I don’t see GRRM dropping major plot spoilers in a calendar.

@emrek99205 4 ай бұрын

In the first book there is talk of an Oak being a heart tree inside King's Landing. Ned visits God's wood in order to think about things without being watched by all the spies. The word used there is definitely "oak" not "weirwood". I think it is also where he summons and tells Cersei of what he found regarding her children.

@Pouloririri 5 ай бұрын

just discovered the channel, good stuff. Always on the lookout for more aSoIaF content. subbed, looking forward to more videos. cheers

@emrek99205 4 ай бұрын

While this points to the "corruption" not being present in the trees, it doesn't necessarily point to it being on the Aisle of Faces. Unless a caption points out "this is the Aisle of Faces" then it could be anywhere. It should be noted that the location where Jon and Sam go to take their vows north of the wall is not just one weirwood tree, but is an entire grove of like 11 weirwood trees in the books. This image could be of that grove after the Wall has been brought down, the Others dealt with and Winter has ended.

@taco4242 5 ай бұрын

Heck yeah. Calander review. Let's go.

@maggyfrog 5 ай бұрын

on the topic of "the isle of faces", isn't it interesting that there is this order of assassins who worship "the many-faced god"? faceless men, shadow binders wearing masks, coldhands covering most of his face. there's a strong theme going on here that we are yet to see. also, is the isle of faces sort of an easter egg for the dream of spring? like a cleansing of the weirwood net if it is indeed corrupted with blood magic?

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 5 ай бұрын

That is the basic idea yeah. It would pop up most likely in a dream of spring and I see it as like a seed vault to grow a new green magic weirwood system if the blood magic one goes badly. Basically a backup plan made during the pact when people started to worship the trees. Which I assume would also be when they started to drink human blood. At least on a basic level I see that as its role in the end game. Rebirth of a new weirwood/world tree.

@maggyfrog 5 ай бұрын

@@michaeltalksaboutstuff if the weirwood net is corrupted with blood magic from essos, how is it that northmen are worshipping the old gods? maybe they've been worshipping something else this entire time? i'm sorry, is this tinfoil territory? 😸

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 5 ай бұрын

What exactly "the old gods" are or what the power within the weirwoods is I am fully up in the air on. I consider it one of the most interesting mysteries. I want to do a video with all the different options one day but I doubt I will have a firm opinion on which it is. It could be some actual gods who uses the trees as a vessel. It could be aliens who tricked mankind into feeding them blood. It could be a magic hive mind of all the people who have ever lived which is stored in the trees. Lots of options and it could be wild if we ever actually find out. Like its very different worshipping a collective of all human souls that has only gone bad due to corruption of a few, compared to worshipping blood thirsty tree elves or aliens who tricked you into this. Hopefully once Bran is fully hooked up we learn more.

@maggyfrog 5 ай бұрын

@@michaeltalksaboutstuff i think youtube flagged my reply as i can't see it. not sure why, it was an innocuous comment. anyway, about the old gods. the basic explanation as far as what the current northmen believe is that they are in nature (the rocks, trees, and so on) which the children of the forest worshipped (allegedly anyway). and because the old gods are supposedly in nature, this explains why the northmen are always concerned that winter is coming, with the physical problems that winter brings and also the more magical stuff like the long night. but if the weirwoods have indeed been tampered with, and it's not the nature gods they are worshipping, it could have something to do with what the red priests are fighting against, or even why quaithe is pushing so hard for dany to go back to westeros. what is blood magic even? is it tied to any specific god or gods? if blood magic changed the nature of the weirwoods, it could be the god of that particular sorcery that the northmen have been praying to this entire time, and that could be why the children of the forest might be using bloodraven and bran for their own agenda, and that the isle of faces would eventually be much more significant in the story.

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 5 ай бұрын

@@maggyfrog KZfaq does do that sometimes and it is very annoying. I have seen comments from other channels that appear and disappear at random, and they don't show up in my flagged comments or anywhere I can do anything about it. Your comment is nowhere to be seen for me either if there is one missing. No idea what causes it because as you said some of the comments it happens to are nothing bad at all. In terms of what is blood magic, I don't see it as tied to any specific god, just that it is any time you sacrifice other life to make your magic more powerful. Life energy is a power source so using it to boost other things seems to be blood magic. Meaning most branches of magic and uses of magic we see are blood magic in one form or another. So everyone from the red priests to the children seem to use it.

@danielrhodes548 2 ай бұрын

I’d dig it if the man in the pic with Lyana was Blood Raven communicating through the trees. Just kind of there symbolically

@stephaniecruz4153 4 ай бұрын

Been waiting for someone to talk about this!!

@1275spiderman 4 ай бұрын

Ice Spiders Confirmed!!!

@Cable150364 4 ай бұрын

Has there been any descriptions of oak trees at all throughout asoiaf? Like George loves his tree descriptions but I don’t remember a single description of an oak tree. Weirwoods, however, do seem to fit the description. It’s probably meaningless but an uncorrupted weirwood is probably an oak.

@zvrdoz4988 4 ай бұрын

In the first book there’s a scene where Ned and the girls pray at the godswood of the Red Keep where rather than a weirwood, their heart tree is an oak

@ser_ryon_vine6392 4 ай бұрын

Been buying these for like 8 years now

@nicolam4513 5 ай бұрын

Garth the greenhand, father of green magic and skin changers. The original latent ice and fire, creation magic.Tied to the earth. Something happened to wane his power and corrupt it and so were born The Night's king, father of shadow and ice magic. His magic is tied to the wall. Azor Ahai, father of blood and fire magic. His magic is tethered to blood and possibly, previously, Valyrias volcanoes. Am I even close to understanding what you are throwing down?

@angelajansons9037 5 ай бұрын

Holy crap, I think you've got it!

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 5 ай бұрын

That is pretty close I would say. I will likely do a video on Garth one day for my full thoughts on his role. But basically here is what I think you are getting at in my own words. There is magic in the idea of life itself existing and thus creation and life are the things that are magic for GRRM. In its original form the idea of life and growth itself are magic. I would call this green magic. There seems to be an ability to use "a drop of blood" to get better results from the magic. So life can be sacrificed to do more powerful things than just grow plants and have babies. So there might be clean green magic, but then someone will use a drop of blood for better results and become powerful. Which you can see suddenly puts it on a path to sliding into blood magic the more powerful people want to be with it. So figures like potentially Azor Ahai or the Night's King and Queen or even Bran the Builder/the Starks and Garth the Green himself might have had their own roles or taken their own actions to corrupt this original magic and make themselves more powerful. But every time someone became incredibly powerful by corrupting the original magic it has had an effect on the world/society which is represented on a magical level by the world tree/weirwood system. A cycle of rebirth could undo a lot of those negative effects as long as humanity can make it through. Which would mean surviving the long night and then the rebirth of the world tree system.

@corentinrichard9864 4 ай бұрын

To be honest, I first thought this was Jenny of Oldstone and Duncan the Small ^^'

@sige333 5 ай бұрын

I don't think this is a Weirwood tree. If I remember correctly, faces were sometimes carved into oak trees in the south, since most Weirwood trees south of the neck were cut down.

@Kenspiracy664 2 ай бұрын

Something is going on with the trees from the telltale game too. Grrm worked on them so it's gonna be relevant

@SingingSealRiana 5 ай бұрын

My thought was, that they are in the South and there often oaks for example get used AS heart trees AS a Substitute through the Lack of weirwoods there.

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 5 ай бұрын

It could be an oak, I think the bark looks more weirwood to me than oak but I do think it's worth considering locations if we found one with an Oak like that on their path.

@ruigerd 5 ай бұрын

You know it's been a while since the last book when even calendars become a source for theory crafting. Its eerily similar to your theory though, ASOIAF cookbook review when?

@KaritKtana 3 ай бұрын

I think the image with the ice spiders is labeled as depicting The Last Hero fighting the Others

@brushrunner 2 ай бұрын

Dude justin dweet is one of my faves

@likretir 4 ай бұрын

In s1 ep7 when Jon and sam are taking their vows you can see water dripping from the bark of the weirwood. It has to be intentional and I don’t think it makes much sense to be melt as it’s snowing in the scene. What do you think?

@kyleboerner 4 ай бұрын

Curious if you think the red in Lyanna’s dress is representative of anything. My guess is the spiders are climbing Winterfell’s broken tower. I have a tinfoil theory that the tower of joy shenanigans took place there and the cersei-jamie-bran scene was a wink and a nod to another couple in the same tower with someone falling years before. Great channel, great content 👏

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 4 ай бұрын

I could see the red in the dress and the way it fades from green to red as a symbol of the magic going from green magic to blood magic. Might be reading into things too much but the fading from green and brown to red would fit what I have been talking about well. The place the top meets the skirt even kinda looks like roots.

@kyleboerner 4 ай бұрын

@@michaeltalksaboutstuff I actually just listened to your isle of faces video coincidentally ha 👏. Regarding the ice spider, have you listened to preston jacobs time traveling bran video? Curious if his “time travel tower” could be represented in that painting 🤔

@sardonically-inclined7645 5 ай бұрын

Rather than Hardhome, I want to say that's the Shadow Tower.

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 5 ай бұрын

Good suggestion. That would also have me very hype

@kewl0210 5 ай бұрын

I really have to wonder how much of these calendars are the artist drawing what they want vs George asking for or approving or signing off on things. Like is the Rhawgar and Lyanna one a reveal of a Winds scene? Is the Shiera Seastar one meant going to be important? Will we see the original Azor Ahai in a Bran time travel thing? I'm curious as irs possible or maybe the artists are just doing whatever they want and theyre drawing those for fun and GRRM doesnt mind as he only considers the books canon. Either way I'm really hoping Winds gets done soon. Its possible he requested these as they're events appearing in Winds.

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 5 ай бұрын

I would think GRRM is still at a point where he is at the very least giving instructions. Like he may have said draw them with a green scene and no red leaves on the weirwood and not given details as to why or what he is doing. Like for example when he made an artist do an icy mirrored version of a Melisandre figurine and has never fully said why. I think there is a reason and we will probably learn in future books. So on certain art projects at least he does get involved with instructions. Since this one has his name on it I assume he would be in on it.

@manofhealing 5 ай бұрын

Now I can't help but wonder if there is a grove or even a forest somewhere in Essos with green uncorrupted Weirwoods that no one has identified as such because when Westerosi people go to Essos they don't recognize them as Weirwoods without the faces and red leaves. I'm having a hard time fitting this thematically with the story but it could be that the Isle of Faces becomes destroyed at some point, potentially to stop the Others, and after the war is over and everything is said and done, someone starts planting them again mirroring the tales of Garth the Green, and Bran sets up some kind of system or religion to ensure they are not corrupted again. Or maybe they're kept secret and the remaining Children of the Forest go live there, leaving the world of humans mostly magic-less.

@scubasam4255 4 ай бұрын

there is a weirwood forest right below IB on Essos but no green men in the forest, suspected dead. But i cant remember if they give a detailed description of the trees. They might still be alive and their own network cutoff from the other.

@behurastudio 5 ай бұрын

Guys will see that image of the Last Hero vs The Ice Spiders and say Hell Yeah

@TheMarauderOfficial 3 ай бұрын

depends on how indepth the artists and grrm are with canon carefulness, the image of the man fighting the others on their ice spiders, didnt the first men only have bronze or copper weapons? the man seems to have a steel sword

@akechijubeimitsuhide 5 ай бұрын

Who could be the woman sitting by a pond filled with blood?

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 5 ай бұрын

Maybe Shiera Seastar? I think she was rumored to bathe in blood. If not her one of the people who was rumored to do that would be my bet.

@Hero_Of_Old 5 ай бұрын

It is Shiera Seastar. I have the calendar and thats what the description says.

@MDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMD Ай бұрын

I always believed in ice spiders

@TheHellyeahmen 3 ай бұрын

11:36 don't do it... don't give me hope...

@YarPirates-vy7iv 5 ай бұрын

Why do you think it's a weirwood though? Lots of trees in the north and south have faces carved into them that aren't weirwoods.

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 5 ай бұрын

It's bark does still look weirwood to me. At least more than say an oak. But overall that is a good point, we shouldn't fully dismiss that it could be a different species of heart tree. I do think there is a chance they end up using a different heart tree besides weirwoods by the end but I think they might try go for uncorrupted weirwoods. If we assume it is a different tree are there any locations that notably have large heart trees that aren't weirwoods that would also be in the reasonable Rhaegar and Lyanna zone? Because those could be alternative theories for where it could be if GRRM has highlighted any of them. I do think it is most likely a weirwood on the isle of faces but would be interested to see if there are any other good candidates.

@YarPirates-vy7iv 5 ай бұрын

@@michaeltalksaboutstuff the one at Riverrun and the Red Keep were the only ones I remember a heart tree being explicitly stated as a different species, and there's some by the wall after Jon let's the wildlings through the wall that are also not weirwoods. I don't know if there are any near where Rhaegar and Lyanna might have been. I assume most Southron castles have non weirwood heart trees, but like you said this was partially retconned so hard to say. I think it's a cool idea if true btw. Hopefully there is some other confirmation that it's a weirwood.

@emrek99205 4 ай бұрын

@@michaeltalksaboutstuffJon and Sam take their oaths at a grove of weirwood trees north of the wall. I believe there are 11 of them there, not just 1. If anywhere shows that the corruption has been purged by what is done at the Wall, it would be there.

@Henbot 3 ай бұрын

Well the corruption could be from Azor Ahai if he evil or someone who did necromancy

@emrek99205 4 ай бұрын

Ice Spiders. Where would such a thing come from? Spiders aren't known for being active in cold and they certainly aren't big enough to ride upon. I don't think they are actual spiders. When a dead body is raised its limbs are able to animate apart from the rest of its body. Jon cuts an arm off of one when defending Moramont at Castle Black and it proceeds to crawl up his leg. It might be possible that Ice Spiders are merely the assembled legs of many dead people all working together to transport the Others. Multiple legs would be preferred to provide stability and weight distribution on ice. Overlap the bodies and you create a platform where the Other could sit. It is said that the humans introduced horses to Westeros so riding dead horses wouldn't be a thing before getting them that far north. Before that, make spiders.

@WeirwoodNet 5 ай бұрын

😳

@marcusanark2541 4 ай бұрын

Lyanna is definitely The Knight Of The Laughing Tree and went off with Rhaegar willingly.

@kymhatty5856 5 ай бұрын

Sorry say but if look close at the pic the wier wood has no Leaves on it the green form tree in back ground sorry to say but its a good was to miss Direct poeple

@ashleyofnaath 5 ай бұрын

I hope the only thing that's accurate about that artwork is the tree leaves being green. I've rejected the speculation that Rhaegar and Lyanna were wreckless a--holes who flippantly ran off together and plunged the realm into chaos without a care in the world; clung to the thought that there must be more to the story; but this depiction really makes them look like as big of a--holes people say they are...yikes.

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 4 ай бұрын

So I think had this exact sort of dilemma with bloodraven and bran weirdly and how their actions seemed so evil. I couldn't make sense of how they seem to have so much power yet their manipulations allow or even cause the realm to fall into chaos. I think the thing that makes sense of it is the cycle of rebirth and survival of the long night can only happen if it is done in a controlled specific way. That is the thing that might be being set up. So while bloodraven and bran seem to be doing things that allow the others to get closer to coming back, all of it is to make sure when they do humanity gets through into a new age. If Rhaegar and Lyanna are operating on a similar level or influenced by those who were, and their relationship is the only way to get to Jon who will be needed, then I kinda think that makes them less A-holes. (depending on how it is handled) I do fully get the criticism that their actions basically screwed over the entire realm and the world. But when you start to look at it like the world needed to be in a position where the long night and rebirth could happen, rather than the kingdoms need to be unified and strong to fight the others, suddenly their actions were more likely to be for the greater good. If they were driven by prophecy and or love I think there is room for it to be a very good story if future reveals are handled well.

@ashleyofnaath 4 ай бұрын

@@michaeltalksaboutstuff This is reminiscent of Dr. Strange telling the Avengers that there was only one scenario where they'd successfully defeat Thanos out of all the possible scenarios lol. I believe that there was no kidnapping or spur-of-the-moment love affair; that Rhaegar and his group rescued Lyanna from Gold Cloaks who'd been sent to capture her by Aerys (like Cersei sent the City Watch after Gendry); that this clash looked like a kidnapping to someone who didn't know what was going on; Lyanna went with Rhaegar willingly for protection, and they legitimately fell in love unexpectedly during their journey to Dorne. Unfortunately for them, things escalated dramatically before they had a chance to notify anyone, and once they got the chance it was too late. I've also seen it suggested that perhaps Rhaegar was able to get word to Lord Rickard about what happened and he knew where Lyanna was, but he never got the chance to say anything because as soon as he got to King's Landing he was murdered. This is inferred by us having no account of him asking for Lyanna (which he wouldn't if he knew where she was). I actually kinda like this idea because it means R&L did do the right thing, but history won't know it because the one person who knew they did died. Seems like a very GRRM scenario. I should also say in this scenario I envision Varys revealing Lyanna was TKOTLT to Aerys, which is why he sent men to capture her (we know Aerys considered the knight a traitor who's perfidy needed exposing). Given the Tower of Joy's links to Arthurian legend, this explanation makes sense to me haha.

@umwha 4 ай бұрын

Interesting but again I’m noticing that multiple sentences are repeating the same thing again and again.

@theduxabides9274 5 ай бұрын

0:10 Not sure I'd say they look "happy" together, it looks a hell of a lot more like Rhaegar is prepping the chloroform rag (esp. given he's placed in the shadows while Lyanna is in the light).

@Theshadowdemon9 5 ай бұрын

Baratheon propaganda

@theduxabides9274 5 ай бұрын

Because the girl who was upset at the idea of Robert being unfaithful to her would totally be up for being another man's side piece...@@Theshadowdemon9

@Theshadowdemon9 4 ай бұрын

@@theduxabides9274 Even Ned knows that Rhaegar wouldn't be the type of man who frequents brothels, unlike Robert who fathered Bella at one.

@theduxabides9274 4 ай бұрын

@@Theshadowdemon9 Just because Rhaegar didn't frequent brothels, doesn't mean he wasn't capable of forcing Lyanna to have his child with questionable consent at best. The most favourable scenario is that Rhaegar decided Aegon was TPTWP when he was born instead of a Visenya, and he used his knowledge of Lya being the Knight of the Laughing Tree to reach out to her via Oswell Whent. He then offered to help get her out of her marriage to Robert and absconded with her under those pretenses, before forcing her to have his child to complete the prophecy, and this is the BEST CASE scenario. The greatest thing Bobby B ever did was cave-in Rhaegar's chest cavity with his war hammer, and I'm not a Bobby B fan by any stretch of the imagination.

@Theshadowdemon9 4 ай бұрын

@@theduxabides9274 "and this is the BEST CASE scenario" Only because you decided that it is like that for you. The author could said nonchalantly to your faces that Rhaegar loved Lyanna and you lot would still deny it and try to project Robert's grooming (Barra's mother was less than 15) on Rhaegar.

@jasmineolivine 5 ай бұрын

nah I think it's oldstones, sorry buddy

@DavidLightbringer 5 ай бұрын

yep, "RLJ was a love story" for the win, the babies trying to make this some rapey, coercive thing can piss off and write their own story hahaha. Lyanna rules and she chose her own husband instead of the drunken womanizer her parents betrothed her to. Go Lyanna.

@michaeltalksaboutstuff 5 ай бұрын

Agreed, the evidence just keeps piling up on one side. It was clearly that way in the show, and this calendar cover image seems fairly clear to me that she is there willingly wherever it is. I am a very big fan of your takes on this whenever it comes up

@DavidLightbringer 5 ай бұрын

right on and of course there is plenty of nuance to discuss with the relationship, so sorry to leave the "I choose violence" remark here hahaha but yeah people really do get this wrong and a lot of it comes from really immature people who want to only dwell on the "problematic" aspects of the story to the point where they remove agency from characters like Lyanna

@DavidLightbringer 5 ай бұрын

and yeah definitely would like to have you on to talk Weirwood magic and stuff, your ideas are fresh and creative here

@DavidLightbringer 5 ай бұрын

oh shit I didn't notice that there are no red leaves in that picture. Wow. OH SHIT the face isn't bleeding or carved looking either! It looks like a "normal" tree face!!! oh man that's so interesting seed vault idea is interesting

@DavidLightbringer 5 ай бұрын

Crowfood's Daughter from the Disputed Lands also made a recent video where she specialties about green leaf weirwoods. The Garth Greenhand thing makes sense if they used to be leaves like green hands and not red. I of course have always thought the current form of the weirdwoods is corrupted and altered, ever since I picked up on the idea of Azor Ahai invading / corrupting the weirnet. I love this green hand leaf stuff it makes terrific sense. The "oakenseat" may have just be an OG Weirwood now that I think about it. Later remember as an oak because of its color perhaps.

@birdsrcoolxc34 4 ай бұрын

i find it so interesting that indo-european culture finds its way back home consistently through media like lotr or asoiaf, these books and movies/shows are most watched in countries that have large indo-european dna and cultural history, even after europeans lost their religion in place for christianity and then lost that too, we still clearly yearn for something so close to home, that we result in obsessing over these good "bastardisations" of our history/culture, nice to see i guess.