I like the idea of the wall being a weirhedge. The wording seems to point to that too. Georges doesn't write the wall is "leaking water", but "weeping". The weirwood are said to "weep" too.
To be fair, ice doesn't leak. It weeps. An ice wall wouldn't ever "leak" as that's not what leak means. Not trying to argue of course but it would sound stupid to say, "that ice wall is leaking".
If this isnt canon. GRRM should be rewriting his books to include this now. Best theory in years. I am picturing an Xray of the wall in my head. Like a windbreak of weirwoods. Also a " Weir" is a type of damn. So a line of "Weir"woods daming the the path of the whitewalkers is ironic. Great work
Thanks for the high praise. As for the weir meaning I didn't even know that but honestly ever since I realized this it just keeps lining up in more ways. I honestly do think it is Canon and the way he is going at least on some level. There feels like there is just so much there. The longer I sit with it the more true it feels.
@@michaeltalksaboutstuff A weir is basically a dam, the key difference being a weir generally allows the water to flow over the top (or sometimes underneath some sections) JUST like your theory describes. Since a weir traps water, you could even say its frozen water (aka ice) so it all lines up.
Interesting, didn't know that "weir" had that meaning - but actually it's pretty obvious given that it is "Wehr" with the same meaning in my mother language. 😅
Weirwoods are likely named “Weir” because of Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, GRRMs favorite band. “Dark Star” and “Direwolf” are also Grateful Dead songs.
Worth noting that Leaf says the caverns below Bloodraven's cave run down to a sunless sea; the Weirwoods in the wall could be the conduits movibg water from this sea above ground, where the cold temperatures and spells hold the water in place as ice. A sunless sea would explain why the wall is salty, if these seas contain salt water
Perhaps the tied-up sacrifices become the tree faces. (Tree grows around them) I’ve never bought that the children “carved” them literally, but perhaps metaphorically (stabby stab)
Yes, yes, yes. And the wall is most likely made out of giants sacrificed onto giant trees (probably to protect the children of the forest from humans). The first book mentions giants buried in the hills of the north over and over again. Plus, we learn from Ygritte that there used to be many more giants alive in the past. The size of the face on the black gate seems to support this theory as well.
Or they were carved later as a tribute, and people kept the tradition forgetting why. The whole weirwood thing reeks of tributes to the sacrificed. Meaning the three eyed raven is just the last living / exposed sacrifice.
@@pyramidion5911 The early giant humans in this story are meant to mimic the nephilim of The Bible. The fallen ones (the watchers) came down to earth and mated with human women which created a giant race of hybrids The Bible described as "men of reknown." Age of Heroes is George's own fictionalized version of the Book of Genesis. Theyre all the children of Garth Greenhand who mated with human women and created most of the families mentioned in the Age of Heroes. Even in his geneology chart in TWOIAF book, it shows his children as if they only came from him which is because all humans were common born at that point. All that mattered was that they were half-Garth's which made them demigods. It wasnt until the 2nd generation where it starts showing men and the women they marry because those women, who were children of Garth, were demigods too. Most of those women were said to have magical powers/warging abilities.
I really like this because George has said that he made the wall too big and it should be more like 200 feet which is around the same height as how tall red woods can grow. Although it’s a Fantasy book he does his research about how realistic a fantasy concept would convert to real life such as how his dragons aren’t four legged because no animal in nature has 4 legs and wings
@@perfumedmanatee6235, that doesn't have anything to do with why they have more than 4 limbs though. All vertebrates have 4 limbs because they share a common ancestry and developing a different number of limbs is evolutionary expensive. Even snakes still have the genes for 4 legs, just repressed so the legs don't grow.
@@LordDinkI've seen the video interviews where he says these on RUclips. It's tough to have links over RUclips though so... There is an account on RUclips that reuploads lightly edited/stitched together interviews of him from other sources (usually without credit lol) but I can't remember what it's called. Some doofus shit like 'Aegon Targaryen" or something. "xXx_13daemonfyre666_xXx" or something. Which I think is canonically Daemon Blackfyre's AIM username
To be fair, he did mention how weirwoods never die naturally and will always grow until they are killed, so there's a chance these are just really old weirwoods. Also they mention how the old commanders always left the wall taller than they found it, and also the paths of gravel keep sinking into the ice even when there's not much travel, so this still seems feasible.
Maybe it's one organism and the well at the Night Fort is the OG tree, like a cottonwood forest that spreads as it clones itself making new trees but at the end is only one tree. It also parallels Blood Raven with his "a thousand eyes and one".
Isn't it hinted that all weirwoods are connected by their roots, not just the ones in the wall? Also are the faces meant to represent the child of the forest or human encased in each tree?
I’ve seen some theories in my time, but this is probably the best. Top 5. God, I hope George can finish the books. It’s been years since I’ve been into ASOIAF and it’s telling how quality the lore is when it can invest you so quickly and consistently.
I like how this theory, if the stories about Bran the Builder having built the Wall and being the grandson of Garth Greenhand are true, ties Bran the Builder back to Garth by building the Wall through a feat of green magic rather than simply cutting and stacking blocks of ice. I think it's also possible that Bran the Builder was, not the son of Brandon of the Bloody Blade like some legends claim, but actually the Blade himself, *and* the Last Hero. Maybe, when the Long Night originally fell he set out from the Reach with twelve companions expecting to save the day through a good ol' fashioned mano a mano fight with the Others. But once he got to the north, he found out the only way to end the Long Night and save Westeros was to build the Wall. And since he was in a new place far from his old home, detached from his reputation as christener of Red Lake (maybe even ashamed of it), that he took on the moniker "the Builder" to establish a new legacy in the North. From there, he would go on to found House Stark and build the original iteration of Winterfell. Also, to reconcile your idea about the Wall being a line of weirwoods with the idea of there being fewer than 1 weirwood every mile or so - what about the Last Hero's twelve companions? What if they were used as the sacrifices for those weirwoods, and that was why the Last Hero/Bran was, well, the _last_ hero? And plot twist: Hajime Isayama (creator of Attack on Titan) is an ASOIAF fan and had this same theory 15 years ago, which inspired... *AoT spoiler alert* The walls being made from crystallized Titans.
Best explanation I’ve heard. And based on what George wrote very specifically I think you’re right. Perhaps the horn of winter shakes off the ice and reveals the giant line of weirwoods. Another commenter added “weir” is another word for dam, so “dam” trees 🌲🌲🌲
Problem with this explanation is, if you try to suck water thru a very thin "pipe" it starts to freeze fast... It would not be able to suck it up all the way to the top Its the same how trees work, but there is a maximum high this system work, which is far unter the height of the wall.
@PopeClemensIIX while this is true, it's also possible he just didn't fully understand the physics. After all he has gold melted in a pot soup/stew thats cooking.
Hot damn this is good, the implication that the only way to truly kill the Others is to burn the fucking weirwoods down (which might change the implication of the phrase "Burn them all!" if it turns out the Mad King wasn't talking about King's Landing) is chilling
@@angelgjr1999what the show calls white walkers are called "the others" is song of Ice and fire. Or simply put the books. Another deviation is that in books there is yet to be a leader shown for the others. Book lore there is a nightking but he isnt the leader of white walkers/the others.
@@_NutcasE_Just a little bit more of an explanation. In the book lore there is a character named the Night's King who was a Lord Commander of the Night's Watch centuries ago that fell in love with a female Other. In the show, there is the Night King who was a first man who was turned into the first White Walker. As far as we know, two different characters
I've seen many theories, perhaps all of them But this theory is one of the most beautiful theories I have seen It's genius and realistic I can no longer imagine the wall without those trees inside it Thank you, my friend, and I appreciate your effort👋
Brandon The Breaker, broke “Guests Rights”. This is how he ended the rein of the Night King. It also parallels Robb’s downfall at red wedding. Seems like the final piece to your puzzle… Good luck!
Yooooo that is a very good thought! Big thanks for that both the support and that thought. That does seem to work into the story perfectly. I will for sure mention this in a future vid when it comes up.
Glad you mentioned the 79 Sentinels! I was thinking that the entire video long. Very interesting thoughts. I do think that the Wall rebuilding itself would not necessarily need a vascular system; every winter, the rains, snows, and storms would provide water that would refreeze to the exterior. The vascular system does have a lot of thematic resonance, though. It also aligns with the descriptions of Winterfell in AGOT, heated by warm water pumped through it like a heart. This theory would mean that those descriptions of Winterfell were providing hints about the Wall structure as well.
Endless, endless praise. When you explained that the "skinny wierwood" was a branch I felt chills. This theory re-captured my interest and intrigue for the ASOIAF books after GOT S8.
This is actually the best and most interesting theory as to the construction of the Wall and just fits into the mythos so well. If GRRM hasn't already thought of this he should write in lol
I really like this video and his theories but dude is so angry about how correct he is it’s hard to listen. This is good theory and lore we could be chillin to
I’m sure you know this or maybe mention it later, but what you’re describing reminds me a lot of the wall from Attack on Titan. The citizens think it’s just a giant conventional wall but actually it’s thousands of titans using there ability to harden there skin forming a wall.
Loved this. There is also a connection to be made with Winterfell. It has a circulatory system too, but with heat instead of cold. Fire instead of ice.
This is really good, best explanation I have heard The weirwoods are not really trees, they are more like a fungus. A "line" of them could all be connected underground, as one giant organism
Could be both, IRL trees "communicate" through their roots which are covered in one giant organism fungus. The fungus is the network, the trees are nodes. And the red, bloodlike sap could be antifreeze.
The fact that Attack on Titan and ASOIAF can have a similar plot twist fully independent of one another. Makes me feel better when I write something for a character and realize it’s kinda been done already.
I'm sure someone pointed this out already but Danny in Dance at one point says to the merchant prince of Quarth "This TREE is watered with BLOOD" in a discussion about slavery. Amazing theory, 100% convinced
The sentinels in the Wall could literally just be a game of telephone through time for your theory, where details change but stories survive. GRRM loves time-telephone lol
i'm now imagining someone looking at the wall with the sun behind it and being able to see the faint shadows of absolutely massive trees! did any of you know that the Coastal Redwood can live more than 2000 YEARS and often grow taller than the Statue of Liberty?
The Wall grown from within makes sense of some huge problems with the accepted stacked-blocks-of-ice theory: Ice would melt under the weight of the Wall. Nobody sees a 300-foot tall, 300-mile long wall and decides that it's necessary to build another, taller wall directly on top. Builders spread gravel on top for grip (as they would need to if ice is depositing there, not melting away). I suspect that the Wall Weirwoods aren't injecting water into the center of the Wall, which would make big cracks as it freezes, but rather freezing water from the atmosphere or pumped to the top of the Wall. If, as I suspect, the weirwoods are the real Giants, then they aren't wrong to say that giants did most of the work building the Wall. Maybe Brandon the Builder is the Nightfort Weirwood itself. I also suspect the Winterfell heart tree is Brandon of the Bloody Blade.
This is possibly one of the best asoiaf theories I’ve come across, im shocked that this video is so recent and from such a small channel. Everything makes sense and seems supported by the text and the logic of in-universe systems. I feel like a lot of major asoiaf theories resort to straw grasping or tin foil to provide evidence for one of the main stipulations of the theory but there is none of that here! Earned a sub and a like from me :) Time for my own tin foil: What if the demons of the original long night aren’t even the Others, and the Others didn’t even come into existence until the heroes of the original long night created them simply as a step in the process for the construction of the wall? The wall might be to ward off some greater / more cosmic horror type of entity (whatever’s at the Heart of Winter?) that even the Others are now fleeing from. This could tie into the legends of the east and Azor Ahai as well. If the original flaming sword Lightbringer is a metaphor for a dragon, then it’s possible that the Doom of Valyria and consequent extinction of the dragons (and thus a reduction of overall fire magic in the world) is what allowed the Heart of Winter entity to stir once more, as ice magic to became a more dominant force. This would explain why only now the Others are warring south after thousands of years of seemingly cohabitating north of the Wall with wildlings, giants, and other sentient living beings. They are fleeing from an old power that’s stirring. I like this idea because it makes the Others actions entirely understandable, just like the theory about the Others coming south to free their kin trapped in the wall (which I think would be true in either theory). My only question about yours is if the Others were the demons of the Long Night then they already existed before they were created as wall building blocks. Why were they created originally then? Perhaps this nitpick lends more credence to the idea that Others were simply captured to be bound in the wall versus created for that purpose. Anyways thanks for the theory it clearly got me thinking hahaha
These are some interesting thoughts. I do cover in later episodes the idea that the creation of the wall was likely the thing that made the others. I have come around to that idea a lot more since I have looked back at the books with this idea of the wall in mind. The "others" inside are likely people and the others we see are shadows or ice demons created by that process. The idea of something even darker further north that scares the others is interesting
@@michaeltalksaboutstuff I’ve watched some of your later videos and like your ideas better hahaha but it was fun to jump around. This is what I like about asoiaf one realization can recontextualize like the entire story and make you rethink everything hahaha Heart of winter referring to the wall itself makes way more sense in-universe and thematically. I was def stuck on the idea that Bran saw it north of the wall but your explanation about the specific syntax used in that passage and how the heart of winter is a separate thing from the north of the wall “curtain of light” stuff helped unstuck me!
After all these years, all the times I re-read the books, all the videos I’ve seen I STILL learn new things about this world and I STILL get surprised! GRRM put so many details in his world and I’m constantly reminded how I actually don’t know anything…
@@iidentifyasanapacheattackh3626 It’s the photosynthesis reaction that causes a pull on the tree’s vasculature. Water won’t flow without sunlight and chlorophyll. But magic.
@chadbailey3623 Could be that the moon is the source? The moon's gravity affects the tidal forces of the sunless seas beneath the earth, forcing the water upwards so that the trees can pump it into the wall as a whole? Would explain why it looked to Bran as though the tree was trying to pull the moon into the well?
The only thing I think you missed is the barrels of gravel being slowly spread throughout the whole linear grove by patrolmen of the watch. 20 castles over 8000 years generates a lot of waste gravel, and 1-2 inches per of gravel and compacted snow per year gets you the wall’s eventual height in under 5000 years. Of course, fed and warded by the weirwoods who keep carrying water as high as the wall grows.
So if this is true does that mean that the horn of winter that is supposed to break the wall actually sets free the walkers in the wall? That would be so cool!! I mean really bad for everyone, but super cool none the less.
Bro its just like in Attack on Titan when they discover that there are titans in the wall that protects them. This is maddening it makes too much sense at once😂
>large structure built as a physical and mystical barrier >there are people inside of it >built to defend against a race of mysterious and powerful enemies welcome back Attack on Titan
Think your channel is new? Great stuff. Great insight from the book content. All these little insights give so much value to the HBO and Books that I have yet had time to read but am trying to find time to listen to.
Thanks glad you like it! The books are very worth it if you find the time. I have a few more connections to making sense of some things that happen in the show in the works for later in the series so I hope you stick around!
Hey man just stumbled across your channel and I'm seriously impressed with how amazing this theory is! Definitely got a sub from me, I look forward to working through your videos, thanks man!
Hey Michael! This is the definitive wall theory, and the heart tree clue is soooo good. The only thing that niggles at me is that I don't think they planted the weirwoods for the wall, at least not the one at the nightfort. I believe that tree and tree system is older than the wall by Millennia. Like the one at Winterfell is 2000 years older than the castle. Small point, but it felt worth mentioning :3
I just found this video, can’t wait to watch all the videos in the playlist. Bravo! Excellent theory. I can’t help but think you were watching Attack on Titan when you came up with it though 😂
Isnt it stated in the books that the watch makes regular repairs on the wall? Not any character saying "hey the wall always melts but its always the same size - kinda weird huh?" Seems like you missed a bit of dialogue in Jon's chapters. An entire subsection of their order is dedicated to maintenance - it came up how they fix the wall lol.
think the repairs you are mentioning are to the manmade parts of the wall, castles need to be maintained. dont think we are supposed to believe they are adding more ice to a giant wall. (maybe chipping away the top of the wall to make it a flat walkable surface)
This is actually brilliant. I appreciate all the diagrams, it really helps make it clearer. (Also 'magic forever freezer' made me laugh so hard I had to pause the video.)
on the off chance youre still reading comments on this vid lemme just share that, while watching your vids, I thought "hey Jon's blood was spilled at Castle Black so his blood is now part of the weirwood system:)" idk if it really matters just thought it was a neat idea and wanted to post (: lol thanks for all the quality vids man; im loving binging your channel rn
More support for this is the legend of the “sentinels” frozen into the Wall….. the sentinel trees are often used for legends in story of “living” trees as well. ETA: wrote this before I got to the part of the video where you talk about Asha thinking of the legend of the trees being warriors and that is exactly the part I was thinking about. She thinks of this while looking at the sentinel trees, and there’s the legend of the 79 sentinels at the Wall. ETA again: damn, you got that at the end too. You’re good 😂
I like this theory alot. Given all of the imagery and connection of blood magic and sacrifice to the weirwoods. Think of all the bloody conflicts over the thoudands of years in westeros where those trees have received their bloodright.
Just watched you make interesting nerd club sus this out themselves, and was so floored at the reveal I had to come watch this one... The warm walls of winterfell were always weird to me before this theory: no pumps are ever mentioned, the tech seems too advanced ESPECIALLY with the age of the castle, and if its water from hot springs like catelyn thinks, it would be so corrosive that the pipes would need constant maintenance. Winterfell has a noticeably odd and sprawling layout, so the implication to me is that it was built over and around exposed weirwood roots. The real question is whether they built their fortress over the roots before or after the long night was ended... was it just the physical warmth of the tree that made it a place to make a stand, or do the weirwoods actually weaken or affect the others? Genuinely love the theory, going to relisten to the whole series just keeping this one in mind.
It would make sense that there is a Weirwood growing through all the ancient walls of Winterfell; That is a great way to spy on all the inhabitants. I wonder if those walls are the ones that are strongest and the most long lasting too, or if there are other hints.
This is a really good theory. I never though about it before but now when you say it. having white walkers inside the wall to keep it cold sounds like a interesting theory
Yeah there is so much hinting that weirwoods are corrupt trees, leaves like blood because they use blood magic where as they should be green using green magic.
Great theory, now canon in my mind. I do strongly disagree with the whole "the Others just want to free the ones in the wall" bit, since the wall was a response to the long night. Whatever the others want, be it an actual goal or simply death for all they must have wanted long before the wall ever went up. The Other's goals are over a century old by the time the wall goes up at the least
This is fantastic. This theory is a great story in itself. The beauty is from my view, that it fits into the universe around it. It has magic, it has links, and it branches of (literally as well in the kitchen) into several directions of the history. Great stuff - and above all what strikes me - you are doing a great job in describing it, making in tangible, believable - you do a very good storyteller job. Well done really! One think keep me up the toes - when does the water know to be water and flow up and when to freeze? Why does the water covered in the wall does not freeze in hundreds of feet height and hundreds of years time? Anyway. The theory is so great 😃
I totally buy a weirwood treeline as basis for a "wall", but much of what you point out actually convinced me now that the ice Wall was not the cotf and Brandon's doing whatsoever, but a counter move by the Others. In the explanation of your water pump, you use the Black Gate's "weeping" to come up with the idea, but it actually contradicts it. The black gate as the base of this giant weirwood tree is at the heart of the ice wall, right. So, if its tear is warm when it touches Bran, this means that the weirwood is not cold. You use a heart tree's warm tear at the heart of the Wall to argue that it's weeping on the outside but needs to refrozen at the heart of it. The warm tear from the Black Gate actually suggests it's being heated from the inside. Maybe the trees are trying to melt the ice wall? Which brings me to a working ward that proves the cotf or a greenseer has no need of ice or a wall, for a ward to work: Bloodraven's cave. The entrance of the cave is open: any living creature can come and go - ravens, people, cotf, wolves. But wights (and Others) cannot enter, not even an allied wight such as Coldhands. But over the months, more "cold servants" arrive outside the cave (wighted ravens, snowbear, people), bringing the cold, and towards the end of Bran's 3rd chapter snow is being blown against the entrance, building a wall of snow against the invisible ward against wights. Summer digs tunnels through that secondary snow wall to get out, kill wights to live on their marrow, and then back in via this tunnel. In other words, a ward is supposed to only restrict the movement of wights and Others: keep them from entering Bloodraven's cave, or going south. But the Others build a counter wall to restrict the movement of Bloodraven's cave dwellers and from people freely traveling north. In other words, there was never any need or intention by the cotf and Brandon the Builder to build an ice wall. They made an invisible ward which allowed animals and peeople's free movement back and forth, but would keep the Others and their wights from going south of it. But the Others used their cold powers and the weirwoods as a structural basis to create a physical barrier. And thus the weeping of the Wall are the weirwoods trying to free themselves from their icy prison.
I also find the majority of the quotes about sentintels and tree soldiers as evidence of Others being cotf's soldiers very flawed: none of the sentinels and tree soldiers you quoted (Will's tree, Deepwood Motte) are frozen or iced. They are men camouflaged with green bushes, or (ever)green trees. No ice.
@@jillds4715 some respectable points and I could see the weirwoods wanting to be free as well. In terms of the sentinels being icy you wanna take a look at the turncloack Dance with dragons chapters for the snowy Sentinel references. I do want to do at some point a whole focus on all the sentinel quotes and see if people agree that holds up as foreshadowing or if we can figure out more hidden meaning there. Both of the following refer to icy sentinels on a wall, even directly saying the "inner wall" "Above, he could see some squires building snowmen along the battlements. They were arming them with spears and shields, putting iron halfhelms on their heads, and arraying them along the inner wall, a rank of snowy sentinels. "Lord Winter has joined us with his levies," one of the sentries outside the Great Hall japed … until he saw Theon's face and realized who he was talking to. Then he turned his head and spat." "More snowmen had risen in the yard by the time Theon Greyjoy made his way back. To command the snowy sentinels on the walls, the squires had erected a dozen snowy lords. One was plainly meant to be Lord Manderly; it was the fattest snowman that Theon had ever seen. The one-armed lord could only be Harwood Stout, the snow lady Barbrey Dustin. And the one closest to the door with the beard made of icicles had to be old Whoresbane Umber."
Also this just adds another parallel to another modern story I love, Attack on Titan. Time travel, giants in the wall(s), important knowledge/memories lost. Wait a minute. Are you a fan of attack on titan lmao
I am not but I have had a few people I have talked to about this mention it is similar, also have heard good things so will probably check it out eventually.
Perhaps the original endgame was that Euron blows the horn of winter waking giants from the earth (waking the giant weirwoods) breaking the wall and the weirwoods march south flattening everything in their path. 😱 Only for Attack on Titan to do it first forcing george to start from scratch and that’s why Winds has taken so long 😂
I absolutely live for this theory. It makes so much sense (and I love the entire series, FYI) Side Note: Wonder if you noticed that in the very first episode (while GRRM was still involved) there is a little girl impaled by a branch on a tree...? Don't know if there's anything there or not but never really noticed it as anything other than "creepy/scary" movie BS until your theory. Georgie likes his symbolism and could see him putting this little nugget in as a little 'nudge-nudge'.
That is a very good catch I had forgotten about. I had noticed there is also the scene late on where they find Ned Umber stabbed up to a wall with the same symbol there and they have to burn him... They removed all the magic stuff but they might have left little bits and pieces behind when they did bother to do things, they just didn't make sense of it. The scene in the first episode though is a much stronger connection though.
@@michaeltalksaboutstuff Yeah didn't think about that until you mentioned it. The last season is so conflicting to me. I think I blank it out a lot and mostly just remember the hr & and half LONG night and the face Danny made before they destroyed her entire character....but to their defense there is a LOT of source material to try and cover (reasonably) in roughly an hour (and coffee cups to edit out). HAHA. Thank you again for such great content!!!
I think GRRM wants the warm tear on brans face because when bran gets a vision of the heart of winter (aka the heart tree of the wall???) he cries out and the tears burn on his face. So he has warm tears associated with both as a little clue that bran just bumped his head on the thing he saw in the vision. It is also possible the salty clue is to give the thought the interesting nerd club had when they saw it which is bodily fluid. I was presenting the clues to them in their recent video and that is the place they went with it. Could be either or both and maybe even a hint at the idea that there is blood mixed in there because of the sacrifices. Trees shouldn't pump salt water but they shouldn't drink blood either nor should they have their world tree frozen in ice and used for blood magic. All of it is a corrupted system at the moment.
I love this. It’s genius. If this isn’t the explanation, it should be. If it is the explanation, then George RR Martin should credit you once it’s been revealed in canon.
What if it was giants pinned to the giant trees making up the wall They say giants 'helped' Bran build the wall It would be very 'GRRM' to have 'helped' have some sorta double meaning... Hmm.. could the song 'I am the last of the giants' be sung by The Wall itself? If it can weep, maybe it can sing too Thanks for food for thought :) Keep up the good work
I really like the idea of giants chained to the trees. Possibly used in some magic way to make the trees themselves grow so giant. Also the Umber sigil of the giant with the broken chains will look different in hindsight if there are giants chained to the trees haha
Dude this is amazing. Best theory I've ever heard about the wall and i could totally see it being true. Excellent work👌 Attack on Titan ain't got shit on this
I like the idea of the wall being a weirhedge.
The wording seems to point to that too. Georges doesn't write the wall is "leaking water", but "weeping". The weirwood are said to "weep" too.
To be fair, ice doesn't leak. It weeps. An ice wall wouldn't ever "leak" as that's not what leak means. Not trying to argue of course but it would sound stupid to say, "that ice wall is leaking".
This is the only theory about the wall’s construction I’ve heard that is comprehensive
Extremely good and extremely hyped
I'd hype it up too if I could come up with such an extremely good theory.😉 @TheInterestingNerdClub
If this isnt canon. GRRM should be rewriting his books to include this now.
Best theory in years. I am picturing an Xray of the wall in my head. Like a windbreak of weirwoods.
Also a " Weir" is a type of damn. So a line of "Weir"woods daming the the path of the whitewalkers is ironic.
Great work
Thanks for the high praise.
As for the weir meaning I didn't even know that but honestly ever since I realized this it just keeps lining up in more ways. I honestly do think it is Canon and the way he is going at least on some level. There feels like there is just so much there. The longer I sit with it the more true it feels.
@@michaeltalksaboutstuff A weir is basically a dam, the key difference being a weir generally allows the water to flow over the top (or sometimes underneath some sections) JUST like your theory describes. Since a weir traps water, you could even say its frozen water (aka ice) so it all lines up.
GRRM aint even writing Winds of Winter.... The person who said ¨hope never dies¨ clearly hadn´t met GRRM
Interesting, didn't know that "weir" had that meaning - but actually it's pretty obvious given that it is "Wehr" with the same meaning in my mother language. 😅
Weirwoods are likely named “Weir” because of Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, GRRMs favorite band. “Dark Star” and “Direwolf” are also Grateful Dead songs.
Worth noting that Leaf says the caverns below Bloodraven's cave run down to a sunless sea; the Weirwoods in the wall could be the conduits movibg water from this sea above ground, where the cold temperatures and spells hold the water in place as ice. A sunless sea would explain why the wall is salty, if these seas contain salt water
👏🏻👏🏻
I wonder if this water connection has anything to do with the Deep Ones
@@NoConsequenc3what kind of connection?
If Bran can use any Weirwood to travel, I think they're all one tree, like a giant mat of fungus with mushrooms
@captainmaim making the roots of the oldest weirwood the focalpoint, that's why the three eyed raven was there...
Perhaps the tied-up sacrifices become the tree faces. (Tree grows around them) I’ve never bought that the children “carved” them literally, but perhaps metaphorically (stabby stab)
+explains why most of faces are crying and generally suffering.
Yes, yes, yes. And the wall is most likely made out of giants sacrificed onto giant trees (probably to protect the children of the forest from humans). The first book mentions giants buried in the hills of the north over and over again. Plus, we learn from Ygritte that there used to be many more giants alive in the past. The size of the face on the black gate seems to support this theory as well.
Or they were carved later as a tribute, and people kept the tradition forgetting why. The whole weirwood thing reeks of tributes to the sacrificed. Meaning the three eyed raven is just the last living / exposed sacrifice.
@@pyramidion5911 The early giant humans in this story are meant to mimic the nephilim of The Bible. The fallen ones (the watchers) came down to earth and mated with human women which created a giant race of hybrids The Bible described as "men of reknown." Age of Heroes is George's own fictionalized version of the Book of Genesis. Theyre all the children of Garth Greenhand who mated with human women and created most of the families mentioned in the Age of Heroes. Even in his geneology chart in TWOIAF book, it shows his children as if they only came from him which is because all humans were common born at that point. All that mattered was that they were half-Garth's which made them demigods. It wasnt until the 2nd generation where it starts showing men and the women they marry because those women, who were children of Garth, were demigods too. Most of those women were said to have magical powers/warging abilities.
I really like this because George has said that he made the wall too big and it should be more like 200 feet which is around the same height as how tall red woods can grow. Although it’s a Fantasy book he does his research about how realistic a fantasy concept would convert to real life such as how his dragons aren’t four legged because no animal in nature has 4 legs and wings
Do you have a link to him saying this ? I'm quite curious.
Many insects have four (or more) legs and wings
@@perfumedmanatee6235, that doesn't have anything to do with why they have more than 4 limbs though. All vertebrates have 4 limbs because they share a common ancestry and developing a different number of limbs is evolutionary expensive. Even snakes still have the genes for 4 legs, just repressed so the legs don't grow.
@@LordDinkI've seen the video interviews where he says these on RUclips. It's tough to have links over RUclips though so...
There is an account on RUclips that reuploads lightly edited/stitched together interviews of him from other sources (usually without credit lol) but I can't remember what it's called. Some doofus shit like 'Aegon Targaryen" or something. "xXx_13daemonfyre666_xXx" or something. Which I think is canonically Daemon Blackfyre's AIM username
To be fair, he did mention how weirwoods never die naturally and will always grow until they are killed, so there's a chance these are just really old weirwoods. Also they mention how the old commanders always left the wall taller than they found it, and also the paths of gravel keep sinking into the ice even when there's not much travel, so this still seems feasible.
No way, this is amazing... David lightbringer needs to listen to these immediately. And you need a thousand times the views
I think a stream collab would be great
He's mentioned this channel and theory since then.
Lightbringer hates your guts if you're not a liberal. I used to follow him on Twitter. Just a heads up lol
@@GeronimoPlazyeeeah, why I stopped watching him.
@@Hero_Of_OldWhat is? Other comment seems to be missing
Maybe it's one organism and the well at the Night Fort is the OG tree, like a cottonwood forest that spreads as it clones itself making new trees but at the end is only one tree. It also parallels Blood Raven with his "a thousand eyes and one".
Isn't it hinted that all weirwoods are connected by their roots, not just the ones in the wall? Also are the faces meant to represent the child of the forest or human encased in each tree?
This could tie into the 79 "sentinel" warriors stuck facing north in the wall
I’ve seen some theories in my time, but this is probably the best. Top 5. God, I hope George can finish the books. It’s been years since I’ve been into ASOIAF and it’s telling how quality the lore is when it can invest you so quickly and consistently.
I like how this theory, if the stories about Bran the Builder having built the Wall and being the grandson of Garth Greenhand are true, ties Bran the Builder back to Garth by building the Wall through a feat of green magic rather than simply cutting and stacking blocks of ice. I think it's also possible that Bran the Builder was, not the son of Brandon of the Bloody Blade like some legends claim, but actually the Blade himself, *and* the Last Hero. Maybe, when the Long Night originally fell he set out from the Reach with twelve companions expecting to save the day through a good ol' fashioned mano a mano fight with the Others. But once he got to the north, he found out the only way to end the Long Night and save Westeros was to build the Wall. And since he was in a new place far from his old home, detached from his reputation as christener of Red Lake (maybe even ashamed of it), that he took on the moniker "the Builder" to establish a new legacy in the North. From there, he would go on to found House Stark and build the original iteration of Winterfell.
Also, to reconcile your idea about the Wall being a line of weirwoods with the idea of there being fewer than 1 weirwood every mile or so - what about the Last Hero's twelve companions? What if they were used as the sacrifices for those weirwoods, and that was why the Last Hero/Bran was, well, the _last_ hero?
And plot twist: Hajime Isayama (creator of Attack on Titan) is an ASOIAF fan and had this same theory 15 years ago, which inspired... *AoT spoiler alert*
The walls being made from crystallized Titans.
Best explanation I’ve heard. And based on what George wrote very specifically I think you’re right. Perhaps the horn of winter shakes off the ice and reveals the giant line of weirwoods. Another commenter added “weir” is another word for dam, so “dam” trees 🌲🌲🌲
English often reverses grammar. So "tree dam"
Problem with this explanation is, if you try to suck water thru a very thin "pipe" it starts to freeze fast...
It would not be able to suck it up all the way to the top
Its the same how trees work, but there is a maximum high this system work, which is far unter the height of the wall.
@PopeClemensIIX while this is true, it's also possible he just didn't fully understand the physics. After all he has gold melted in a pot soup/stew thats cooking.
Hot damn this is good, the implication that the only way to truly kill the Others is to burn the fucking weirwoods down (which might change the implication of the phrase "Burn them all!" if it turns out the Mad King wasn't talking about King's Landing) is chilling
Right like what if the Mad King was trippin on weir wood juice ??
Was this on the shows? Who’s “The others”?
@@angelgjr1999what the show calls white walkers are called "the others" is song of Ice and fire. Or simply put the books. Another deviation is that in books there is yet to be a leader shown for the others. Book lore there is a nightking but he isnt the leader of white walkers/the others.
@@_NutcasE_Just a little bit more of an explanation. In the book lore there is a character named the Night's King who was a Lord Commander of the Night's Watch centuries ago that fell in love with a female Other. In the show, there is the Night King who was a first man who was turned into the first White Walker. As far as we know, two different characters
I've seen many theories, perhaps all of them
But this theory is one of the most beautiful theories I have seen
It's genius and realistic
I can no longer imagine the wall without those trees inside it
Thank you, my friend, and I appreciate your effort👋
Brandon The Breaker, broke “Guests Rights”. This is how he ended the rein of the Night King. It also parallels Robb’s downfall at red wedding. Seems like the final piece to your puzzle… Good luck!
Yooooo that is a very good thought! Big thanks for that both the support and that thought. That does seem to work into the story perfectly. I will for sure mention this in a future vid when it comes up.
Glad you mentioned the 79 Sentinels! I was thinking that the entire video long. Very interesting thoughts.
I do think that the Wall rebuilding itself would not necessarily need a vascular system; every winter, the rains, snows, and storms would provide water that would refreeze to the exterior. The vascular system does have a lot of thematic resonance, though. It also aligns with the descriptions of Winterfell in AGOT, heated by warm water pumped through it like a heart. This theory would mean that those descriptions of Winterfell were providing hints about the Wall structure as well.
Endless, endless praise. When you explained that the "skinny wierwood" was a branch I felt chills. This theory re-captured my interest and intrigue for the ASOIAF books after GOT S8.
This is actually the best and most interesting theory as to the construction of the Wall and just fits into the mythos so well. If GRRM hasn't already thought of this he should write in lol
It's like the titans in Attack on Titan but instead of Stone covering giant humanoids it's ice covering trees, very interesting
I wonder what the connection is there? Probably just an odd coincidence, but that series is really smart sometimes.
FF15’s movie also had a ‘wall’ of guardian statues, so there’s probably some deeper references they’re all calling back to
or the real Ice Wall beyond Antarctica...
@@KnightsTable delusional
@@Jacob-gl1kh whats delusional?
why bro talking like someone disagreed and now we’re arguing
He is wise in the ways of the internet
I missed your video
Because someone did
I really like this video and his theories but dude is so angry about how correct he is it’s hard to listen. This is good theory and lore we could be chillin to
@@Genntry Agreed
I’m sure you know this or maybe mention it later, but what you’re describing reminds me a lot of the wall from Attack on Titan. The citizens think it’s just a giant conventional wall but actually it’s thousands of titans using there ability to harden there skin forming a wall.
Loved this. There is also a connection to be made with Winterfell. It has a circulatory system too, but with heat instead of cold. Fire instead of ice.
This is really good, best explanation I have heard
The weirwoods are not really trees, they are more like a fungus. A "line" of them could all be connected underground, as one giant organism
Prando trees are like a fungus in that sense
Could be both, IRL trees "communicate" through their roots which are covered in one giant organism fungus.
The fungus is the network, the trees are nodes.
And the red, bloodlike sap could be antifreeze.
One of the most innovative ASOIAF theories hands down! Badass!
The fact that Attack on Titan and ASOIAF can have a similar plot twist fully independent of one another. Makes me feel better when I write something for a character and realize it’s kinda been done already.
@@oiroliv no because the show isn't canon and stopped following the books ages ago. It dumbed down everything.
I'm sure someone pointed this out already but Danny in Dance at one point says to the merchant prince of Quarth "This TREE is watered with BLOOD" in a discussion about slavery. Amazing theory, 100% convinced
me: ahh time to take a break from my university reading about hydraulics to watch a nice asoiaf video
the video:
😂😂😂
The sentinels in the Wall could literally just be a game of telephone through time for your theory, where details change but stories survive. GRRM loves time-telephone lol
i'm now imagining someone looking at the wall with the sun behind it and being able to see the faint shadows of absolutely massive trees!
did any of you know that the Coastal Redwood can live more than 2000 YEARS and often grow taller than the Statue of Liberty?
I've not seen an ASOIAF channel tell me anything new and interesting in years...this channel is ace bro. 👍🏾
Amazing theory. So elegant yet simple, and yet I never thought of it like this! A++ good Sir.
The Wall grown from within makes sense of some huge problems with the accepted stacked-blocks-of-ice theory:
Ice would melt under the weight of the Wall.
Nobody sees a 300-foot tall, 300-mile long wall and decides that it's necessary to build another, taller wall directly on top.
Builders spread gravel on top for grip (as they would need to if ice is depositing there, not melting away). I suspect that the Wall Weirwoods aren't injecting water into the center of the Wall, which would make big cracks as it freezes, but rather freezing water from the atmosphere or pumped to the top of the Wall.
If, as I suspect, the weirwoods are the real Giants, then they aren't wrong to say that giants did most of the work building the Wall.
Maybe Brandon the Builder is the Nightfort Weirwood itself. I also suspect the Winterfell heart tree is Brandon of the Bloody Blade.
Do you mean giants became wierwoods
Maybe instead of binding a man to the tree with glass candle, they bound giants too
Damn… I’m genuinely impressed how on earth you came by all these incredibly vague hints! Very interesting theory, and oddly enough pretty solid!
This is possibly one of the best asoiaf theories I’ve come across, im shocked that this video is so recent and from such a small channel. Everything makes sense and seems supported by the text and the logic of in-universe systems. I feel like a lot of major asoiaf theories resort to straw grasping or tin foil to provide evidence for one of the main stipulations of the theory but there is none of that here! Earned a sub and a like from me :)
Time for my own tin foil:
What if the demons of the original long night aren’t even the Others, and the Others didn’t even come into existence until the heroes of the original long night created them simply as a step in the process for the construction of the wall? The wall might be to ward off some greater / more cosmic horror type of entity (whatever’s at the Heart of Winter?) that even the Others are now fleeing from.
This could tie into the legends of the east and Azor Ahai as well. If the original flaming sword Lightbringer is a metaphor for a dragon, then it’s possible that the Doom of Valyria and consequent extinction of the dragons (and thus a reduction of overall fire magic in the world) is what allowed the Heart of Winter entity to stir once more, as ice magic to became a more dominant force. This would explain why only now the Others are warring south after thousands of years of seemingly cohabitating north of the Wall with wildlings, giants, and other sentient living beings. They are fleeing from an old power that’s stirring.
I like this idea because it makes the Others actions entirely understandable, just like the theory about the Others coming south to free their kin trapped in the wall (which I think would be true in either theory). My only question about yours is if the Others were the demons of the Long Night then they already existed before they were created as wall building blocks. Why were they created originally then? Perhaps this nitpick lends more credence to the idea that Others were simply captured to be bound in the wall versus created for that purpose. Anyways thanks for the theory it clearly got me thinking hahaha
These are some interesting thoughts. I do cover in later episodes the idea that the creation of the wall was likely the thing that made the others. I have come around to that idea a lot more since I have looked back at the books with this idea of the wall in mind. The "others" inside are likely people and the others we see are shadows or ice demons created by that process.
The idea of something even darker further north that scares the others is interesting
@@michaeltalksaboutstuff I’ve watched some of your later videos and like your ideas better hahaha but it was fun to jump around. This is what I like about asoiaf one realization can recontextualize like the entire story and make you rethink everything hahaha
Heart of winter referring to the wall itself makes way more sense in-universe and thematically. I was def stuck on the idea that Bran saw it north of the wall but your explanation about the specific syntax used in that passage and how the heart of winter is a separate thing from the north of the wall “curtain of light” stuff helped unstuck me!
The Wall is literally alive. I love it. Glad I found your channel.
This is the show I wanted to see, there is so much story here, instead, we needed to see blond dragons again
This would've been much better than what Condom and Mess threw out there on HOTD S2
@@Cartafilo_XXI and the first season too
Holy crap dude.
You got me hooked!
This is AWESOME!!!
After all these years, all the times I re-read the books, all the videos I’ve seen I STILL learn new things about this world and I STILL get surprised!
GRRM put so many details in his world and I’m constantly reminded how I actually don’t know anything…
My guy, you had me at "heart tree." ❤️ 🌳
This is great. It describes the “vasculature” of the wall, though not necessarily the pressure source that drives the water.
The tree itself is the pressure source, it sucks up an underwater well/river
@@iidentifyasanapacheattackh3626 It’s the photosynthesis reaction that causes a pull on the tree’s vasculature. Water won’t flow without sunlight and chlorophyll. But magic.
@chadbailey3623 Could be that the moon is the source? The moon's gravity affects the tidal forces of the sunless seas beneath the earth, forcing the water upwards so that the trees can pump it into the wall as a whole? Would explain why it looked to Bran as though the tree was trying to pull the moon into the well?
The only thing I think you missed is the barrels of gravel being slowly spread throughout the whole linear grove by patrolmen of the watch. 20 castles over 8000 years generates a lot of waste gravel, and 1-2 inches per of gravel and compacted snow per year gets you the wall’s eventual height in under 5000 years. Of course, fed and warded by the weirwoods who keep carrying water as high as the wall grows.
Duude! I’ve seen 100s of videos about ASOIAF with ks of views. This one blew my mind and has only a few hundreds of views. This has to be pumped
I congratulate you for your thorough work. Thank you for this. Genuinely novel and interesting.
The wall is clearly full of colossal titans.
Love this theory. The "guest right" theory as well. Good work!
Best damn theory I've heard in awhile. Take a bow. I hope this blows up for you
So if this is true does that mean that the horn of winter that is supposed to break the wall actually sets free the walkers in the wall? That would be so cool!! I mean really bad for everyone, but super cool none the less.
Bro its just like in Attack on Titan when they discover that there are titans in the wall that protects them. This is maddening it makes too much sense at once😂
>large structure built as a physical and mystical barrier
>there are people inside of it
>built to defend against a race of mysterious and powerful enemies
welcome back Attack on Titan
Think your channel is new? Great stuff. Great insight from the book content. All these little insights give so much value to the HBO and Books that I have yet had time to read but am trying to find time to listen to.
Thanks glad you like it! The books are very worth it if you find the time. I have a few more connections to making sense of some things that happen in the show in the works for later in the series so I hope you stick around!
Hey man just stumbled across your channel and I'm seriously impressed with how amazing this theory is! Definitely got a sub from me, I look forward to working through your videos, thanks man!
This is an amazing theory! Good job!
This is so good. Awesome stuff man, very good ideas and analysis. You've got skills!
Hey Michael! This is the definitive wall theory, and the heart tree clue is soooo good.
The only thing that niggles at me is that I don't think they planted the weirwoods for the wall, at least not the one at the nightfort. I believe that tree and tree system is older than the wall by Millennia. Like the one at Winterfell is 2000 years older than the castle.
Small point, but it felt worth mentioning :3
Impressive theory. Haven’t heard one for the Wall that’s this detailed.
I just found this video, can’t wait to watch all the videos in the playlist. Bravo! Excellent theory.
I can’t help but think you were watching Attack on Titan when you came up with it though 😂
Isnt it stated in the books that the watch makes regular repairs on the wall? Not any character saying "hey the wall always melts but its always the same size - kinda weird huh?"
Seems like you missed a bit of dialogue in Jon's chapters. An entire subsection of their order is dedicated to maintenance - it came up how they fix the wall lol.
I recall it being mentioned in the show as well.
think the repairs you are mentioning are to the manmade parts of the wall, castles need to be maintained. dont think we are supposed to believe they are adding more ice to a giant wall. (maybe chipping away the top of the wall to make it a flat walkable surface)
It all makes so much more sense now! A really interesting theory.
This is actually brilliant. I appreciate all the diagrams, it really helps make it clearer. (Also 'magic forever freezer' made me laugh so hard I had to pause the video.)
I love this theory! I hope we get 'The Winds of Winter' at some point and this can be confirmed
This is a mind blowing theory, first time I’m hearing it. Amazing work man
The thing about blood generating power is pretty cool considering the branches of the heart tree in the north are sucking the blood from bloodraven.
You are fucking magic what a treat to have a new video that actually presents a new idea. This has to be real.
on the off chance youre still reading comments on this vid lemme just share that, while watching your vids, I thought "hey Jon's blood was spilled at Castle Black so his blood is now part of the weirwood system:)" idk if it really matters just thought it was a neat idea and wanted to post (: lol thanks for all the quality vids man; im loving binging your channel rn
Incredible stuff
Thanks! I was really excited to put this one together
Mad respect ❤ This is amazing work. Thank you.
More support for this is the legend of the “sentinels” frozen into the Wall….. the sentinel trees are often used for legends in story of “living” trees as well.
ETA: wrote this before I got to the part of the video where you talk about Asha thinking of the legend of the trees being warriors and that is exactly the part I was thinking about. She thinks of this while looking at the sentinel trees, and there’s the legend of the 79 sentinels at the Wall.
ETA again: damn, you got that at the end too. You’re good 😂
I like this theory alot. Given all of the imagery and connection of blood magic and sacrifice to the weirwoods. Think of all the bloody conflicts over the thoudands of years in westeros where those trees have received their bloodright.
Just watched you make interesting nerd club sus this out themselves, and was so floored at the reveal I had to come watch this one...
The warm walls of winterfell were always weird to me before this theory: no pumps are ever mentioned, the tech seems too advanced ESPECIALLY with the age of the castle, and if its water from hot springs like catelyn thinks, it would be so corrosive that the pipes would need constant maintenance. Winterfell has a noticeably odd and sprawling layout, so the implication to me is that it was built over and around exposed weirwood roots. The real question is whether they built their fortress over the roots before or after the long night was ended... was it just the physical warmth of the tree that made it a place to make a stand, or do the weirwoods actually weaken or affect the others?
Genuinely love the theory, going to relisten to the whole series just keeping this one in mind.
It would make sense that there is a Weirwood growing through all the ancient walls of Winterfell; That is a great way to spy on all the inhabitants. I wonder if those walls are the ones that are strongest and the most long lasting too, or if there are other hints.
This is a really good theory. I never though about it before but now when you say it. having white walkers inside the wall to keep it cold sounds like a interesting theory
The trees should need light to function. Maybe that's why they need blood...because they've become carnivorous due to lack of sunlight
Yeah there is so much hinting that weirwoods are corrupt trees, leaves like blood because they use blood magic where as they should be green using green magic.
Great theory, now canon in my mind. I do strongly disagree with the whole "the Others just want to free the ones in the wall" bit, since the wall was a response to the long night. Whatever the others want, be it an actual goal or simply death for all they must have wanted long before the wall ever went up. The Other's goals are over a century old by the time the wall goes up at the least
This is fantastic. This theory is a great story in itself. The beauty is from my view, that it fits into the universe around it. It has magic, it has links, and it branches of (literally as well in the kitchen) into several directions of the history. Great stuff - and above all what strikes me - you are doing a great job in describing it, making in tangible, believable - you do a very good storyteller job. Well done really!
One think keep me up the toes - when does the water know to be water and flow up and when to freeze? Why does the water covered in the wall does not freeze in hundreds of feet height and hundreds of years time? Anyway. The theory is so great 😃
Really good theory, very thought out
Amazing theory, I'm sold and subscribed!
I totally buy a weirwood treeline as basis for a "wall", but much of what you point out actually convinced me now that the ice Wall was not the cotf and Brandon's doing whatsoever, but a counter move by the Others. In the explanation of your water pump, you use the Black Gate's "weeping" to come up with the idea, but it actually contradicts it. The black gate as the base of this giant weirwood tree is at the heart of the ice wall, right. So, if its tear is warm when it touches Bran, this means that the weirwood is not cold. You use a heart tree's warm tear at the heart of the Wall to argue that it's weeping on the outside but needs to refrozen at the heart of it. The warm tear from the Black Gate actually suggests it's being heated from the inside. Maybe the trees are trying to melt the ice wall? Which brings me to a working ward that proves the cotf or a greenseer has no need of ice or a wall, for a ward to work: Bloodraven's cave. The entrance of the cave is open: any living creature can come and go - ravens, people, cotf, wolves. But wights (and Others) cannot enter, not even an allied wight such as Coldhands. But over the months, more "cold servants" arrive outside the cave (wighted ravens, snowbear, people), bringing the cold, and towards the end of Bran's 3rd chapter snow is being blown against the entrance, building a wall of snow against the invisible ward against wights. Summer digs tunnels through that secondary snow wall to get out, kill wights to live on their marrow, and then back in via this tunnel. In other words, a ward is supposed to only restrict the movement of wights and Others: keep them from entering Bloodraven's cave, or going south. But the Others build a counter wall to restrict the movement of Bloodraven's cave dwellers and from people freely traveling north. In other words, there was never any need or intention by the cotf and Brandon the Builder to build an ice wall. They made an invisible ward which allowed animals and peeople's free movement back and forth, but would keep the Others and their wights from going south of it. But the Others used their cold powers and the weirwoods as a structural basis to create a physical barrier. And thus the weeping of the Wall are the weirwoods trying to free themselves from their icy prison.
I also find the majority of the quotes about sentintels and tree soldiers as evidence of Others being cotf's soldiers very flawed: none of the sentinels and tree soldiers you quoted (Will's tree, Deepwood Motte) are frozen or iced. They are men camouflaged with green bushes, or (ever)green trees. No ice.
@@jillds4715 some respectable points and I could see the weirwoods wanting to be free as well. In terms of the sentinels being icy you wanna take a look at the turncloack Dance with dragons chapters for the snowy Sentinel references. I do want to do at some point a whole focus on all the sentinel quotes and see if people agree that holds up as foreshadowing or if we can figure out more hidden meaning there.
Both of the following refer to icy sentinels on a wall, even directly saying the "inner wall"
"Above, he could see some squires building snowmen along the battlements. They were arming them with spears and shields, putting iron halfhelms on their heads, and arraying them along the inner wall, a rank of snowy sentinels. "Lord Winter has joined us with his levies," one of the sentries outside the Great Hall japed … until he saw Theon's face and realized who he was talking to. Then he turned his head and spat."
"More snowmen had risen in the yard by the time Theon Greyjoy made his way back. To command the snowy sentinels on the walls, the squires had erected a dozen snowy lords. One was plainly meant to be Lord Manderly; it was the fattest snowman that Theon had ever seen. The one-armed lord could only be Harwood Stout, the snow lady Barbrey Dustin. And the one closest to the door with the beard made of icicles had to be old Whoresbane Umber."
That follows grrm's sentiment against armrace. 🤷♂️
Ah shit. I'm about to binge watch your stuff. This is freaky and awesome. Nice
This is an amazing idea! Very cool!!!
Also this just adds another parallel to another modern story I love, Attack on Titan. Time travel, giants in the wall(s), important knowledge/memories lost. Wait a minute. Are you a fan of attack on titan lmao
I am not but I have had a few people I have talked to about this mention it is similar, also have heard good things so will probably check it out eventually.
6:28 the words are specifically evoking the water as tears of a tree here right? Salty water doesnt make sense as within weirwood or on ice.
I'm 8 minutes in and i'm already impressed
Damn amazing theory, good work.
Hearing you say there would probably be 3 or 4 parts to this series is funny in retrospect
I have learned a lot from GRRM. Promise them a nice quick trilogy and then never stop expanding.
Perhaps the original endgame was that Euron blows the horn of winter waking giants from the earth (waking the giant weirwoods) breaking the wall and the weirwoods march south flattening everything in their path. 😱
Only for Attack on Titan to do it first forcing george to start from scratch and that’s why Winds has taken so long 😂
Pretty cool theory!
he built the wall with a good attitude and an extra helping of work ethic - that's my theory
Ive never heard this theory before. It makes so much sense, holy crap!!!!
Great video. I subbed 😊
I absolutely live for this theory. It makes so much sense (and I love the entire series, FYI)
Side Note: Wonder if you noticed that in the very first episode (while GRRM was still involved) there is a little girl impaled by a branch on a tree...?
Don't know if there's anything there or not but never really noticed it as anything other than "creepy/scary" movie BS until your theory. Georgie likes his symbolism and could see him putting this little nugget in as a little 'nudge-nudge'.
That is a very good catch I had forgotten about. I had noticed there is also the scene late on where they find Ned Umber stabbed up to a wall with the same symbol there and they have to burn him... They removed all the magic stuff but they might have left little bits and pieces behind when they did bother to do things, they just didn't make sense of it. The scene in the first episode though is a much stronger connection though.
@@michaeltalksaboutstuff Yeah didn't think about that until you mentioned it. The last season is so conflicting to me. I think I blank it out a lot and mostly just remember the hr & and half LONG night and the face Danny made before they destroyed her entire character....but to their defense there is a LOT of source material to try and cover (reasonably) in roughly an hour (and coffee cups to edit out). HAHA. Thank you again for such great content!!!
Any thoughts on why the water that fell on Bran’s head is salty? Seems like trees should not be pumping salt water
I think GRRM wants the warm tear on brans face because when bran gets a vision of the heart of winter (aka the heart tree of the wall???) he cries out and the tears burn on his face. So he has warm tears associated with both as a little clue that bran just bumped his head on the thing he saw in the vision.
It is also possible the salty clue is to give the thought the interesting nerd club had when they saw it which is bodily fluid. I was presenting the clues to them in their recent video and that is the place they went with it. Could be either or both and maybe even a hint at the idea that there is blood mixed in there because of the sacrifices.
Trees shouldn't pump salt water but they shouldn't drink blood either nor should they have their world tree frozen in ice and used for blood magic. All of it is a corrupted system at the moment.
It's blood. Planting/growing a weirwood requires a blood sacrifice.
@@radiofreeacabblood is not salty and it would not be warm
@@umwha blood is extremely salty, what are you even on about? You've never tasted blood?
@@umwha blood is literally 85% sodium... Sodium being SALT LMFAO 🤣 do you want to try again?
Well done brotha. I'm bought in to trees being the scaffolding for the wall. The imagery inside the night fort just seems to imply it too strongly.
This video doesn't have nearly enough likes. I mean, this all makes so much sense. This should be exploding within the fandom
Haha thanks, hopefully in time it will get spread far and wide
This is hands down my favorite theory in a while, but I do wonder why the wall isn't red.
I love this. It’s genius. If this isn’t the explanation, it should be. If it is the explanation, then George RR Martin should credit you once it’s been revealed in canon.
absolutely entertaining, you just got a sub
What if it was giants pinned to the giant trees making up the wall
They say giants 'helped' Bran build the wall
It would be very 'GRRM' to have 'helped' have some sorta double meaning...
Hmm.. could the song 'I am the last of the giants' be sung by The Wall itself? If it can weep, maybe it can sing too
Thanks for food for thought :)
Keep up the good work
I really like the idea of giants chained to the trees. Possibly used in some magic way to make the trees themselves grow so giant. Also the Umber sigil of the giant with the broken chains will look different in hindsight if there are giants chained to the trees haha
Right! The Umber sigil :D
How very very cool
Know that your work is very much appreciated, ser
I'm LOVING this theory!
Makes sense since the Horn of Winter is supposed to bring down the wall and wake giants from the earth.
Every time I click on this playlist: THE WALL-
xD
so how to explain that trees need both light and they dont grow in ice?
Dude this is amazing. Best theory I've ever heard about the wall and i could totally see it being true. Excellent work👌
Attack on Titan ain't got shit on this
Top tier.
You figured out Asoiaf….