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Why Does Bran See A Dragon In King's Landing?

Over six seasons of television, Game of Thrones has been building up Daenerys' three dragons to do some major damage. Fans have watched Dany's dragons grow from tiny fresh-born creatures to the towering beasts they are now. The dragons have flown over the desert sands of Essos for five seasons, never crossing over the plains and hills of Westeros – but that might be changing soon. In Bran's vision during the episode "Blood Of My Blood", the image of a dragon flying over the Red Keep is seen amongst many other quick images that are racing through Bran's head. What does it mean? Is Daenerys coming to King's Landing sooner than expected?

The vision itself is cryptic and doesn't last very long – but it's not the first time that fans have seen that image appear in a vision. In Season 4, during one of Bran's first encounters with the Weirwood, Bran has visions of the Three-Eyed Raven's tree, wights in the woods, as well as the dragon flying over King's Landing. While many of the contents of Bran's vision deal with White Walkers and the land north of The Wall, his visions always seem to include details about King's Landing. What is the deal with the King's Landing Dragon, and why does it keep popping up?

The King's Landing Dragon seems to be a vision of what is to come. Daenerys is closer than ever to preparing her army to sail for Westeros, meaning that she's not far from making the best entrance into a city of all time by flying a Dragon over King's Landing. The arrival of a Dragon could be big news for Westeros, but it could also be the key to defeating the oncoming army of the dead. While King's Landing is caught up in squabbles of faith and power, Winter is still coming. What better way to remind people of the true enemy than to fly a Dragon over King's Landing?

However, surely there is a reason that Bran of all characters sees this Dragon. Something about this dragon is important to Bran. When Bran first meets the Three-Eyed Raven in his tree-tangled form, the Raven told him that he would never walk again, but he also said that Bran "will fly." Perhaps Bran is the dragon that is seen flying over King's Landing, and the vision is one of Bran's future. It's already known that the Three-Eyed Raven had knowledge of the past and the present, but it has yet to be seen just how much the Raven knew of the future, and whether or not Bran will be able to look into the future as well. However, if Bran is seeing his future then there is no better way to fly than to warg into a Dragon and fly it over the throne of the family that killed your father.

Bran's visions are meant to be cryptic, but nothing in them is accidental. If Bran is seeing the same vision of a Dragon flying over King's Landing, it's because that vision is important in some way. Whether it's prophecy, past, or a prediction – fans are going to see a dragon have a major effect on King's Landing at some point. Whether that dragon is burning the Red Keep to the ground or simply showing off is anyone's guess. All that's clear is that the Faith Militant clearly won't be in power for long unless they're able to take down a dragon.

Image: HBO, Giphy (2)