Top 6 Theories of Who Sent the Assassin in Game of Thrones

Hi, I must admit to being surprised to see one of my posts included in a video about a Game of Thrones theory regarding who hired the catspaw assassin to kill Bran.

Before I go any further, I would like to point out that the books and the TV show may differ on the identity on the person behind the assassination attempt on Bran. D&D have made changes to G.R.R.M’s plot lines in the past. When I said that I thought the person who hired the assassin was Littlefinger, I was thinking about the television show more than the books.

As your video said Littlefinger has spies everywhere. I have little doubt that Littlefinger had spies in the North and spies in the Kings entourage. I believe he knew about Bran’s fall shortly after it happened. I think he knew every time Catelyn took a piss. And since an important part of his plan was Ned accepting the role of “Hand of the King”, I think he was paying very close attention, albeit from a distance, to what was going on in Winterfell.
In the books, Lysa sends a message to Catelyn. The message is hidden in a box with a lens. The box was placed in Master Luwin’s quarters when he is not around. In the TV show a rider from the Eyrie arrives with message written in a code shared between Lysa and Catelyn. Later we learn that Littlefinger told Lysa to send that message to Catelyn. Littlefinger has spent a lot of time and effort in getting Ned down to King’s Landing and to set the Lannisters and the Starks at odds. Bran’s fall provided him on more opportunity to heighten the tensions between the two families.
I expect there was some intermediary between Littlefinger and the assassin, someone who could communicate the instructions and give the knife to the assassin. Little Finger would have to act quickly. I think the knife was meant to lead back down south to the Lannisters. It didn’t matter if Bran was actually killed, only that it looked like a real attempt and that the knife was left behind as evidence of Lannister involvment.

It wouldn’t be the last time Littlefinger was involved in a convoluted assassination plot from a distance. Ser Dantos, acting as Littlefinger’s agent, giving the necklace (hairnet) with poisoned jewels to Sansa, Lady Olenna taking the poisoned jewels from the Necklace (hairnet) and using it to murder Joffery, Ser Dantos, then spiriting Sansa away to Littlefinger.

I have heard the argument that Littlefinger didn’t know and he was surprised to see her hand bandaged. But was he surprised or concerned? How can you tell. Littlefinger lies. He can look you straight in the eye and tell you lies. You would believe him. Even when Littlefinger is telling the truth, it is in the service of some greater deception.
If I am right (in the TV version), I think it will be revealed in season 7. I don’t think Littlefinger will be making it out of season 7. Many of his secrets will be spilled along the way.

Even before S7 it was almost obviously Baelish.

My question is, if it was indeed Littlefinger then how could he have been told of Brian's fall and condition in a timeline that makes sense, or is possible? Could it be feasible for him to be notified within the time of the Fall and the time of the assassination? Could he plan and send a middle man to finalize the attempt within the given time? Another question is, who would report to him of the Fall and why? Some will say Lysa Arryn, yet i have to ask, why would she care to pass that along to Littlefinger when all that she is obsessed with is his little finger? She doesn't seem to smart enough to realize that Bran's death would be an opportunity for Littlefinger to capitalize on. Nor would he risk discovery by asking her to keep an ear out for him to sowe tension and hostility. The Cersie covering her own ass theory seems a bit more plausible when I factor time against Littlefinger being the orchestrator of the assassination attempt.

Joffrey

Because hes a little bitch

I'll have to go with Little Finger even though the Joffrey one is interesting

im kinda thinking this up as i type, but get your best Valyrian tinfoil and strap in

so Mance is Rhaegar and tried to kill Bran because the 3 Eyed Raven is actually an agent of The Great Other, or at least uses that type of magic and anyone could see 3ER as a threat

tl:dr- weirwoods channel death magic, 3ER & CotF use that magic to save the world. but Mance/Rhaegar doesnt know they are the good guys(assuming they are) so he tries to kill him, which is why he went North after Robert's rebellion

Long and confusing version-

we "know" that Rhaegar had a massive personality change as a child/teen after reading something in his books that he loved.
so far we assume it was something prophecy related, but what if it was more than just a particular account of AA reborn.
whatever he found made him become a warrior. what if his goal was to find 3ER and eliminate him. explaining why Rhaegar would go North at all rather than exile himself in a tropical penthouse in Essos

at the Wall, Melissandre is looking into her flames and sees Bloodraven and Bran during their "darkness is your friend" discussion
either R'hllor was telling her "these guys are your best hope" or "watch out for them, they are the real threat" which is how she originally interprets it. we all assume shes wrong cause its Bran(and hes totally a good guy right?…right?). but what if she isnt

the opposite of Weirwoods, the Ironwoods, are shown to have mostly anti-spirit properties, as well as the weird visions that their leaf juice(shade of the evening) give Dany
this could mean that Weirwoods arent connected to nature magic as much as we thought, but rather a kind of death magic

Brans visions even suggests that Weirwood weapons kill dragons, the antithesis of Others

okay so going over this after typing, and yeah its flimsy as hell. but i do think that Weirwoods are closer to The Others most people think. and anyone that is just reading this type of info secondhand, like Rhaegar, would think that Bran & Bloodraven are a threat
it kind of gives Mance an actual reason for being Rhaegar, and could explain some of his actions

thats my brainstorm, if it makes any sense to anyone else. tell me what you think

It was Tyrion.

its too close of a coincidence with him being pushed by Jaime and then someone tries to assassinate a unimportant little boy. Doesnt make sense. Jaime and Cersei had the most to gain.

its too close of a coincidence with him being pushed by Jaime and then someone tries to assassinate a unimportant little boy. Doesnt make sense. Jaime and Cersei had the most to gain.

its too close of a coincidence with him being pushed by Jaime and then someone tries to assassinate a unimportant little boy. Doesnt make sense. Jaime and Cersei had the most to gain.

its too close of a coincidence with him being pushed by Jaime and then someone tries to assassinate a unimportant little boy. Doesnt make sense. Jaime and Cersei had the most to gain.

I have a compelling argument for Cersei. After Bran was pushed and the next episode starts with the breakfast where all the 3 Tywin children were present. So goes the conversation..
__
Tyrion : Boy will live.
Cersei : It's not any mercy , letting a child suffer. (Not exact dialogue)
Tyrion : I can't wait to hear what the boy has to say.
Cersei : Dread look to Jamie.
__
then before leaving ..
CERSEI EVER VISITS TO CHECK BRANS CONDITION!!! Maybe she saw he would recover and ordered the hit on the way back.

From this it's pretty clear who ordered the hit. As a matter of fact, it sits Cersei way above Littlefinger and Joffrey.

I'll be pretty damn sure that if Joffrey would have done it, he would have bragged like a brat.

Littlefinger is also likely, but after S07ep07 I'm sure that if it was Littlefinger, Bran would have revealed.

Which leaves me with Cersei.
Jamie crossed off ofc, he wouldn't even try riding north if he did something like this in S07ep07.
Although it's very plausible.. maybe Bran might recall Jamie or Cersei relaying the hit to the assasin.

While the books hint that it may be Joffrey, in the show it's pretty much confirmed that Littlefinger sent the assassin.

it was Cersei no doubt

Hum and Tyion slapped Joff for not visiting Bran

Purely speculations,
maybe baelish actually did come with robert and his men and simply was hiding, he probably gave that dagger to the assassin and probably told him to leave the dagger in the room after he is finished.

My theory is Littlefinger sent the cats paw to kill anyone randomly. To cause "chaos". The cats paw chose Bran out of "mercy". Started the fire. "No one was supposed to be here". It was The cats paws idea of mercy cuz it was just a random hit anyone but Cat.

Why a Valerian steel blade? Apparently, the assassin knew that that blade was needed to kill Bran who was the next three eyed raven. It must be someone with green sight. The Valerian blade was needed because the fall was not enough to kill some one like him. The other attempt was in Winterfell were supposedly he and his brother were burned which is another way to kill walkers.

Bran went back in time to kill himself to prevent himself from turning into the night king

It's was an inside job because someone knew that a fire would leave Bran alone. They thought his mother would be in her room and all the maids would be trying to put out the fire.

Come to think of it, wouldn't the assassin been given gold instead of silver if he was hired by Lannisters? Then again, none of it matters but the awaiting of Azor Ahai. For the night is dark… & full of terrors.

Mance