What is the Three-eyed Crow true identity on the show?

Question

Is the Three-eyed Crow identity on the show the same as on the books?

As we know from the books, the Three-eyed Crow is actually

Ser Brynden "Bloodraven" Rivers, one of the Great Bastards of Aegon IV Targaryen; he is an albino, one of his red eyes was lost in battle and he has a large birthmark on his face.

I was puzzled by the absence of his distinctive physical features from the show depiction, he is just an old man here; I did a little search (it's been a while since I last watched those episodes), and apparently his former identity as in the books is never mentioned on the show.

Is there an official reason for this omission? Is it implied that his identity is the same as in the books, or is he meant to be someone else? Or, was it chosen not to attribute to him any particular identity to keep things simpler?

Answer 1

We don't know.

The identity of the Three-Eyed Raven is not hinted at in the show, and Brynden Rivers is never mentioned. He is also called the Three-Eyed Raven, not Crow; this could mean he's a different character altogether. Of course, Brynden Rivers's nickname was "Bloodraven", although that was partly because of the birthmark which the show character is missing.

The Three-Eyed Raven does say the following to Bran in season 6, episode 3:

Do you think I wanted to sit here for a thousand years, watching the world from a distance as the roots grew through me?

If he literally means that he has been the Three-Eyed Raven for a millenium, he can obviously not be Brynden Rivers.