Why One Line in the ‘Game of Thrones’ Finale Ruined Bran Becoming King

• Some people were frustrated when the series finale of “Game of Thrones” ended with King Bran.
• That choice is totally fine, but his line “Why do you think I came all this way?” soured it.
• This line plays for a laugh, but it’s incredibly consequential about Bran’s greenseeing abilities.
• Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

As a “Game of Thrones” expert (and author of an unofficial guide to the series), I have a lot of messy thoughts about the choices (both good and bad) made in the conclusion of HBO’s epic story.

But one thing from the series finale still rankles me to this day, and that’s the moment when Bran tells Tyrion: “Why do you think I came all this way?” 

On its face, the choice for Bran Stark to wind up as King of the Six Kingdoms was a solid narrative conclusion to the story. But the “Game of Thrones” creators completely undermined this move by implying that Bran can see into the future, and therefore that he allowed the horrific war between Cersei and Daenerys to play out without interference.

Some fans were frustrated when ‘Game of Thrones’ ended with King Bran, but that choice is in line with the story

Between the devastating murder of Daenerys Targaryen and underwhelming amount of attention given to the emotional meaning behind Jon Snow’s true parentage, fans had a lot of bones to pick with the seemingly sudden choice for Bran to become the next ruler of Westeros.  

But Bran becoming king is the only plot point from the finale that we know for certain George R.R. Martin told the showrunners about, as Hempstead Wright confirmed in an interview with Insider. Which means it makes a lot of narrative sense for the story as a whole, especially given how important Bran is to the very beginning of the story in “Game of Thrones.”

But assuming they knew around 2013 that King Bran was the endgame, it’s rather egregious that they didn’t do more with his storyline after season four. After he became the Three-Eyed Raven, Bran served more as a punchline than a true character.

The biggest issue was the throwaway line Benioff and Weiss added in the finale that implied Bran could see the future and knew he would eventually be crowned king

In the series finale, Tyrion proposes that “Bran the Broken” (which is a totally unnecessary and ableist nickname) should be King. He then asks Bran if he’ll accept the title. 

That’s when Bran tells Tyrion, “Why do you think I came all this way?”

He had traveled to King’s Landing from Winterfell, and so the moment seems to play for a laugh. But it’s actually incredibly consequential, because it implies that Bran can see into the future. This means he sat back, mostly passive, throughout the fight against the Night King and Cersei, knowing he would one day be crowned king after a devastating massacre in King’s Landing.

No one in the show ever seemed to understand what being the Three-Eyed Raven meant, and because of that the audience had a hard time grasping it, too. At least twice the audience was given clues that Bran could see the future.

But if Bran could indeed see clearly into the future, and knew he’d be crowned king if he traveled south, then did he also know Daenerys would massacre the citizens of King’s Landing, clearing the path for him?

And if that’s true, did he really just let the massacre happen with no interference?

Maybe Benioff and Weiss meant nothing by this line. The problem is that we don’t know how much it implies. I was left feeling no optimism about King Bran’s rule, or the fate of Westeros if it’s in the hands of a young greenseer with the ability to see disaster ahead for his citizens and either be unable to or choose not to do anything about it.

The last 2 seasons of ‘Game of Thrones’ had a bad tendency to skate past story threads that should have been given more emotional weight 

Throughout seasons seven and eight, “Game of Thrones” tended to engage with some major story beats at a surface-level that left me emotionally unsatisfied.

Dany leaving her former kingdom in Essos in the hands of Daario? A weak conclusion to her ambitions of eradicating slavery in the world.

Jon Snow riding a dragon for the first time? Played for laughs just like King Bran.

Arya Stark having face-changing abilities? That was used for a bizarre Sansa vs. Arya story in season seven and then totally disregarded in season eight.

Sam Tarly deserting the Citadel and stealing a bunch of important history books? Never mentioned again, and he was made an maester in the end anyways despite him having a family with Gilly. 

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Overall, there were many things I enjoyed about season eight (which you can read here). But Bran’s throwaway line will haunt me forever.

At least I know Martin’s book series will likely have a very different way of ending the story in “A Song of Ice and Fire” — and hopefully it won’t include that careless piece of dialogue.