Trying to figure who’s going to die in Game of Thrones is arguably a morbid pop culture gesture on par with guessing who bites the dust in Avengers: Endgame. While we know death isn’t forever in the world of Marvel, the world of GoT makes the demise of a character more based in the real world.
With Season 8 underway and two episodes aired at the time of this writing, we haven’t seen any further deaths so far. However, we know a major war is coming in Episode 3 based on references in Episode 2. Now fans are wondering if Bran Stark will die in Episode 3 and whether that throws the remaining episodes into a tailspin.
What’s the evidence Bran Stark could die?
If you go by Esquire‘s recent assessment, Bran is already essentially dead, or at least how he was once known. Most fans have seen that Bran has taken the place of the Three-Eyed Raven after the latter dies. However, this may be only one part of Bran when you start adding all the wild theories about his old self also being the Night King.
What complicates this and all theories is he’s the most omniscient character in all of Westeros. He knows everything about the past, present, and future thanks to the Three-Eyed Raven assimilation.
When you’re this powerful, you have to wonder what Bran really knows. Considering he says in Episode 2 that the Night King is after him to wipe out his memory, we have to wonder if he has a few tricks up his sleeve.
After all, if you had the time-travel abilities of Bran, wouldn’t you devise a way to gain the upper hand in a complicated world like Game of Thrones?
When you think about it, Bran can’t really die without ending everything
Esquire also forwards the idea Bran has been the Prince That Was Promised all along to take the throne. Whether fans choose to believe this or not is another thing, despite the fact that anything is possible at this point.
Most importantly, if Bran dies in Episode 3, it puts everything into a spin, namely what happens to the Three-Eyed Raven. Some sources say if Bran dies, it means the memories of the Raven stored in Bran would also die. This would logically imply Bran isn’t dying in Episode 3.
Another theory holds maybe someone else close to Bran would gain all the memories should he die. Of course, the concept of Bran not really being Bran is still relevant, setting up one death where fans would feel helps a character rather than being tragic. If this holds true, then Bran could die in episode 3.
Keep in mind those pesky theories of Bran turning into the Night King in the finale still keep persisting.
Maybe Bran will take control of the Night King at the end
How dramatic would it be to see Bran assimilate with the Night King to kill the latter? Once again, Esquire espouses this theory as being a likely possibility. It would also adhere to many online theories of Bran (the real Bran) being inside the Night King already.
Whatever you personally believe, the notion that Bran said the Night King is after him to wipe out his memory could be a huge ruse. Anyone who watches Game of Thrones since the beginning knows the show offers bait toward a surprising turn, usually in a way turning into an ironic tragedy for specific characters.
There isn’t any doubt we’ll see a lot of the main characters die before the last episode even airs. Being such a pivotal character to the entire plot, Bran dying next would be the ultimate sacrifice and one where we finally see a character put at peace when eliminated.
