Bran Stark is now the King of Westeros.
In the final episode of Season Eight of Game of Thrones, the leaders of the Westerosi kingdoms got together and decided to elect Bran the Broken their ruler.
It was Tyrion’s suggestion—he had a lot of time to consider his options while he sat in a cell—and nobody took much convincing.
Sansa alone had one condition: That the North become an independent kingdom, where the Starks would continue to rule as they had for thousands of years.
Bran granted her that freedom without hesitating, and she in turn supported his assent to the throne.
Bran also later agreed to sentence Jon Snow to a life at the Wall in the Night’s Watch to appease the Unsullied.
After the bloodshed and confusion of Dany’s very short stay in King’s Landing, peace was finally achieved.
Tyrion’s reasoning for suggesting Bran was simple: Bran held all of the stories of Westeros.
He knew its people, their fears and joys, and times of war and peace.
A storyteller, Tyrion reasoned, could unite every person in every kingdom and prevent them from repeating the bloody mistakes of their past. And this storyteller had one hell of a story himself: He survived a terrible fall to learn to fly and braved the lands north of the Wall to become the Three Eyed Raven.
Plus, he couldn’t have children to take the throne after him, potentially setting up some type of meritocracy in Westeros. It’s not democracy—not even close—but hey, it’s better than a tyrannical Dragon Queen.
Did Bran, with his Three-Eyed Raven powers, see this one coming? Who knows. His all-seeing abilities were limited to the past and the present, but he occasionally caught glimpses of the future.
If he was aware that he’d one day be king, with Tyrion Lannister as his Hand, and Brienne of Tarth, Bronn, Samwell Tarly, and others on his council, he didn’t let on. Bran was never one for making things easy. Right now, it looks like his powers will come in handy for tracking down Drogon, at least.
As for the far-fetched theory that Bran was actually evil because he was touched by the Night King, we saw no hint of that in the series finale. He seemed even-keeled and calm, ready to take on the challenge of ruling thousands of people. He’s yet to be corrupted by his power, and so there’s hope. And he seems eager to lean heavily on his council.
So there you have it: Bran the Broken is the King of Westeros. Whether that’s the ending Game of Thrones fans deserve is up for debate. He’s a king who can see everything, always. He can warg into people’s brains. If nothing else, it sounds like an interesting case of government surveillance.
esquire.com
