Game of Thrones: Bran only ever got glimpses of the future

There are many complaining that Bran knew thousands would die in Game of Thrones, but it’s worth remembering that he only ever got glimpses of the future.

Caution: There are spoilers in this for the Game of Thrones series finale.

Many are quick to point out flaws in the Game of Thrones series finale but some of them aren’t justified. One of the big flaws people point out is that Bran knew thousands would die in King’s Landing. After all, he knew that he would sit on ~~the Iron Throne~~ his own throne by the end of the show. However, he never ever got full glimpses of the things to come.

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During Season 8, Bran even makes a point that he mostly lives in the past. Sure, that means he spends some time in the present and in the future, but he’s the keeper of secrets and memories. He knows what has happened. That’s the way his powers have worked.

We’ve only ever seen him get glimpses of the future. He saw a glimpse of what we now know was Drogon flying over King’s Landing, but not once did we see him find out that the whole of King’s Landing would be burned. Why jump to the conclusion that he even did know.

And even if he did know (and it’s a big “if” in my eyes), why jump to the conclusion that he could have stopped it? Look at Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Doctor Strange knew there was only one way to stop Thanos and he couldn’t tell anyone what that one way was because it could prevent that one way from happening.

Bran didn’t see the future the way Doctor Strange does, but that doesn’t mean the thoughts of messing something up weren’t there. Did Bran worry that trying to stop Daenerys from burning thousands would actually lead to a lot more innocent people dying?

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Would anyone have even listened to him anyway? Bran was creepy and not everyone understood what he had become. Do you really think people would have accepted that he knew the fate of thousands even if he did? Sansa, Arya, and Jon would have, but everyone else? There was no way he was stopping the Unsullied and Dothraki from slaughtering.

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Yet, there are high chances that Bran didn’t even know the full outcome. We never saw him get full glimpses of the future. He seemed like he did at times, but he had no idea how things would eventually fully turn out even with more control over his abilities.

While you may not be happy with the person chosen to be king, this storyline served a purpose. It doesn’t matter about birthright. Just because you have a “right” to the throne doesn’t mean you’ll be a good leader, and Tyrion witnessed that multiple times. Bran, like Robert Baratheon did and like Rhaegar may have done, has surrounded himself with people who can help him make the best decisions for the people.

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What did you think of the ending to Game of Thrones? Did Bran on the throne make sense to you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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