King Bran at the end of Game of Thrones
By
Ben Sherlock
Published 18 minutes ago
Ben Sherlock is a Tomatometer-approved film and TV critic who runs the massively underrated YouTube channel I Got Touched at the Cinema. Before working at Screen Rant, Ben wrote for Game Rant, Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop. He's also an indie filmmaker, a standup comedian, and an alumnus of the School of Rock.
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HBO is currently developing a handful of Game of Thrones sequels, so the franchise will finally have to address Bran Stark’s reign. The ending of Game of Thrones marked one of the most disappointing series finales in TV history. What started out as one of the greatest shows ever made sputtered to the finish line on a wave of mixed reviews and fan complaints.
But now, it’s looking like the franchise actually has a chance to rectify that ending, or at least soften the blow. George R.R. Martin has confirmed that multiple Game of Thrones sequels are in the works. House of the Dragon is renewed for seasons 3 and 4, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is almost upon us, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
According to Martin, there are about five or six Game of Thrones spinoffs currently in development — it’s basically becoming the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and that slate includes “a sequel or two” that will directly follow on from the flagship series. This will force the franchise to address the future of Westeros after that polarizing finale, and show what Bran’s reign was like.
Any Game Of Thrones Sequel Will Have To Address Bran's Reign
King Bran Stark at a table for a small council meeting in Game of Thrones season 8, episode 6
Any potential sequel to Game of Thrones will have to touch on Bran’s reign. The final episode of the original series saw Bran get elected to be the new king of the Seven Kingdoms. We saw a couple of glimpses at Bran’s benevolent leadership, as he appointed Tyrion to be his Hand and began making plans to rebuild King’s Landing, but we didn’t see much.
A Game of Thrones sequel will have to go into more depth on Bran’s reign. Did he turn out to be a good king, or did the Seven Kingdoms descend into chaos once again? Whether a potential sequel is set during Bran’s reign or after it, the decisions he made on the Iron Throne will need to have some impact on the narrative and worldbuilding.
HBO Has The Chance To Fix Game Of Thrones' Ending With Sequels
Daenerys Targaryen staring at the Iron Throne in Game of Thrones season 8 finale
A Game of Thrones sequel presents HBO with the perfect opportunity to fix the show’s ending. If the story keeps going, then that finale wasn’t really the end, and they have a chance for a do-over. If the sequel series is a satisfying follow-up to the original show (which is a long shot), then it just has to stick the landing in its final episode.
This is becoming a pretty common practice in Hollywood. If the audience doesn’t like the ending of a show, the network can just revive it and keep the story going. Dexter’s dreadful ending has been undone by not one, but two sequel shows. How I Met Your Father caught up with a handful of How I Met Your Mother characters after their disappointing ending.
Pretty Little Liars got a sequel series; Full House got a sequel series. Even shows with a great finale, like Frasier, have been revived for a sequel show. The Walking Dead didn’t really have a proper ending; it just spent its final episode setting up a smattering of spinoffs that would continue the story.
HBO can make up for Game of Thrones’ underwhelming ending by giving it a new ending in one of the sequel shows. It’ll be a tall order for the sequel series to recapture the zeitgeist the way the original did, but House of the Dragon has proven that these spinoffs can be massive hits to rival their predecessor.
There Has To Be More To Bran's Story In George R.R. Martin's Ending
Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) looking off to the side in Game of Thrones.
In the Game of Thrones finale, the revelation that Bran will sit on the Iron Throne comes out of nowhere. It feels like the writers were trying to come up with an ending that no one could predict rather than an ending that made sense. Sure, Bran’s election was a surprise, but not the good kind of surprise.
When the TV show reached its last couple of seasons, the writers ran out of novels to adapt. Martin shared his story outlines with them, but they were just bullet points that hadn’t been fully fleshed out. By adapting those bullet points into a pair of shortened seasons, Game of Thrones’ final seasons felt rushed. They raced through major plot points without adequate build-up.
Daenerys’ sudden decision to commit mass murder came out of the blue, because the writers didn’t properly set it up. Martin surely would’ve developed that storyline further to give more context to Daenerys’ choice, but the TV writers didn’t bother to do any of that development themselves. The same thing happened with Bran’s election; it wasn’t properly set up.
Surely, Martin had more in store for Bran than Game of Thrones did. He would’ve had a good reason for Bran becoming king, and a plan for his subsequent reign, but the TV show didn’t have any of that stuff. Now, it’s up to Game of Thrones’ sequels to salvage that storyline and justify Bran ending up on the Iron Throne.
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