Is King Bran Stark Still the Three Eyed Raven in the Game of Thrones Finale?

Well that was NOT what most people were expecting: Bran Stark/Bran the Broken is now King of the Seven Kingdoms. But his entire arc throughout the show was his progression into being the Three Eyed Raven, which kind of feels like a full-time job. So how is he going to manage being both? Let's dive in.

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Spoilers for Game of Thrones season 8, episode 6.

Well that was NOT what most people were expecting: Bran Stark/Bran the Broken is now King of the Seven Kingdoms. But his entire arc throughout the show thus far was his progression into being the Three Eyed Raven, which kind of feels like a full-time job. So how is he going to manage being both? Let's dive in.

Yes—in the last scene we see him, he says he thinks he may be able to "find" Drogon by warging into him (also, that's a tiny reference to something fans wanted for a long, long time, which was for Bran to warg into a dragon). So he's still learning more about being the Three Eyed Raven and seeing everything that has happened and will happen. He still needs to work on doing that, since he's so young and growing into the role. So that's his "main" job, I think.

Based on what we see of the small council, Bran is a bit of a figurehead. He comes in briefly to chat with his advisors, then immediately leaves, presumably to go back to being a supercomputer. They will make the decisions for the realm, and he will oversee things as a very, very hands-off manager. Considering that he basically represents all of human memory, he essentially represents the realm in its entirety. 

He doesn't say explicitly, but he does have access to all memories, past, present, and future. But if he shared that future with anyone, he'd be removing free will from those around him, or the future might not happen. He does smile and tell Tyrion the reason he came to King's Landing is because of his selection as king, so, yes, it sounds like he journeyed into the future to see his own fate.

Well, there's been an elected ruler who won't have kids, a wife, mistresses, or other crazy drama like most other kings that sat on the Iron Throne (Robert Baratheon, anyone?). It also means that he won't have a true-blood heir, and future kings will also have to be elected. It also means that the king is all-seeing, and all-knowing (godlike, in a way) so that could lead to some wise decisions. It also means it's a king who doesn't super care about life in the present. So it'll be a weird experience, all around.

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Katherine J. Igoe
Contributor

Katherine’s a Boston-based contributor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle—from “Clueless” to Everlane to news about Lizzo. She’s been a freelancer for 11 years and has had roles with Cosmopolitan and Bustle, with bylines in Parents, Seventeen, and elsewhere. It’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.