Game Of Thrones Ending: Predicting What The Books Will (& Won't) Change

4. Bran Becomes King

All hail Bran the Broken, King of the Six Kingdoms.

Few moments in Game of Thrones history will have elicited such a collective 'what, that guy?!' as Bran Stark being named King of Westeros, and that is only part of the reason it's very, very likely to happen in the books too. Bran wasn't as central a character to the show as he has been the novels - they even completely ignored him for a whole season! - which suggests that there's no way David Benioff and D.B. Weiss landed on him as King of their own accord. And, of course, there's Isaac Hempstead Wright saying they told him that George R.R. Martin told them that he'd end up King.

Martin could always change his mind. His style of writing means that he doesn't plan too much in advance, and the characters could well take him places he didn't anticipate when sitting down with Benioff and Weiss all those years ago. But then, at least, Bran was set to become King in the end, and it does still hold up now. Bran is a character who doesn't want, who can't be corrupted by power or politics; he is the Three-Eyed Raven, which on the show means he's Westeros' memory, but will likely mean even more in the books. He's the first point-of-view character, he's surrounded by imagery and legend such as that of the Fisher King, and he's a choice that seems unexpected but, when you look back over it, has had plenty of groundwork laid for. Martin loves his broken things, and he clearly loves Bran dearly - he's one of the five characters who'd make it to the end in his original outline - so it'd now be more a surprise to see this not happen.

Of course, there will be some differences. It's unlikely that it'll be Tyrion-as-prisoner who puts the whole thing in motion, or that the Great Council will be, well, not that great. But there is a historical precedent for a Great Council, and them coming together to elect Bran as King - Martin is more likely to choose something a little more poetic (and less harsh) as his name, such as Bran the Rebuilder - will happen in some form.