Some Game of Thrones fans are still mad about the controversial outcome of the eighth and final season, with the focus of their ire none other than Bran Stark.
Redditor Beef-Wungus didn’t mince words when they vented their feelings about Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) in the r/FreeFolk subreddit. They described Bran as a tedious know-it-all whose gift for seeing and influencing the past, present, and future prove to be utterly pointless. In their estimation, Bran was only ever interesting when Jamie Lannister pushed him from the window at Winterfell. Their post “I Hate Bran Stark” has received over 800 upvotes so far, so it’s clearly a shared sentiment.
Many were unimpressed by the fact that some of the most pivotal moments of Game of Thrones were depicted in Bran’s visions, particularly season 6 episode “The Door,” in which Bran becomes the Three Eyed Raven, and 10th chapter “The Winds of Winter”, which reveals the true lineage of Jon Snow (Kit Harrington). The thread quickly expanded with hilarious observations about Bran I the Broken.
MountaineerHikes offered a tongue-in-cheek defense Bran, calling him “King Hindsight.”
One fan wondered why the show denied viewers the wish fulfillment of seeing Bran warg into a dragon, instead of sitting idly under the weirwood tree while the Night King and the White Walkers slaughtered the Dothraki army and stormed Winterfell.
Limppeggedlongjohns lambasted the incoherent plot that unfolded in the final season of the series, pointing out the absurdity of Tyrion Lannister having the authority to nominate the next monarch, even though he was on trial for conspiring to assassinate the last one.
Another called out Bran’s blatant hypocrisy for claiming he could not accept the role of Lord of Winterfell as he was no longer the son born to Catelyn and Eddard Stark, before arrogantly turning up at King’s Landing to stake his claim on the Six Kingdoms.
Tyrion’s justification for making Bran king was eviscerated by kanjilal_s, who pointed out that every other contender for the Iron Throne had a better story.
Clearly, many fans still feel let down by David Benioff’s and D.B. Weiss’ decision to make Bran the ruler of the Six Kingdoms without taking the time to imbue him with a sense of identity or purpose. The disenchantment runs deep, as Bran’s story arc is an endless missed opportunity that became the crowning glory of a bewildering conclusion to one of the greatest television shows ever made.