Did ‘Game of Thrones’ Hint That Bran Stark Would Eventually Become King in the Very First Episode?

Game of Thrones may be over, but fans aren’t done theorizing

The highly anticipated finale of Game of Thrones finally saw a new ruler be declared in Westeros, and his name is Bran Stark.

The decision came upon the lords of Westeros to decide who would succeed Daenerys Targaryen’s (Emilia Clarke) brief rule over the Iron Throne, and after a passionate plea that came from Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), it was the Three-Eyed Raven, Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright), who was unanimously chosen by the court. In response, Bran chose Tyrion as his new Hand.

Although Bran has been a major player since the start of the series (save for his absence in season 5), the youngest Stark claiming the throne came as a surprise to many fans. However, as pointed out by this Game of Thrones fan account, the hints of his eventual rule may be traceable all the way back to one specific moment in the show’s very first episode, “Winter Is Coming.”
In the series premiere, which aired in 2011, Bran’s father Ned Stark (Sean Bean) prepares to execute a member of the Night’s Watch, Will, and brings Bran, eldest son Robb (Richard Madden) and his bastard son — or so we thought — Jon Snow (Kit Harington) to witness the execution.

Before he decapitates Will, Ned recites the oath of execution in front of his sons:

“In the name of Robert of the House Baratheon,” he begins. “First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm, I, Eddard of the House Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, sentence you to die.”
As the camera pans to Bran and Jon together while Ned delivers the “King of the Andals” line, the belief from fans has been that the show was hinting that Jon would eventually become king, which was only reinforced once the discovery was made he was a Targaryen, and thus the rightful heir to the Iron Throne.

Seven seasons later, Bran becomes King and Jon is exiled to the Night’s Watch — which begs the question, was this prophesied all along?

Given that Bran was actually in the shot alongside Jon, the show may have been hinting that the future crippled-turned-Three Eyed Raven was meant to sit on the throne from the very first episode, even if most eyes were on his brother Jon.
Either way, fans of the epic fantasy saga were shocked at the outcome and took to social media to have some fun with countless memes that mocked Bran’s rise to power.
But memes and fan reactions aside, Hempstead Wright, 20, said saying goodbye to his character after so many years was an “emotional” journey.

“It was really sad. Saying goodbye to Bran and putting that costume away for the last time was like, wow. It was really weird,” he told E! News last month. “I’m never in my life going to be Bran Stark again, the person I’ve got to play for the last ten years of my life. It’s a pretty huge chapter of my life to say goodbye to, so it was emotional.”