Spoilers incoming
So Game of Thrones is over for good and that means, rather unfortunately, we will all, at some point, be forced to move on with our lives and leave behind the fan theories and speculation that made the show so enjoyable for so long.
Before we do, though, let’s just take a minute to fully appreciate just how backwards the selection process for the new ruler of the Seven (now Six – thanks Sansa) Kingdoms was – thanks to a passionate speech delivered by none other than Tyrion Lannister.
Following the death of Daenerys Targaryen and imprisonment of both himself and Jon Snow, Tyrion is called to address a sort of mish-mash of all the important and not-so-important people remaining in the Game of Thrones world to decide on a ruler.
As he usually does, Tyrion pulls a moving, emotionally charged speech right out of his backside, and slowly explains to everyone the one simple reason why Bran Stark is the man to rule over them.
He says:
“What unites people? Armies? Gold? Flags? Stories. There’s nothing in the world more powerful than a good story. Nothing can stop it. No enemy can defeat it.
“And who has a better story than Bran the Broken? The boy who fell from a high tower and lived. He knew he’d never walk again, so he learned to fly. He crossed beyond the Wall, a crippled boy, and became the Three-Eyed Raven.
“He is our memory, the keeper of all our stories. The wars, weddings, births, massacres, famines. Our triumphs, our defeats, our past. Who better to lead us into the future?”
And that’s all very poetic and works well as a neat little metaphor for A Song of Ice and Fire as a whole. The problem is, it’s just not true is it?
Take for instance, the tale of Jon Snow:
TYRION: People love stories. And nobody has a better story than Bran.
JON SNOW, WHO WENT FROM STARK BASTARD TO LORD COMMANDER TO KING IN THE NORTH, WHO WAS LITERALLY KILLED AND RESURRECTED, WHO SLAYED HIS QUEEN/AUNT/LOVER FOR THE GOOD OF THE REALM: [Jim Halpert look to camera]
— Jamie Woodham (@jwoodham) May 20, 2019
Or even Bran’s own sibling, the far more capable Arya Stark:
tyrion: who has a better story than bran
arya: I can literally shapeshift
tyrion:
arya: I killed the night king, did you miss that? somehow? did you miss when I killed the leader of the undead
tyrion:
arya: I could wear your face if I wanted to I swear to fu
— sloane (sîpihkopiyesîs) 🍉 (@cottoncandaddy) May 20, 2019
Or fuck, I don’t know, just about every other character we’ve met over the years:
— Jeff (@jeffblue19) May 20, 2019
It appears that Bran eventually sitting on whatever is left of the Iron Throne was always George R. R. Martin’s intention. The problem is, however poetic it might have been, there were several far more suitable candidates.
And no matter what Tyrion says, each of them arguably had far more compelling stories.
