We’re going full-out with spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the series finale, don’t keep reading! Issac Hempstead-Wright starred as the Three-Eyed Raven on GoT. He was convinced Bran’s Game of Thrones finale fate was a joke. LOL. Same. But here’s why….when he received the script, he was initially convinced the writers must be pulling some kind of prank on him. For the last eight seasons, we’ve been led to believe Daenerys or Jon Snow (AKA Aegon Targaryen) would end up on the throne. There were theories floated out that maybe Sansa or Arya would rule. Or even Tyrion himself. But Bran? That was definitely out of left-field. And Hempstead-Wright thought so too!
The 20-year-old actor told Entertainment Weekly that he initially thought he was being pranked. “When I got to the [Dragonpit scene] in the last episode and they’re like, ‘What about Bran?’ I had to get up and pace around the room,” he explained. “I genuinely thought it was a joke script and that [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] sent to everyone a script with their own character ends up on the Iron Throne. ‘Yeah, good one guys. Oh sh*t, it’s actually real?’”
We think it’s safe to say viewers felt similarly. The uber-memable character wasn’t exactly the front-runner for the Iron Throne. Hempstead-Wright went on to say he actually might’ve preferred it if Bran had died. Not necessarily for the arc of the story, but more because it’d be fun to have a cool death.
“I’m happy,” the actor said of the finale. “Though I kind of did want to die and get in one good death scene with an exploding head or something”
Bran Stark taking the throne was definitely met with some heavy criticism from fans in the Twitterverse.
But, for what it’s worth, Hempstead-Wright believes Bran will make a good ruler. The writers definitely thought so. And many agree.
HBO/BSkyB/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock.
“I think he’ll be a really good king, actually,” the actor said. “Perhaps there will be something missing in having real emotive leader, which is a useful quality in a king or queen as well. At the same time, you can’t really argue with Bran. He’s like, ‘No, I know everything.’”
Also—all of the remaining Stark pack survived.
Whether you like it or not, it’s pretty sweet.