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

The highly anticipated finale ofGame of Thronesfinally sawa new ruler be declared in Westeros, and his name is Bran Stark.

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:

Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark.Nick Briggs/HBO

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 hewas 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 withcountless memes that mocked Bran’s rise to power.

Helen Sloan/HBO

source: people.com