A lot of people are upset about the Game of Thrones finale. I understand their frustration. Most people expected Jon or Danaerys to take the throne, or rule as a married couple. If not, then at least a protagonist with political experience, like Sansa or Tyrion.
The writers’ obsession with doing the unpredictable got out of control. The groundwork to an ending of this mad story was laid out perfectly for them; all the chess pieces were strategically placed. But the demon called a “twist ending” reared its ugly head, backfiring on the writers on so many levels. Someone should have told them that just because an ending has a twist doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better.
That being said, people are being far harder on Bran than he deserves. Bran is going to be a great king. He’s reserved, kind, merciful, not to mention he knows everything. Well, almost everything. The people who think he knew Dany would burn King’s Landing (and the innocents) and did nothing about it are mistaken. While Bran can clearly see into the past and present, he can’t see the future in the same way. All his visions are only fleeting glimpses of the future, not actual scenarios. None of the visions he had indicated King’s Landing would burn, and even if they did, they wouldn’t have suggested Dany’s doing. Perhaps he knew that giving Arya the dagger that ended up killing the Night King would be important, but I don’t think he saw how it would exactly pan out.
Secondly, there’s no way Bran “warged” into Drogon the dragon before it burned the city. That theory has been debunked by the final episode, in which Dany shows no indication that she’d lost control of her dragon. The people who believe Bran is responsible for this heinous crime are reaching for answers.
Thirdly, fans complain that he doesn’t deserve to be king because he did nothing the whole series, or that he has no value as a leader. Let me say that while being a cripple limits his physical mobility, it doesn’t understate his importance in the story. Without Bran, humanity loses to the dead, it’s that simple. The Night King wanted him dead because of the extremely valuable information he had about humanity’s past, and his potential to preserve it. Without Bran’s baiting, the Night King goes right through Winterfell without hesitating. Bran was also instrumental in uncovering the scheme that Littlefinger was designing against his sisters. As a nearly omniscient stoic, he can foresee problems before they happen, and see through people who mean to harm him and those close to him. Finally, he’s valuable because he's a nobleman with a stainless record, whom nobody has any grudges against. He never harmed anyone, so nobody would resent him being chosen to rule the Seven Kingdoms. Tyrion’s nomination for Bran makes a lot of sense when you consider these things.
But let’s not kid ourselves, Tyrion is the real winner here. As the King’s Hand, and the person with the most experience at dealing with political issues, he has the power to wield decisions more than anyone. In effect, Bran is Tyrion’s puppet. So that means the good guys prevailed, right? Then why is everyone so whiny about the ending? Sure, Jon would have made a better king, but he didn't want it. And it wasn’t necessary for Dany to surprise us all by showing her true colors (or was it?). The series could have ended better, but it also could have ended worse.
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