The biggest Game of Thrones twist is yet to come, suggests new theory that Bran burned down King’s Landing

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Has Bran been up to his old tricks?

Game of Thrones
Image credit: HBO

We were all so focused on The Mad Queen in Game of Thrones season 8 that we might have forgotten about a certain Three-Eyed Raven up North. That’s right, according to this (compelling) fan theory, Bran is the villain of the piece and pretty much framed Dany burning down King’s Landing to help maintain the status quo. Confused? Read on and we’ll see what one of the weirdest Game of Thrones theories is all about as things begin to heat up before Sunday’s finale.

So, here’s the ‘Bran is evil’ theory in a nutshell: Redditor ratcliffeb outlines the idea that Bran warged into Drogon just before Daenerys was going to burn the Red Keep (and Cersei) to the ground. By taking over and roasting the citizens of King’s Landing, he helped turn Dany into the Mad Queen in people’s eyes.

You could make the argument that this outright turns Bran into the show’s ultimate villain, though he probably wouldn’t see it that way. After all, he’s just making sure everything that is fated to pass goes off without a hitch.

But that in itself would fit perfectly into Game of Thrones and its exploration of morally grey characters. The Three-Eyed Raven might be doing this for the greater good. Is he a villain because of it? Possibly – but no one in Westeros has ever kept their hands clean when it comes to keeping the peace.

It’d be an interesting ending, that’s for sure, and could leave things open to interpretation about who was right and who was wrong for years to come. I’m a Bran the Burner truther now. Bring on Sunday.

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.