8. We know Martin hasn't finished his version of the story yet, and that there are very likely some key beats from the final season that won't appear in the final books. That said, where do you think he'll land with Bran? Same spot?
Roughly, yeah. Martin has said that the first scene he ever envisioned for Game of Thrones was the one in which Bran sees his father execute a Night's Watch deserter, learning the invaluable lesson: "The man who passes the sentence should also swing the sword." Then the Stark family discovers Summer and the other direwolves, and the rest is history. That's where Martin started: a boy watching his dad kill a man in a bitter cold fantasy world. Of course, if Martin planned for that boy to go on an intense journey of personal loss, physical struggle and existential transformation, with a seat at the heart of the kingdom as the ultimate destination? Clearly, he wasn't going to reveal that bit of information. Bran as the king of Westeros feels way too specific to be a Benioff and Weiss creation; it feels like it's ripped right out of Martin's own mind.