All the Bran Stark Theories You Need to Read Heading Into Season 8 of 'Game of Thrones'

The final season of Game of Thrones will finally debunk all of the questions we’ve been asking for nearly 10 years. One of the main plot points that has remained a mystery going into Season 8 is Bran Stark — a.k.a. The Three-eyed Raven — and the Night King’s connection with one another. 

For seven seasons, fans have watched Bran’s journey as a young cripple boy who survives beyond the wall and eventually takes on the power of the Three-Eyed Raven, which means he can see into the past, present, and future. 

While fans know this character’s story arch will finally unfold in the final six episodes of the series, that hasn’t stopped them from trying to predict how Bran's fate will play out... 

The theory that Bran Stark is actually the Night King is one that has been circulating around the Game of Thrones fandom for many seasons. We’ve seen the young Stark boy have the power to mentally jump back into the past, and has even had the ability to influence events in the past that affect present day or the future (Sorry, Hodor). 

Nerdist pointed out how reddit user turm0il26 gave a lengthy explanation on Bran’s role in GOT and how he becomes the Night King. The fan predicts that Bran will use his power to go back to important events in the past where the White Walkers were present to try and stop them. 

Remember when we learned that the "Mad King" heard voices and was screaming "burn them all!" While many took this as  Daenerys' father talking about burning his subjects, the fan predicts this was Bran influencing the Mad King to burn all of the White Walkers during the time of Aerys II. However, Bran’s voice in Aerys’ head drove him crazy so he tried to burn his own people instead. 

With a few more time jumps in place, which all end in failing to stop the Night King, Bran decides to jump back to when the first White Walker was created. However, as the initial Three-Eyed Raven warned him, "Stay too long and you drown." The theory predicts Bran gets trapped in the body of the first White, which eventually will make him the Night King.

As we all know, Bran is able to jump through time, influence events, and able to warg or take control of other people. For example, we find out this truth of Bran’s power in Season 6 when Bran wargs into Hodor to escape from the cave while the White Walkers are after them, while simultaneously going back to the past where his father Ned Stark and Hodor are children. 

Now, the theory that Bran is actually Bran the Builder stems from the idea that Bran learns he cannot defeat the White Walkers. He goes back in time thousands of years prior during the Age of Heroes and builds the wall that keeps the White Walkers at bay. While it is confirmed that Brandon Stark aka Bran the Builder completed this task and also built Winterfell, it is theorized they are actually the same person and not just very distant relatives.

When Bran Stark was initially learning the powers of the Three-Eyed Raven, his mentor made a promise that he would never walk again, but he would fly. While many do think this references Bran’s greensight ability, meaning his able to fly through time, others think he the prophecy was more literal.

Some predict Bran will warg one of Daenerys' dragons to help fight the war. We’ve already seen Bran pull this off with his direwolf Summer (R.I.P.), and as a literal raven to keep tabs on the Night King. Therefore, it makes sense that the Three-Eyed Raven told Bran he’d be able to fly. 

The Night King and Bran have had the most interaction with one another. So, many fans have been wondering, why does he want Ned Stark’s only living son?

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Night King actor Vladimir Furdik dropped a major hint going into Season 8, saying, "People will see he has a target he wants to kill, and you will find out who that is." 

In Season 6, we watched as the NK tried to kill Bran before he gained the full powers of the Three-Eyed Raven, so it makes sense he’d want to continue what he started. Bran seemingly possesses the knowledge and power to kill the Night King and his army of the dead. Therefore, we wouldn’t be surprised if the White Walkers set their blue eyes on killing young Brandon Stark as a top priority.

While everyone knows that Bran and the Night King are somehow connected, one reddit user predicts it stems from ancient history. The fan predicts that Bran is actually R'hllor aka The Lord of Light, and the Night King is the Great Other. 

As religion is a popular theme in the series Game of Thrones, this fan explains how the two "gods" are most likely just the two whose tales have transcended time, making them gods. He concluded that these "gods" may have just been two men battling for years for the control of Westeros. 

Watch Game of Thrones Season 8 when it premieres on Sunday, April 14 at 9 p.m. on HBO.