“Who better than Bran the Broken?” Well, I can think of a few people.

As the great series came to a rather abrupt end, a fair few incidents happened which led to the vote of a new ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. Starting the series with Robert Baratheon as King making our way to the unanimously hated Joffrey, then moving on to a rather empathetic Tommen, finishing with the mischievous and cold-blooded Cersei. Each ruler served very different terms and died in gruesome and terrible ways (although for some they could’ve died worse deaths). Once all of the previous rulers had died and Danyerys had completely leveled King’s Landing, her reign was short lived. After Jon Snow, otherwise known as Aegon Targaryean, killed Danyerys for the good of the realm, he was no longer considered the ruler of the Kingdom, leaving the throne empty. So miraculously Bran the Broken somehow came out on the top of the poll and became the leader of the realm. To this day, the ending of this show still bothers me, not because i don’t like Bran but because it just doesn’t make sense. I’ll start with a quick and short list of the pros of having Bran Stark be the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, and then follow with who I feel would be the better choices. For Bran, I do feel that he is a very mentally smart King and wouldn’t make rash decisions. I also feel that Bran would have good relations with the entirety of the realm. The last positive for Bran is that he is the Three-eyed Raven, meaning Bran could determine the future outcome of certain events. That being said, Bran is still a terrible choice for King, and I’m sure the Game of Thrones community will happily agree with me on that statement. I have three main choices for ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, some being more controversial than others.

My first choice is clear and is what I feel would be a majority vote within the Game of Thrones community, and that’s Jon Snow. With him being the obvious choice, there are still some issues with him becoming King, yet I feel that still overrules the reign of Bran. Since Jon did kill Danyerys, the unsullied are very furious with him and want him murdered. I still feel that even though he killed Danyerys, the death was deserved and accepted by most of Westeros. After killing Danyerys, we see an interaction between Jon and Drogon, ending with Drogon flying off with Danyerys and Jon being left in the remains of King’s Landing. In this moment, Drogon could’ve killed Jon but decided against it, whether it be because of the feelings Danyerys had towards Jon, or because Drogon knew it had to be done. Another reason why Jon should rule that resonates within the series, is his heroism. In one of my sources, Sid Natividad explains the triumphs that Jon has accomplished and the acts of valor that he’s undergone, which compared to Bran’s mediocre list, blows him out of the water. Jon also is loved by many (not the unsullied) and in my opinion would be a strong ruler that no one would try to overthrow or challenge, which isn’t the case for Bran the Broken. No one else in the Game of Thrones has been killed, resurrected, and led an army in a battle against the dead. The last reason that I feel Jon should be king is because he is the rightful heir to the throne, he is Aegon Targaryean the last of his name. Unlike the Baratheons and Lannisters, or even the Starks, the Targaryean bloodline is the true heir to the throne.

For my next choice of ruler, we look at a more controversial decision which is Sansa Stark. Sansa is a character that has been through a lot since we first met her as the innocent little princess of Winterfell. She has gone from being told she would be the next Queen, to being consistently abused by Joffrey, to having half of her family murdered. I feel that all of these events have madeSansa a better, stronger, and more gracious person. Sansa shows certain qualities that Bran lacks, in things like emotion for starters, she thinks of the people that she is ruling over rather than just focus on the riches and entitlement that come with the throne. Another strong trait that Sansa possesses is her ability to learn and adapt quickly. Sansa is a very smart character and has been through a lot to help her grow and move forward. I’m not saying that Sansa is smarter than Bran because I couldn’t tell you, but I do know that she isn’t a rash decision maker and thinks about all of the little things before making her move. Elahe Idazi explains in her article that Sansa has developed a knack for being a strong leader on the numbers side of the battles. Elahe talks about in the Battle of the Bastards the role that Sansa plays in helping achieve a triumphant victory over one of the most hated characters in Game of Thrones, Mr. Ramsay Bolton. I agree, I feel that Sansa wasn’t born and raised for the life of the warrior so she can see things that the typical knight and warrior would tend to overlook. Overall, I feel that Sansa would’ve been a solid choice for the throne and was not only more qualified than Bran, but deserved it more than Bran.

My last pick for the Iron Throne is debatably the most controversial choice out of all the characters in the Game of Thrones universe, and that’s Tyrion Lannister. Now right off the bat I can already feel the eyerolls of hearing me say that we should put another Lannister of the Iron Throne but hear me out. Tyrion, similar to Sansa, has been through a whole bunch of stuff since the beginning of both the series and books. Tyrion has been looked down upon his whole life (no pun intended) and not respected as much as he should be. Tyrion has been the hand of the king and has also lived at King’s Landing for as long as the Game of Thrones community knows. Already, this makes him a good choice, because he knows how the kingdom runs and can build off of the mistakes that his sister and her child had made. Tyrion is also by far one of, if not the most, cunning and sharp characters in the whole of Westeros. Tyrion has shown this on multiple occasions and has gotten his way out of trouble using it. Tyrion also possesses the important quality of being able to negotiate very well, he uses his wit and negotiating skills to convince people that their decision should either be changed or halted because it isn’t the right time. Similar to the other two candidates, Jon and Sansa, Tyrion holds a good amount of knowledge when it comes to the battlefield both when actually fighting and strategizing. Lastly, in my opinion this is Tyrion’s best trait that he possesses, Tyrion is very good at taking criticism and being made fun of and not being phased by it. Since Tyrion is a dwarf, he is used to being made fun of and takes it on the chin no problem. He has been called just about every name under the sun so nothing can really hurt him anymore. Brian Lloyd writes that Tyrion’s relationship with his family wasn’t very strong, in fact the only person that showed Tyrion any affection whatsoever was Jaime Lannister. Both Cersei and Tywin Lannister weren’t so fond of Tyrion and it showed throughout the series and book. Even though his relationship with his family is poor, I feel that Tyrion has a strong ability to bring people together, which is a standout quality for a ruler.

Overall, I feel that my three choices are more than qualified to rule the Seven Kingdoms, especially over the new ruler of Westeros, Bran “The Broken” Stark. Although Bran does have some good qualities that could make him a successful King, I feel that Jon, Sansa, and Tyrion all have traits that are more associated with being a ruler than Bran.