Heading into the Game of Thrones finale, everyone had their own prediction for how it would all end. While there was obviously the question of who would wind up on the Iron Throne, Season 8 seemed to be heading towards a pretty straightforward conclusion—one in which Jon Snow (Kit Harington) reluctantly pushed Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) aside and assumed his rightful role as King. Not only did that not happen (RIP Dany), but a rather unexpected choice “won” the Game of Thrones: Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright).

The “winner” came out of left field, but one key Game of Thrones cast member actually predicted how the show would end two years ago: Gwendoline Christie. Indeed, the actress who portrays Ser Brienne of Tarth made her prediction in an interview during the press tour for Season 7—in the summer of 2017—and video proof has resurfaced:

Speaking with Indiewire, Christie says she expected Jon Snow or Dany to end up on the Iron Throne when she read the final scripts, and was delighted to discover she had it right all along:

“I am slightly, pathetically thrilled that I got it right. When I read the script, I gasped and thought, ‘Oh, I was right.’… I thought it would be Bran because I thought it would be the least likely person. In my mind what Game of Thrones has always done is subvert narrative. As viewers we’ve really not known what’s going to come to us and we’ve not known how to predict it. That’s what’s made it so intoxicating. It’s the idea of the final ruler being someone who isn’t interested in power, who isn’t ambitious and therefore is entirely unlikely to become corrupted by power. That’s what I thought that George R.R. Martin would go with.”

While it’s certainly true that Bran the Broken is an unexpected choice, I’d also argue Tyrion’s justification—that he has a great “story” and doesn’t want the Throne—doesn’t entirely hold up. As our own Vinnie Mancuso pointed out, both Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Arya (Maisie Williams) have far more fascinating “stories” than Bran. And with regards to his whole reluctant ruler thing, Jon Snow had been adamant all season that he didn’t want the throne. Alas, he gets snet off to the Night’s Watch for… reasons.

But good on Christie for correctly predicting the end to Game of Thrones years ago. She’s no doubt in rare company.

For more on Game of Thrones, click on links to our recent articles below:

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