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WARNING: SPOILERS FOR GAME OF THRONES AHEAD. The TV show concluded its run last night with the sixth episode of its eighth season. It ended with Bran Stark being selected as king - in a move
that has somewhat puzzled fans, who argued the moment was not earned in the story leading up to it. But was there a sign in A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin? That book was the second
novel in A Song of Ice and Fire, after Game of Thrones itself. Though the final two books in that series are not yet finished, Martin is believed to have told showrunners David Benioff and
DB Weiss of his plans. Is there a sign in A Clash of Kings that final book A Dream Of Spring will end the same way? User cumulonimbus7021 posted to Reddit a quote from that tome, that is
particularly striking giving how things have panned out. It reads: “The stone is strong, Bran told himself, the roots of the trees go deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their
thrones. So long as those remained, Winterfell remained. “It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought. I'm not dead either.” It’s that use of the word “broken” that has made it
stand out - with Bran the Broken ruling. The Redditor added: “I don't know if GRRM also intends to end with Bran the Broken, but if so, what a wonderfully layered ending in A Clash of
Kings. “Mixing in the metaphor of the trees, the history underneath him, and affirming that being broken is not a death sentence. “King Bran the Broken is a badge of honor, like the
Blackfish. “I’m of the opinion this is GRRM's planned king, although who knows? I think we can disagree over the approach but I think they might be aiming for the same runway.” The post
has been 77% Upvoted on the A Song of Ice and Fire board of Reddit, with one user responding: “If Bran being king is book endgame too, just shows how horribly D&D dropped the ball.
“They should have done so much more with Bran leading up to this moment.” Another wrote: “Nice find! The only things I'm convinced of in this last season that came from GRRM himself are
Daenerys burning King's Landing and Bran being elected as king at the very end of A Dream of Spring.” Martin told fans on his website over the weekend that he is still working on book
six of seven, The Winds of Winter. “I am back home again now, and back once more in Westeros, working on WINDS,” he wrote.