‘Game Of Thrones’ Writer Clears Up Unanswered Questions About Bran

There were a lot of questions heading into the final season of “Game of Thrones”: What really motivates the Night King? Will dead Starks rise from their graves? How might Jon Snow react to learning the truth about his parentage? 

Those matters are important, but in addressing them, the show seems to be neglecting some vital mysteries about Bran: Is Winterfell wheelchair-accessible? Who’s supposed to check on Bran? Wasn’t he cold waiting up for Jaime Lannister all night? 

Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) uses a wheelchair since he lost his ability to walk after being pushed out a window by Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) in Season 1. It makes sense that Bran wanted to be there to stare Jaime down when the Kingslayer arrived at Winterfell in the premiere, but it also doesn’t seem like the best idea to stay outside at night in the middle of winter.

Les Stroud, Canadian filmmaker and star of Discovery’s “Survivorman,” told HuffPost that Bran could “definitely” be risking hypothermia.

He noted that it doesn’t seem too cold in Winterfell at the moment and that it’s “quite possible to sit out all night,” but added, “Not without covering up his head with the fur.”

There are so many mysteries involving Bran right now, even the Three-Eyed Raven would probably have trouble explaining them. Thankfully, “Game of Thrones” writer Bryan Cogman agreed to hop on the phone and clear up those questions and more. Cogman penned the most recent episode, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” along with several others throughout the course of the HBO series.

In the Season 8 premiere, Bran is apparently sitting outside all night waiting for Jaime. Is Winterfell wheelchair-accessible, or was he stuck out there?

You know, he has magic ways. Yeah, sure, it’s probably a rough trip, but he has lots of servants, and they park him where he needs to go and I guess people come over and check on him.

Why doesn’t Bran just chop his arm off if he’s got the Night King’s mark on him?

I mean, I wouldn’t want to chop my arm off. I don’t think that solution is available. I think he’d prefer to just keep his arm.

Tyrion asks Bran to tell him his story. What’s the significance there?

What’s fun about this show is they all have these connections with each other, and Tyrion does have a connection with Bran. He did find the circumstances of his fall intriguing, and he did design the saddle for him back in the day. The first episode I ever wrote is when he presents him with that saddle, and I think he is intrigued by the Starks and fascinated by their story and indeed fascinated by stories in general. He’s a student of history and I think him wanting to talk to Bran is about him trying to understand ― understand the breadth of everything that’s happened to all of these people. Obviously, Bran’s had a very unique experience. I think it’s just about him wanting to know more. A mind needs a whetstone. I think that’s what that’s about.

So can we finally confirm that Pod sang to those ladies in the brothel in Season 3? That’s why he didn’t have to pay them?

Wow, I wish I could say I thought of that. That’s good. No, a gentleman never tells. Pod never told us what happened in that brothel. All we can do is imagine.

The final season’s Episode 2 has already been called one of the greatest of the series by some critics. What’s it like to have it out there finally?

I kind of ripped my heart out of my chest and put it on the page for that episode. It was a wonderful opportunity [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] gave me. … The episode was a real chance to say goodbye to [the characters] and say goodbye to this incredible adventure I’ve been on. So the fact that people are responding to it is very gratifying because it was arguably the biggest labor of love of the 11 scripts I wrote.

Before you go, can you just assure everyone that the Winterfell crypts are definitely safe (as we heard in Episode 2 multiple times)?