Despite their time constraints, Game of Thrones gave Bronn and his Lannister crossbow two very distinct scenes in the early goings of season eight, and our question is a simple one: why?
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ‘GAME OF THRONES’ SEASON 8 WILL FOLLOW AFTER THE GIFs.
Unfortunately, at this current stage, Game of Thrones showrunner David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have burned up all their benefit of the doubt, so attempting to apply logic to this final season of Game of Thrones is no longer a viable option.
Therefore, it is now, sadly, very possible that Game of Thrones has said goodbye to Bronn has easily as he snuck into Winterfell to threaten the Lannister brothers.
But, what if they didn’t? What if Bronn, and that bulky mess of a crossbow that was given to him by *Cersei* and has been an influential weapon throughout the course of the series, plays a role in the series finale?
As we previously discussed, killing Daenerys while she’s in the presence of Drogon is going to be extremely difficult, as the fire breathing nuclear bomb has seemingly leveled-up into its final form. But, one thing that would maybe, MAYBE be able to pick Dany off from afar is a crossbow.
Now, having Bronn of all people kill Daenerys is nothing short of outrageous, so it’s hard to imagine Game of Thrones going down the road of a relatively minor character killing *the* lone remaining big bad.
But, as the Chekhov’s Gun principle states, any element introduced into a story must be paid off later, otherwise, why introduce it at all?
“If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there,” famed Russian playwright Anton Chekhov once wrote.
And say what you will about their execution of the Game of Thrones story once they lapped George R.R. Martin’s books, Benioff and Weiss are, in fact, professional writers who should be more than aware of the Chekhov’s Gun principle.
One can only hope that they’ve figured out a way to involve Bronn and this crossbow in the series final episode, instead of unceremoniously casting off one of the fan’s most beloved character.