The scripts for Game of Thrones season 8 have finally clarified what Bran Stark was doing during the Battle of Winterfell. The HBO's eighth and final season had been teasing the battle for quite some time, but it finally came to a head during the third episode, "The Long Night."
Bran, now transformed into the Three-Eyed Raven, was the clear target of the Night King. Part of the plan was to keep Bran at the godswood as a way to lure the Night King. He was parked under the weirwood tree to serve as bait while Theon Greyjoy and fellow brave warriors stood by in defense. While the rest of the Winterfell forces stood ground as the Army of the Dead approached, Bran let his mind slip away after declaring, "I'm going to go now." Bran then warged into ravens who flew around the Night King riding atop Viserion. The reason for Bran's action, however, was not made entirely clear during the sequence.
That mystery has now been solved thanks to the recently released scripts for Game of Thrones season 8. The scripts available at the Writers Guild Foundation Shavelson-Webb Library in Los Angeles (via Insider) presented Bran's warging scene in a bit more detail. According to the script, there was originally going to be "a massive flock of ravens, bigger than last time [episode 705], converge on Winterfell from all sides, all piloted by Bran." From the ravens' point-of-view, Bran would have seen Jon and Daenerys riding their respective dragons as he seemingly scouted the battle from above. This would have helped in commanding the troops as he got a clear view of the Army of the Dead's movements from a distance.
Why Bran's Scene Was Cut From The Battle Of Winterfell
Before the scripts were made public, Isaac Hempstead Wright, who played Bran, gave his insight into what he thought Bran was doing during the Battle of Winterfell. Wright stated (via New York Times) that Bran was "just keeping tabs on the battle" and that the massive amount of ravens weren't shown because it wouldn't have been interesting. He added that Bran had no choice but to sit there as there was no time for clear communication.
That statement was essentially true, but considering Bran became such a major player by the end of Game of Thrones, it would have been nice to see him have a bigger role in the battle. As the Three-Eyed Raven, Bran had the ability to warg into any living body. He could have used those powers in numerous ways to help during the battle, but instead he was content as bait. Then, before Bran had the chance to defeat the Night King himself, the leader of the White Walkers was struck down by a rage-filled Arya.