SPOILERS AHEAD. Like, a lot of spoilers. Turn back now or suffer the nonexistent consequences.
As we have well and firmly established, ‘GAME OF THRONES‘ IS BACK, BABY.
The first episode premiered last night, and there’s a whole lot to unpack. Obviously this one was all about setting up what’s to come this season, and if we delve deep down into the clues the ‘Game of Thrones’ showrunners may or may not have laid down for us, we might get a hint at what’s to come.
Or not. We might all have way, way too much time on our hands.
1. The significance of Sansa’s hair.
‘Game of Thrones’ storytellers have been using Sansa‘s ever-changing hairstyles to shine a light on her allegiances throughout the series. And this episode? An extreme S1 Cersei vibe.
Sansa certainly “admires” Cersei. Sansa’s hair this season matches Cersei from season 3. pic.twitter.com/fJmkhjgX4i
— Mkbean (@mkbeanbuilds) July 17, 2017
Are showrunners hinting at Sansa’s character arc this season? She and Jon absolutely clashed over ideas around leadership – and Cersei was explicitly brought up. “You’re the military man, but I know her,” she told Jon. “If you’re her enemy, she’ll never stop until she’s destroyed you. Everyone who’s ever crossed her she’s found a way to murder.” Jon accuses her of sounding like she admires Cersei, to which Sansa admits: “I learned a great deal from her.”
Remember: Sansa and Jon had over a decade of not getting along, and about two weeks of being reunited after going through literal hell.
2. The dagger Sam spots while reading his illicit goods.
And by goods we mean books, a.k.a. the very useful book on dragonglass that he Harry Potter-ed out of the restricted section.
Yes, that is the blade that was used in an assassination attempt against Bran‘s life. It’s a Valyrian steel Catspaw dagger, which Littlefinger claimed to belong to the late Tywin Lannister. It’s changed hands a few times, but as far as we know, Littlefinger was the last one to own that blade… so why did it very pointedly appear at Arya’s side for the Entertainment Weekly shoot?
At some point, Arya is going to come into possession of the blade – hopefully by ripping Littlefinger’s throat out.
3. Euron Greyjoy hinting at a ‘gift’ for Cersei could mean a long-awaited object.
One major theory as to the ‘gift’ Jack Sparrow Euron Greyjoy is going to go hunt for Cersei is Dragonbinder, a large dragon horn that would supposedly give Cersei control over Daenerys’ dragons.
Dragonbone hasn’t been mentioned in the series, but in ‘A Feast for Crows‘, Euron brings it with him to the Iron Islands kingsmoot. Euron claims he found it in the smoking ruins of Valeryia, other sources say he swiped it from four warlocks in Qarth, who the hell knows. Dude is shady as shit.
A couple things to note: First of all, the bloke who blew Dragonbinder collapsed at the scene with blisters on his lips and his bird tattoo bleeding. After he died, a maester cuts him open to find his lungs charred as hell. Not looking too promising for anyone not of Targaryen blood who wants to blow it.
Second of all, when Euron showed off his shiny new toy, he promised the ironmen they would conquer Westeros with dragons. He has no interest in working with Cersei any longer than it suits him. She should knife him.
4. Ed Sheeran’s song has already made an appearance.
Ed Sheeran isn’t the first musician to make a cameo appearance in the show, but he’s the first to do it with the subtlety of an iron fist to the face. My GOD. What even was that scene.
That song he was singing though? The “new” one? It’s actually a little ditty written Symon Silver Tongue, an entertainer who knew about Tyrion Lannister’s secret relationship with Shae and threatened to expose it. Tyrion of course had him killed like the smug idiot he was. (But later mused on its lyrics while murdering Shae, so… ~IMPACT~.)
He rode through the streets of the city,
Down from his hill on high,
O’er the wynds and the steps and the cobbles,
He rode to a woman’s sigh.
For she was his secret treasure,
She was his shame and his bliss.
And a chain and a keep are nothing,
Compared to a woman’s kiss
For hands of gold are always cold,
But a woman’s hands are warm
It could be some kind of foreshadowing about more misery to befall the Lannisters – Jaimie physically has a gold hand now, and his relationship with Cersei is the worst kept secret in Westeros, but it’s still a secret – but given how ham-fisted this cameo was, probably not. IMO, showrunners just returned to the source material for a tune not yet used in the show, and figured this one was as likely as any for Lannister soldiers to sing.
5. There might be a cure for Jorah Mormont yet.
We covered this pretty extensively here, but the book Sam is reading? It contains a passage on how dragonstone has been used as cure for ailments. And since Jorah Mormont‘s entire story arc this season – as far as we know – is about finding a cure for his greystone and get back to doggedly standing three feet behind Daenerys, it’s not too much of a stretch to think this significance will be stumbled upon by Sam in the coming episodes.
6. Yeah, we’ve seen those people the Hound buried before.
Those of you without insanely huge memory brains and/or who didn’t watch the ‘previously, on ‘Game of Thrones” segment…… don’t read this.
The rest of you….. yeah, those skeletons the Hound buried? They are indeed the father-daughter duo from Season 4, from whom the Hound nicked all their silver on the basis that they’d starve to death before they’d be able to use it anyway. Sadly, true.
7. Sam’s soup-and-poop montage took THREE WEEKS to film.
And it was just him. John Bradley-West, who plays Sam, told Making Game of Thrones that watching the montage of his day-to-day life at the Citadel was as surprising for him as anyone else.
“It’s so strange to see something like that when you shoot for three weeks on your own,” he said. “You have to believe that the director Jeremy Podeswa has a plan for all that. I could never really second guess that it was all going to come together … I’m really pleased with the direction of it. I think it’s going to be a memorable moment.
8. And yes, everyone was making the same Harry Potter jokes.
Sam? In the restricted section? With Professor Slughorn? Honestly it was too much.
Sam literally just became Harry Potter… talking to Slughorn and trying to get into the restricted section of the library. #gameofthrones
— Katie Wirth (@llamadetective) July 17, 2017
The part where Sam goes to the restricted section and reads about how to destroy horcruxes #GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/i3RTXVeU9q
— Tara Ross (@rosstara) July 17, 2017
Doesn’t Samwell Tarley know he needs an invisibility cloak to get into the restricted section #GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/NiDZUHaupU
— Taryn Rosé (@Q_Taryntino) July 17, 2017
9. YES THAT IS NYMERIA MY GOD SHE’S COMING BACK.
In the teaser for next episode, we come face-to-face with Arya’s long-lost direworlf, Nymeria – and so does she.
Screaming, just quietly. Or not that quietly.
Photos: HBO.
