What You Missed On 'Game Of Thrones': Easter Eggs, Cameos, And Ikea Wear
"The Spoils of War," the fourth episode of Season 7 of Game of Thrones, may have been one of the HBO fantasy's best episodes by far. That could be in part due to the seventh season's sudden narrative urgency, the stunning, climactic battle, or the show's nuanced hints at an endgame weapon.
Or, it could be the numerous easter eggs and cameos that populated "The Spoils of War," which make each viewing of a Game of Thrones episode richer than the last. Here are some things you may have missed about Season 7, Episode 4 of Game of Thrones, as well as some plain old fun facts about costumes and IKEA.
Callbacks to Early Game of Thrones Scenes
Without any new book material to rely on, Game of Thrones has taken to making references and homages to its own early seasons. (Thanks to Ani Bundel at Elite Daily for pointing some of these out!)
Arya Gets Turned Away: A direct parallel to the season 1 episode in which a dirty Arya, who had just run outside of the castle after eavesdropping on Varys and Illyrio conspiring about her father and Daenerys, tried to re-enter the Red Keep. The guards first think that she's a boy, and that she's lying about being the Hand's daughter before she gives them a verbal smackdown, threatening to sic her father on them. This time, in the Season 7 episode, she threatens her sister Sansa's anger instead.
"Chaos is a Ladder": Confused why Littlefinger looked so stunned when Bran told him "Chaos is a ladder"? It's because he was throwing his own words back at him, which he had spoken during a potentially treasonous conversation he had with Varys in King's Landing. It proved that Bran was watching Littlefinger, and knew the game he was playing.
Davos Remembers Stannis' Grammar Lessons: One of the funniest parts of the episode is Davos correcting Jon Snow's use of "less" with "fewer." It's a throwaway line, and a reference to his former loyalty to the now-dead Stannis.
Bronn Wants His Castles: The episode opens with Bronn asking for the bigger castle and prettier woman that Jaime had promised him in season 5 when he had torn him away from his engagement to Lollys for their adventure in Dorne.
"Isn't Their Survival More Important Than Your Pride?": Daenerys isn't the Three-Eyed Raven, but she somehow managed to throw back Jon's own words at himself. Her admonishment of Jon in the cave scene was eerily like his speech to Mance Rayder in season 5 when Jon was trying to convince him to bend the knee.
The First Men and the White Walkers
In Jon and Dany's cave scene, he shows her the painting of the White Walkers and the "First Men." The First Men had fought alongside the Children of the Forest during the Long Night. At the feet of the drawings of the First Men, there are two curiously familiar symbols. The first, a swirl, which represents the tree where the first First Man was turned into a White Walker. We also saw the White Walkers form this swirl out of dead bodies in season 2, which Samwell Tarly stumbles upon. The second, a circle with a straight line through it, is the exact image of the dead bodies arranged by the White Walkers that we first saw in the pilot episode.
What does it all mean? For now, who knows.
High and tight. @NoahSyndergaard hurled a spear in his #GameOfThrones debut last night. pic.twitter.com/Shw01dyguU
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 7, 2017
A Celebrity Cameo Hits Home Run
He's no Ed Sheeran, but Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard' certainly knocked it out of the park with his cameo. He plays a Lannister soldier who uses his pitching prowess to throw a spear at the incoming Dothraki army.
The Night's Watch Capes Are Made of IKEA Rugs
While the Game of Thrones designers are blowing all their money on CGI dragons and epic battle setpieces, the Night's Watch is getting...IKEA rugs? Even on the set of the Game of Thrones, the Crows can't get taken seriously.
Costume designer Michele Clapton explained how the costume department repurposes IKEA rugs to make them fit for the King in the North. Or at least, fit to go trudging in freezing weather and snow.
"These capes are actually IKEA rugs. We take anything we can. We cut and we shape them, and we added strong leather straps, and then break-down, which is like a religion on Game of Thrones. I want the audience to almost smell the costumes. Here they were waxed and frosted so that they belonged to the landscape."
After a thorough investigation of the Swedish furniture manufacturer, the AV Club has decided that the culprit is the Rens rug. Next, we'll probably learn that the Wall is built out of the Billy Bookcases.
See Clapton's full talk from last year on the designs of Game of Thrones below:
What do you think? Are there any Game of Thrones easter eggs or fun facts that we missed?