Season seven of Game of Thrones had a whole lot for fans to take in - so it's no surprise that many missed these cameos and references.
The eighth and last season of Game Of Thrones ended an almost decade-long honeymoon between show creators and fans. But the seventh, the penultimate season in the series, still had a lot of praised moments. Many important twists happened as the characters revealed their last moves in this complex life-and-death game. It lasted 7 episodes, and it consisted almost exclusively of original content, as it marked the show surpassing the books.
It's not hard to miss a few details in this large-cast, complex plotline drama fantasy series. There are so many things happening at all times that most fans need to resort to outside sources to keep track of everything. A lot of Easter Eggs were noticed, but some slipped by.
The Game Of Thrones' title sequence is basically a show of its own. From the theme song to the detailed animation, each episode's introduction brings the fans joy, expectation, and information about what's coming. Season 7 brought two new locations to the interactive map that a lot of fans missed. Did you catch it? Oldtown and Eastwatch first appeared in the title sequence in season 7. Oldtown is the second-largest city in the Seven Kingdoms and home to the Order of Maesters' headquarters, the Citadel, and Eastwatch is a castle and port located at the far eastern end of the Wall and one of three manned castles left on the Wall.
In the season 7 premiere, Game Of Thrones presented their fans with a big Easter Egg: a celebrity cameo. Ed Sheeran played a Lannister soldier who runs into Arya and performs the song, Hands of Gold, originally from the book. But Sheeran wasn't the only musician to be a guest star this season.
The American heavy metal band, Mastodon, came back for the seventh season finale after their cameo as wildlings who get brutally murdered in season 5. Two seasons later, the trio from Atlanta, Georgia, returned as wights. Because the Army of the Dead was so populous, many people missed the metalheads' appearance. Still, their comeback is not only a gift to the fans of heavy metal and GoT but also proof that the show creators were attentive to details and continuity.
For the literature buffs out there, this is a book-related Easter Egg. In episode 4, "The Spoils Of War," Arya finally returns home to Winterfell. And she is not recognized by the guards, who not only don't let her in but attempt (and fail) to harm her. In the HBO featurette Inside The Episode, aired after each GoT episode premieres, the show creators, David Benioff and D.B Weiss have confirmed that this is a reference to Homer's epic poem The Odyssey, where Odysseus' return home after his 10-year voyage is met with unrecognition and rejection from the men in charge. The word odyssey derived from Homer's poem, and it meant "the story of Odysseus," a long and arduous journey. We can all agree that what Arya went through can very easily be described as an odyssey.
Staying on the subject of Arya's return, another Easter Egg is found in her spar with Brienne. This is a call-back one. After witnessing Brienne training with Podrick, Arya asks to participate. The women demonstrate they are two of the best sword fighters in the GoT world. But a closer look into Arya's moves reveals this fight is a clear reference to all her previous teachers, from Jaqen and the Waif to Syrio Forel. Including the end with the pair pointing their swords at each other. A well-done homage.
Game of Thrones pays big attention to consistency within its story and characters. In season 7, episode 7, one of the most beloved anti-heroes in the show, Tyrion Lannister, calls back to something he said about brothels in the first season. One of Tyrion's favorite activities is having sex. A good place for a single man to engage in such activity in Westeros is going to a brothel, so there's no surprise he knows a lot about them. When Jon Snow arrives in King's Landing for the first time and can't comprehend why someone would prefer to live there instead of the North, Tyrion says the brothels are far superior. To the distracted fan, this can be seen as just a funny remark. But to those paying attention, the inside joke has more layers as Tyrion said the same thing in season 1 while in a brothel outside of Winterfell.
In season seven's opening episode, Samwell Tarly asks the Archmaester Ebrose about gaining access to the "restricted section" in the Citadel's library. This fact alone would be enough for Harry Potter and Game Of Thrones fans to connect Westeros to the wizarding world, as Hogwarts' library also has a special area with the same name. However, the reference goes further, making it clear that this was not a coincidence at all. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Tom Riddle, aka young Lord Voldemort, asks Professor Slughorn about said section since he's looking for more information about Horcruxes. And what do these two mentor figures, Ebrose and Slughorn, have in common? They're both played by actor Jim Broadbent. Coincidence?
In episode 4, Littlefinger gives Bran the Valyrian steel dagger used in the attempted murder Bran suffered in season one. Regardless of what the master of manipulation had in mind with this symbolic gift, he is left quiet after Bran interrupts his speech with the iconic line, "Chaos is a Ladder." Littlefinger understands the message and shuts up.
This line is a call-back to a speech Littlefinger gave Varys in season 3, in which he says these exact words. This exchange might seem mysterious to a distracted eye, but in a deeper look, Bran is telling Littlefinger he knows about his past. And as someone who constantly lied and betrayed people to get what he wanted, Littlefinger has a lot to lose with the truth being revealed.
This season had a lot of Stark reunions, but there's one that left fans rather confused. That's when Arya comes face-to-face with her wolfy companion, Nymeria. Or was it her? On her way back to Winterfell, after finding out her brother, Jon Snow, is the King of the North, Arya runs into a pack of wild dire wolfs led by a bigger one Arya recognizes as Nymeria. Arya asks the wolf to go back home with her, but the wolf decides to walk away, leaving Arya momentarily heartbroken. She then smiles, relieved, and says, "That's not you." Many viewers understood this scene as the dire wolf not being Nymeria, but Arya's line is actually a call-back to something she told about herself. When Ned tells Arya that she'll be married with kids one day, she replies this is not her. Arya smiles as Nymeria walks away because she recognizes and respects her companion's personality and won't force her to be domesticated if that's not what she is.
Another well-known face to make a special (and brief) appearance in season 7 was the New York Mets pitcher Noah Seth Syndergaard, aka Thor. The player and his golden locks can be seen in the climactic battle between the Lannister army and Daenerys combined forces. But if you blinked, you might have missed him. Syndergaard can be found using his athletic muscles to toss a spear towards his enemies, and a good tip to point him out is the fact that he conveniently has his helmet's visor up.
