Callbacks and Easter Eggs in “Blood of My Blood”
Sunday night’s episode of Game of Thrones seemed to take its foot off the gas a bit, at least so far as murder and mayhem go. “Blood of My Blood” was more of a setup episodes, and featured another Stark reunion, Arya’s decision to defy the Faceless Men, and a major power shift in King’s Landing.
“Blood of My Blood” also saw the return of several characters. At the Twins, old Lord Walder Frey is still as crotchety and vile as ever. Brynden Tully is still alive…for now, and of course Uncle Benjen lives…sort of. We visited Horn Hill, and it was grand and beautiful, and Sam’s mother and sister were as sweet and loving as I expected, which meant that Sam’s dad, Lord Randyll Tarly, was as big of a jerk as I was expected.
As has become the norm for Season 6, there were loads of hidden nuggets in the episode. Let’s uncover them.
First, a look at a couple of Targaryens, from Reddit user midnightrambulador.
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The terrific Game of Thrones casting department strikes again—there’s definitely a resemblance between Viserys Targaryen and the Mad King.
Next, we have this really neat framing shot of Arya, from Reddit user PLX-One. Notice the object behind her…is this some sort of crazy foreshadowing by the Game of Thrones showrunners? Will Arya eventually sit the Iron Throne? It’s probably just a well timed screencap, but fun nonetheless.
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Staying with Arya, Reddit user imnotlikeanyofyou put this little photo montage together, complete with text from her discussion with Lady Crane. Taken in context, it really hits home.
Also, did you notice how Arya’s self-reflection moment in the latest episode harkened back to Melisandre’s similar moment in the season premiere?
Here’s a nice bit of foreshadowing from Margaery in Season 4, from Reddit user singh_sahil24.
“Blood of My Blood” was big on fathers disappointed in their sons. Reddit user I_Photoshop_Movies caught it made a little collage. Notice Ned’s prop head is the last photo…it still counts!
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Here’s a possible origin story for Tommen the Blessed:
After the finale of “Blood of My Blood,” were you wondering how much Drogon has grown? Redditor HorseCode put this handy dandy montage together.
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They grow up so fast…
And then there’s the big speech Daenerys gave the Dothraki at the end of the hour. It’s almost an exact copy of the speech Khal Drogo gave to his men in Season 1’s “You Win or You Die.” Both leaders talk about riding wooden horses across the black salt sea, killing men in iron suits, and tearing down their stone houses. Dany leaves out the bit about raping women and taking children as slaves, though.
That’s it for this week, tune in next week as we dig through Episode 607, “The Broken Man.”