Callbacks and Easter Eggs in Game of Thrones Season 6
During Game of Thrones Season 6, you joined us each week as we combed every episode for Easter Eggs and callbacks to previous seasons. It’s been a fun and exciting adventure, filled with eye-opening finds that show a commitment to continuity on the parts of showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss. Today, we go on a hunt to find things we missed throughout the season, and to highlight some of the better callbacks we covered in our weekly posts. So gather your spears and wine, and try to avoid being gutted by a boar, because unlike King Robert, we plan to live through this.
We start today’s Easter Egg hunt with Tyrion’s favorite joke, the one he started to tell to Lysa Arryn’s court back in Season 1. We didn’t get to hear the end of it then, but he took another stab at it in “No One.” (Make sure to scroll through each page). Thanks to Redditor SunKing456.
"Joke"
Next, we have a lengthy bit of storytelling from Redditor blondietvjunkie regarding Jon Snow’s connection to House Mormont. If you remember, Jon was first named steward to Lord Commander Jeor Mormont of the Night’s Watch way back in Season 1, and saved the Old Bear from an attack by a wight. For his service, Jon was given the House Mormont’s Valyrian steel sword, Longclaw. Later, in Season 5, It was Lyanna Mormont that turned down Stannis because he was not a Stark.
"Mormont’s not here to protect you now."
In “The Broken Man,” Lyanna Mormont kept faith with House Stark and pledged Jon her 62 men. And when Jon cornered Ramsay in Winterell, he used a Mormont shield to protect himself from Ramsay’s arrows. Finally, When the Lords of the North were squabbling over what to do once Ramsay was dead, it was Lyanna Mormont who stood and proclaimed Jon King in the North, which rallied the other lords. Rousing stuff, that.
Redditor Burakkuada has taken notice of Cersei’s reactions to each of her children’s deaths. I guess with each one, her heart just starts to harden?
"Cersei’s reactions to the death of her children"
There have been some fantastic parallels drawn between Lord Eddard Stark and Jon Snow, and Redditor doryza noticed this one, which connects the two men across five seasons of television:
"Interesting parallel between S1 and S6 of GoT"
YouTuber Red Thorn Productions crafted an homage to the Kingslayer, Jaime Lannister. It tells Jaime’s story starting from Season 1, when he pushed young Bran Stark out a window (“The things we do for love”) to the end of Season 6, when he watched his sister have herself crowned the Queen of Westeros. (“Burn them all!”)
Okay, so this isn’t so much a callback or an Easter Egg as it is something I like. Sue me.
Redditor sakhnini points out that Maester Aemon Targaryen of the Night’s Watch gave us a bit of foreshadowing way back in Season 1 regarding Jon Snow’s parentage and Ned Stark’s choice.
"Maester Aemon gives us hints abount the events of the Tower Of Joy back in Season 1"
In fact, Maester Aemon is a foreshadowing machine. Consider the bit from Season 5’s “Kill the Boy” when he was talking to Sam about Daenerys. “A Targaryen alone in the world it’s a terrible thing,” he said. And then Jon pointedly walks in the room.
Did you know that the actor who plays the Night King changed between Seasons 5 and 6? Redditor arathos did.
"Night King comparison: Richard Brake and Vladimir Furdik"
Speaking of the Night King, in Episode 605, “Hold the Door,” we saw how the Children of the Forest created the guy by shoving a piece of obsidian through his chest. Redditor Lawtey remembered the pendant on the Night King’s armor from Season 5, and wonders if it’s symbolic of that traumatic transformation.
Redditor UncleScratchy thinks that Arya is simply following in her father Ned’s footsteps: The man (or woman) who passes the sentence should swing the sword.
"Ned was talking to the wrong Stark child…"
I think Ned had more than revenge on his mind when he executed the runaway Night’s Watchmen, though.
Finally, I made a little collage that links Jon finding Ghost the direwolf in the first episode of the show to him being elected the King in the North in the Season 6 finale. There were five pups for each of Lord Stark’s children. But Jon wasn’t a Stark, so he didn’t get one. But just as he was about to leave, he saw a ball of white fur off to the side, and he found Ghost, the runt of the litter. Now, he is the White Wolf, and the King in the North.
I hope you’ve had as much fun as we have looking in the dusty corners of the internet for Game of Thrones Easter Eggs. Hopefully, next season will continue to connect the dots of this story. Until then, valar dohaeris.