Easter Eggs and callbacks in the Game of Thrones season 7 trailer and press photos

HBO recently gifted us with a new trailer for Game of Thrones season 7, together with new pics and photos spreads. Fans have already watched the trailer a record-breaking number of times and have noted plenty of callbacks and Easter Eggs embedded in the images. We’re here to break down a bunch of them.

First up, check out this shot of Sansa Stark, framed just like her mother from an earlier episode. Was this on purpose? Who cares? Pass the tissues, please.

One of the more satisfying moments of the trailer was the moment Jon Snow slammed Littlefinger up against the wall of the Winterfell crypts.

That reminded people of the time Jon Snow’s adoptive father Ned manhandled Littlefinger in much the same fashion way back in season 1, complete with throat slam. It seems hatred for Littlefinger runs in the family. Or everyone just hates Littlefinger.

But remember: Littlefinger managed to wriggle his way out of this season 1 confrontation and betray Ned. Hopefully Jon doesn’t meet the same fate.

In the trailer’s creepiest moment, we see a greyscale-covered arm reach out of some sort of cell. We all assumed it was Jorah Mormont, but if there was any doubt, check out these two comparison images:

Note the thickness of the thumbs.

This next one is a stretch, but it’s fun. Check out this epic shot of Cersei and Jaime Lannister poised over the universe’s coolest map of Westeros:

It just might hint at Cersei’s ultimate fate.

Cersei is standing on a portion of the North known as the Neck. The Neck is so named because it connects the Riverlands to the North, connecting the “body” of Westeros to the “head.” Jaime, meanwhile, is standing near a portion of the Vale known as the Fingers (Littlefinger’s home).

Now, let’s talk about book lore for a minute. In A Feast for Crows, we see a young Cersei visit a woods witch who gives her a dim prophecy about her future. We saw part of this scene adapted in season 5, but the show left something out. In the books, the witch adds this unfortunate sentence: “he valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.”

Volonqar means “little brother” in High Valyrian. Jaime is technically Cersei’s younger brother, as Cersei was born first. And the “Neck” and the “Fingers” sounds an awful lot like “hands” and “throat” no? Mind = blown.

Finally, let’s look a little closer at the covers for this week’s Game of Thrones-themed issues of Entertainment Weekly, specifically this one of Arya:

Eagle eyed Reddit fans noticed that the dagger at Arya’s hip was familiar. It looks a lot like the Valyrian steel dagger Littlefinger had in season 1.

You’ll remember that was the dagger someone used to try and kill Bran before he woke up following his fall from the Broken Tower. Catelyn and Summer teamed up to stop the killer, and Catelyn brought the dagger to King’s Landing. Littlefinger told everyone that the dagger was his, but that he lost it in a bet to Tyrion Lannister. (A lie, incidentally.) Catelyn then used that evidence to arrest Tyrion on the Kingsroad, so in a way, that damn dagger is behind this whole mess.

So what is Arya doing with it? Assuming Littlfinger maintained possession of it until Arya somehow acquired it, that could mean Littlefinger’s betrayal might finally come to light. Or it just looked good for the promo shot. We’ll find out more when season 7 debuts on July 16.

h/t Reddit