Callbacks and Easter Eggs: “The Last of the Starks”

Let’s mine the depths of Game of Thrones Episode 804, “The Last of the Starks,” to search for callbacks and Eastern Eggs. As usual, there are plenty of both, starting with the speech Jon makes at the mass funeral for those who died in the Battle of Winterfell. “They were the shields that guarded the realms of men, and we shall never see their like again,” he says, referencing the Night’s Watch oath. Way to keep it alive, Jon.

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More poignantly, Jon said this part of the oath to Beric Donadarrion in season 7’s “Beyond the Wall.” Beric was, of course, among the bodies burned in the funeral pyre.

Moving on, not three seconds after Daenerys made Gendry a lord, he was proposing to Arya. Cute, right?

Only not so much, because she turned him down, invoking what she told Ned back in season 1 when he said she would grow up to marry a lord and mind his castle: “That’s not me.”

She also used a variation on this line when she reunited with Nymeria, her direwolf, in season 7: “That’s not you.”

In a nice bit of irony, Gendry’s father, King Robert was similarly rejected by Lyanna Stark, Arya’s aunt. Arya and Lyanna were always said to be similar, and apparently, Gendry has this one thing in common at least with his father.

Anyway, does this mean there’s a Targaryen prince out there just waiting for a she-wolf of Winterfell to come along so he can marry her? No…no, there isn’t.

In season 7, Melisandre told Varys that he would die in Westeros. As it happens, Daenerys threatened to make that prophecy come true, after a fashion, when they chatted shortly after she arrived at Dragonstone. And now he’s considering abandoning her. Has Varys just signed his own death warrant?

"[SPOILERS] Also hinted last episode that he might be doing something… from gameofthrones"

Back to Easter eggs, did anyone notice Podrick walking away with two young lasses during the celebration feast? He’s a legend in King’s Landing, we hear.

I still think he did more than sing to the ladies, but I guess we may never know.

Jaime and Brienne had a special night…er…nights together. Bronn foretold this would happen back in season 6. He’s a prophet, our Bronn.

Here’s something neat: right before the season 8 premiere, we learned that Los Angeles Charger Joey Bosa was going to have a cameo this year. Well, he thinks he found himself, but it was during the Battle of Winterfell in Episode 803, “The Long Night.”

Also appearing in cameo: Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss as wildlings:

Did you notice that the Hound only seems to smile when he’s around the Stark girls? Dawww.

"[spoilers] Stark girls being the only ones to make Sandor smile warms my heart. from gameofthrones"

He has a weak spot for those girls Notice how the Hound — or should we call him “Proud Pappa” —  keeps eating when Davos toasts Gendry’s legitimization as Lord of Storm’s End, but when Dany toasts Arya, it’s a whole new ballgame.

"[SPOILERS] I have never seen Clegane this proud on the show before. A true father from gameofthrones"

Also, can we take a moment to appreciate the Hound and Arya back on the road again? The last time these two were together was in season 4.

And now, we introduce you to the eternal soldier:

"[SPOILERS] He still lives, the luckiest and the most loyal soldier from gameofthrones"

Seriously, is this guy someone’s nephew?

So that last scene was brutal. Did it remind anyone else of the sack of Astapor? Back then, Missandei was a slave serving under the cruel Kraznys mo Nakloz of Astapor. She wasn’t in literal chains, but she was definitely in bondage. When she realized what Daenerys Stormborn was about to do to her asshole masters, the normally composed Missandei allowed herself just the barest of smirks:

Five seasons later, Missandei’s confidence has grown, but she’s in much the same situation: in chains and held by a tyrant. This time, she does more than smirk. “Dracarys.”

And in the “will they never learn?” column, Jon proves he’s a Stark at heart:

"[SPOILERS] Jon Snow was a trueborn Stark all along from gameofthrones"

Were there any callbacks or Easter eggs we missed? Let us know in the comments!

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