Uncover all the hidden pop culture references in A Song of Ice and Fire
By John Fallon
From Sesame Street to Harry Potter, Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin hid all kinds of cheeky pop culture references in his seminal fantasy series.
Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin is known for writing about death. His A Song of Ice and Fire is wet with blood. Fans know that anyone, including main characters, can die at any moment, and they often do.
That said, the man still likes his jokes, and he’s hidden plenty of sly references throughout A Song of Ice and Fire and in other works set in Westeros, like his Targaryen history Fire & Blood and his Westerosi reference guide A World of Ice and Fire. If you look closely, you’ll find plentiful references to other fantasy series, pop culture, sports teams and more.
We’ve collected some of the most amusing references and collected them here. Let’s turn the page.
Image: Harry Potter/Warner Bros., Game of Thrones/HBO
The time Brienne beat up Harry Potter
In A Feast for Crows, as Brienne and Pod travel the Riverlands, she recalls once defeating two deceiving suitors, unhorsing one while handing the other a “nasty” scar. Readers speculate the encounter is a reference to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, who famously has a scar on his forehead. And they have character names on their side.
Here’s the passage:
"In the melee at Bitterbridge she had sought out her suitors and battered them one by one, Farrow and Ambrose and Bushy, Mark Mullendore and Raymond Nayland and Will the Stork. She had ridden over Harry Sawyer and broken Robin Potter’s helm, giving him a nasty scar."
A coincidence, or does Martin think J.K. Rowling took it too easy on the boy wizard?