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I Rewatched the Very First Episode of 'Game of Thrones' to See if There Was Any Foreshadowing

Spoiler: There was a hell of a lot!

By Laura HollidayPublished 5 years ago 8 min read
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Image Via Winteriscoming.net

It's finally April, which means only one thing, there are just two weeks left until the epic final season of HBO's Game of Thrones is due to begin. Like many others, I'm using my spare time to revisit the world of Westeros, refreshing my memory by reliving some of the series most epic battles, betrothals, and betrayals.There has been a lot of speculation recently that clues to the series ending have been written into its script since the beginning of the show—and that many are hidden in the very first episode: "Winter is Coming." Whilst later seasons have taken a significant diversion away from their source material, the first season is an almost word-for-word adaptation of George R.R. Martin's first book, and so it is incredibly likely that certain scenes hold significant weighting. This list is by no means exhaustive, and keep in mind some of these speculations are not confirmed yet, but here is everything that I, an obsessive Game of Thrones fan, noticed when I traveled back in time to that very first visit to George R.R. Martin's world.

The show starts with the White Walkers, and will end with the White Walkers.

What an opener! I had totally forgotten how graphic, gruesome and nail-biting this first scene was. Three men of the Night's Watch travel beyond the wall to track wildlings, but one of them comes across a hoard of dead bodies, brutally slaughtered and arranged in a pattern. He goes off to tell the others, but when they return, the bodies have animated into White Walkers and violence ensues, with only the original man escaping. This scene is significant because it introduces us to a supernatural threat and lets us know that magic will be involved in the story—even though it's quite a while before the White Walkers show up on our screen again. Is it merely a coincidence that towards the end of season seven, all the major players began preparing for a battle against the White Walkers? I don't think so. The show will start and end on the same note: the battle with the dead, in the middle of winter.

Ned Stark executes the deserter.

We are introduced to the Starks in their ancestral home of Winterfell, and Ned receives news that a deserter from the Nights Watch—the same man we saw escape in the opening scene—has been captured, and must be executed for breaking his vows. Ned takes his children along, including ten-year-old Bran, to watch the execution. The foreshadowing is real here: there is something eerie about witnessing Ned swing the sword, knowing that he will lose his head in the same way just eight episodes later. The parallels go even further, as both Ned and the deserter were telling the truth, but were executed for lying and treason against the realm.

Image Via Game of Thrones Wiki

The Starks find direwolf puppies, and Jon's is white.

Following the execution, Ned and his entourage are on their way back to Winterfell when they discover a dead direwolf—and the litter she has left behind. There are six pups, one each for the true born Stark children, and one for bastard Jon Snow. Not only is Jon's direwolf pup the runt of the litter, as Theon Greyjoy cruelly points out, it also happens to be white. This isn't just apt because of Jon's illegitimate surname, it also reflects his identity as a Targaryen. We didn't know this at the time of "Winter is Coming," but Jon was later revealed to be the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, with the Targaryen bloodline notorious for their striking white hair. It's notable that there is also a dead stag at the scene, clearly a victim of the direwolf, as this symbolises the death of Robert Baratheon and the start of war between the houses.

Theon offers to kill the pups.

Before he concedes and lets his children take them home, Ned originally suggests that the pups should be given a quick death, as it's unlikely that they will survive without their mother. Notably, it is Theon Greyjoy who immediately jumps at the opportunity to kill them, withdrawing his sword in a matter of seconds. Whilst Theon is Ned's ward and thus must obey his orders, there is something sinister about his rush to slaughter them—especially if they represent the Stark children. Theon was quick to betray the family in season two, seizing Winterfell to impress his father and killing various people loyal to the Starks in the process.

Image Via Huffpost

Robert Baratheon and the Lannisters arrive at Winterfell.

Fast-forward a few scenes, (including one of Richard Madden, Kit Harington and Alfie Allen topless—thanks HBO!) and King Robert Baratheon is on his way to Winterfell after the death of Jon Arryn, to name Ned as the new Hand of the King. Bran is watching the procession from the castle's highest tower, much to his mother Catelyn's disapproval, which provides some very obvious foreshadowing. We all know what happens when he witnesses Queen Cersei and Jaime Lannister, shall we say, interact, at the end of this episode. Once the king has arrived, he dismounts his horse and greets the Stark family. What happens next is what this Redditor has affectionately named "The curse of Robert Baratheon." Each person that Robert touches—Ned, Catelyn, Robb, and Rickon—has since died in the series, whereas those he doesn't touch—Sansa, Arya, and Bran—are still alive. Does this mean that they will survive? It's definitely possible. Does this also mean that Jon, stood behind the other Starks and out of reach of Robert, will also live?Robert's words are also significant. He tells Bran, "You'll be a soldier," which his subsequent fall renders impossible. He calls Sansa a "pretty one," with her beauty forming a large part of her character arc at Kings Landing including her many betrothals and suitors. And he asks Arya her name, a highly ironic question considering that once she joins the Faceless Men, a girl has no name.

Image Via YouTube

Robert and Ned go down to the crypts.

Robert goes with Ned to Winterfell's crypts to pay his respects to Lyanna—whilst also revealing the extent of his hatred for Rhaegar. This is another significant scene to watch in hindsight, as we now know that Rhaegar loved Lyanna, and eloped with her, rather than kidnapping her. There could also be major foreshadowing in the setting—as footage from the season eight trailers shows the Starks in the crypts again, hinting that an important battle may take place at this location soon. My favorite comment here is when King Robert says to Ned, "I have a son, you have a daughter, we'll join our houses." Obviously, when Robert first iterated this, he was referring to Joffrey and Sansa—a union which famously failed to materialize. Although that marriage is now out of the picture, there's still the possibility of a romance between Arya and Robert's bastard son Gendry. Now that would be an incredible homage to this scene—and foreshadowing done to perfection.

Daenerys can withstand the heat.

God, I forgot how awful this man truly was! When we first meet the Targaryens, Daenerys is weak, timid and totally controlled by her manipulative older brother Viserys. He regularly threatens her by saying she will "wake the dragon" if she steps out of line, and is preparing to marry her off to the Dothraki Khal Drogo, so that he can obtain an army and invade the Seven Kingdoms. During this scene, Dany steps into a bathtub, but the water is too hot. Her handmaiden warns her but she ignores her and wades deeper into the pool, without getting burnt. This is excellent foreshadowing considering the final scene of season one—when Dany walks into the fire and her eggs hatch, finally "waking the dragon."

Image Via YouTube

"All dwarves are bastards in their father's eyes."

Back to Winterfell now, and all members of the two noble families are enjoying a celebratory feast. That is, except Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister. Both outcasts, they fail to fit in with the rest of their families and are spending the evening outside in the castle grounds. Jon doesn't really understand—Tyrion is a true born Lannister after all—so he asks him what does he know about being a bastard? Tyrion responds with the now famous line, "All dwarves are bastards in their father's eyes." This is particularly significant as it indicates an underlying issue that Tyrion has with his own father, Tywin. This is an issue that ultimately comes to fruition when Tyrion kills Tywin in the season four finale, after years of humiliation and abuse. There's also the small matter that Jon isn't actually a bastard after all, despite building his whole identity upon it over the years. How will he cope once he finds out his true parentage?

Jaime will do anything for love, but surely he won't do THAT?

The next few scenes focus more on establishing plot points as we discover that Jon Arryn was murdered, and Daenerys receives her dragon eggs. Finally, we arrive at the episode's climax, which is arguably now one of the most infamous cliffhangers of all time. After seeing Jaime and Cersei in the tower, Bran is pushed, to what is presumably his death, by the Kingslayer, though we realise an episode later that he lives to tell the tale and goes on to become the three-eyed raven. Jaime utters the line, "The things I do for love," before throwing Bran out of the window, and this got me thinking about the prophecy of the Valonqar, which theorizes that Jaime will eventually kill Cersei. How far will Jaime really go for his love? Could we, in a few months time after Game of Thrones, rewatch this entire scene with a huge sense of dramatic irony, as Jaime has finally killed his love? Or what about Brienne? Could he leave—or even kill—Cersei for her? That would be a massive feat.

Image Via YouTube

It is still all speculation of course, but you can bet that season eight of Game of Thrones will make us laugh, cry and shout, "told you so," at all of our casual-viewing friends who've mocked our wild and wonderful theories over the years. I, for one, can't wait for the satisfaction.

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About the Creator

Laura Holliday

Freelance writer & serial complainer. @LauraHday on Twitter.

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