History Fridge / GameOfThrones

* In [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ae/d0/f4/aed0f4380d480e2edc6b3a71292821c3.jpg this]] piece of official art for "The Children", Tyrion is casting a massive shadow over the corpse of Tywin, who looks tiny in comparison (due to the painting's perspective), after shooting him. It brings to mind Varys' saying, "A small man can cast a very large shadow.

** Qyburn reveals to Cersei the secret weapon the Lannisters intend to use against Daenerys's dragons]]: a ballista. [[GeniusBonus Those that study a bit of history of weapons will take note of the fact that the ballista's general design was eventually shrunk down to hand-size, into a category of weapons we know as crossbows. You ''could'' say that the ballista was the "mother" of the crossbow. What was the one weapon Cersei's son, Joffrey, ever killed anyone with, again? This also highlights the fact that Joffrey, while he was certainly an ineffective ruler in addition to being an evil prick, still operated largely on a childish level. He was TheKidWithTheRemoteControl. And even that was severely limited after Tywin arrived. Joffrey will kick a few puppies (figurative and literal), threaten and try to order violence, and gets to kill one or two people from a distance, really doing what suits him with no rhyme or reason. Cersei typically has a plan -- or something in her head that sounds to her like a plan. Cersei is evil enough to blow up a several-city-block space and effectively carpet bomb a national monument with you and your associates inside for pissing her off a little bit. If you piss her off a lot, she'll strap you to a table in the lowest dungeon, waterboard you for a few minutes, and then have a silent-but-perpetually-pissed-off zombie-giant rape you over and over again until you're dead. Joffrey, as cruel (and sometimes as story-altering) as his few decisions proved to be, never pulled anything that extreme. Then in Season 8, Cersei is (at least nominally) Queen Regnant over the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, and deploys ballistae in an ambush that kills a dragon.

*** Like Daario Naharis, Jon tends to be disrespectful and even mocking of Dany's royal hauteur and presumption, being one of the few who is not easily impressed with her titles and lineage alone, which Dany tends to mock and rebuke in public, but privately (or not so privately) finds a turn-on.

** Jon uses his illegitimacy to save the litter of pups and so each of his half brothers and sisters can have one but he later finds an albino pup who is separated from the others and adopts him as his own, calling him "Ghost". Like his direwolf Ghost, Jon is both part of his Stark family and is also separated to a degree from the other Stark kids -- not only because he is an illegitimate child, but because he's actually their cousin (as Jon is the son of Ned's sister Lyanna, making him Ned's nephew) -- though they all still have Stark blood.

*** Like Khal Drogo, Jon is the elected leader of his people, who leads by AsskickingEqualsAuthority and is by Westerosi standards a BarbarianHero (he leads an army of Wildlings, introduces new policies and ideas which they see as anathema, he is a bastard, the North is seen as a harsher and more savage land with harsher and more savage people by the rest of the Seven Kingdoms).

** Qyburn reveals to Cersei the secret weapon the Lannisters intend to use against Daenerys's dragons]]: a ballista. [[GeniusBonus Those that study a bit of history of weapons will take note of the fact that the ballista's general design was eventually shrunk down to hand-size, into a category of weapons we know as crossbows. You ''could'' say that the ballista was the "mother" of the crossbow. What was the one weapon Cersei's son, Joffrey, ever killed anyone with, again? This also highlights the fact that Joffrey, while he was certainly an ineffective ruler in addition to being an evil prick, still operated largely on a childish level. He was TheKidWithTheRemoteControl. And even that was severely limited after Tywin arrived. Joffrey will kick a few puppies (figurative and literal), threaten and try to order violence, and gets to kill one or two people from a distance, really doing what suits him with no rhyme or reason. Cersei typically has a plan -- or something in her head that sounds to her like a plan. Cersei is evil enough to blow up a several-city-block space and effectively carpet bomb a national monument with you and your associates inside for pissing her off a little bit. If you piss her off a lot, she'll strap you to a table in the lowest dungeon, waterboard you for a few minutes, and then have a silent-but-perpetually-pissed-off zombie-giant rape you over and over again until you're dead. Joffrey, as cruel (and sometimes as story-altering) as his few decisions proved to be, never pulled anything that extreme. This goes UpToEleven in Season 8, by which time Cersei is (at least nominally) Queen Regnant over the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, and deploys ballistae in an ambush that kills a dragon.

* The show's use of 'sexposition', which is exposition via sex scenes. Seeing as how everyone seems to talk their heads off during sex, is it any surprise that Littlefinger, who runs the brothels in King's Landing, is also a bit of a KnowledgeBroker?

* Ned is surprised to find a direwolf south of the Wall. The White Walkers are making the land beyond the Wall uninhabitable even for direwolves and have pushed this one south. Mance Rayder reveals a similar intention for the Wildlings in Season 3.
* When Dany asks Mirri Maz Duur if anything can be done to save Drogo, Mirri very briefly and visibly glances at Dany's stomach. Probably not a detail you'd notice if you didn't know what was coming.
* Drogo's wound becomes infected in spite of Mirri Maz Duur's treatment, but several episodes later she reveals that she hates the Dothraki and wants revenge on them. Certainly, she botched the treatment on purpose in order to facilitate her ultimate betrayal.
* Sansa says, "I'll be a good wife to [Joffrey], you'll see. I'll be a queen ''just like you'', I promise! I won't hatch anything!" This stands in contrast to a different queen, who [[OurDragonsAreDifferent does hatch something.]]

* Ned and Ser Barristan save Robert's life. He wanted to fight in the melee during Hand's tournament, drinking all the way (and it was Lancel Lannister serving him wine then, just like he did during the hunt, so it was probably spiked). Lannisters were planning to kill Robert during the melee and make it look like somebody accidentally hit him on the head or hurt him in other way,maybe by a knight taking a sharp sword instead of blunt from his stupid squire or something. Robert was saved because he was
1) too fat for his armor and 2) had a Hand who was not a sycophant, could and would stand up to him and told him the truth ("Nobody would dare raise their hand against their king, your grace. Robert: Wait, they would let me win?! That's not fun at all!")

* Regardless of our personal opinions on it or potential foreshadowing, Dany's descent into madness does have logic. I'd say that she starts to unravel after learning the truth about Jon. Consider it for a second. B the time of The Bells her quest for the iron throne cost her almost everything, she lost two of her children, only one of her friends survived at this point, every happiness she had acquired over the years had fallen apart through her efforts to reach the Iron Throne and then came Jon's reveal, not only did she have a lover before Jon learned the truth, but at least her goal was hers by right. Afterwards, not only did Jon's northern sensibilities sink that ship, but suddenly there was someone with a superior claim, not only by blood socially Jon was raised by a respected honorable man. In Last of the Starks we saw the men at Winterfell celebrating Jon while ignoring Dany, she knew that if the world knew the truth most would pick him over her and, to see all she'd lost, all she'd ''sacrificed'' come to nothing? That would make anyone snap.

* The Lords of the Great Houses (the ones that still remain, anyway) at the Great Council of 305 AC laughing at Samwell Tarly's proposal of direct democracy may seem to us, at first, a subtle nod and wink to the audience that the high and mighty lords of Westeros think oh-so-wrongly that It'llNeverCatchOn when in our modern day and age we know it may eventually happen; it's actually a rather wise rejection of the concept. Westeros is just not ready for a full blown democracy; not taking into account the communications ''nightmare'' that would be a general election for the entire Six Kingdoms, the overwhelming majority of the population is made up of uneducated smallfolk; all but a handful of them don't know how to read or write, and none of them cares particularly who sits on what throne or in what lordship, so long as they have a good harvest, no wars, and aren't taxed into poverty. We the audience see this as a bit of a "haha, they don't realize that it actually works" joke, when in truth it's basically the simple fact that Samwell suggesting that [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail supreme executive power is derived from a mandate by the masses]] is a disaster waiting to happen; the smallfolk would just put whoever could convince them that they'd get all the food, peace and low taxes they want would ride right on to the throne, as there's no way you could hold public debates, there's no printing press to give widespread leaflets and news (not that most people could read it), and propaganda full of nothing but spin would be so widespread that it would literally divide the nation politically to yet another civil war. Which is exactly why Tyrion decided to take Sam's suggestion and turn it down a bit into a more concentrated form of [[Elective Monarchy]]; at least the Lords are all educated and understand statecraft and policy...most of them, anyway.
* Bran mentions the Small Council is missing a Master of Whispers, as well as Laws. However, as the Three Eyed Raven, he actually doesn't need a spymaster.

** When Melisandre talks with Arya in Winterfell, she implies that [[TheChessmaster the Many-Faced God is using the world as his chess board]] to put Arya (who's evidently the Queen) in the right place and the right moment to use her to kill the Night King. Everything abode? To put her in the way to the Faceless Men. Resurrecting Jon and being crowned King in the North? Using him as a bait to make Arya travel to Winterfell. Jaquen's presence in Westeros and the fact that he met Arya, knowning her full name even when she never mentioned to him, is probably no coincidence and part of the Many-Faced God's plan.

* Arya's [[TextileWorkIsFeminine hatred of needlework]] has a bit of FridgeBrilliance when it's noted that Arya is left-handed. In the military, being left-handed gives you an advantage because opponents are often unused to attacks from the wrong side--but since daily tasks are ALSO geared towards right-handed people, they range from [[RealityEnsues annoying to downright impossible,]] which is why left-handers are historically portrayed as TheKlutz. In a fine-manipulation craft like sewing, Arya would have either been forced to use her right hand to follow instructions properly, or forced to reverse ''every single direction'' if she didn't.

* In "Two Swords," Gray Worm and Daario are competing to see who gets to ride with Daenerys. Simple enough, but it's odd that Gray Worm cares as much as Daario, who is utterly infatuated with Dany. Flash forward a few episodes and you realize Gray Worm has feelings for Missandrei, who is always by Dany's side. He wasn't competing to ride with Dany, but Missy.