Game of Thrones season 7 episode 3: 9 references, callbacks and easter eggs you may have missed

From Bernadette to Tyrion's 'hoe door'

(HBO)

Season seven of Game of Throne has already been a whirlwind ride, fan-favourite characters meeting their end, castles put under siege, and Starks reuniting.

** Spoilers for The Queen’s Justice ahead **

As always, the episode was packed with references to past events and the books, ranging from the obvious to completely missable.

Luckily, sleuths across the Internet have broken down many of the episode’s secrets, uncovering everything you may have missed. Plus, showruners and actors have given various interviews, helping uncover yet more information. Here are nine of the best snippets.

Bernadette

A lot of attention has been shone onto Cersei's lookalike maid Bernadette, who has previously appeared numerous times on the show.

Played by Sara Dylan, the character was the person to almost tell Cersei about Sansa’s first period in season two, witnessed Tyrion propose in season three, tell the Mad Queen about Tyrion’s secret lover in season four, and delivered news of Myrcella returning to King’s Landing in season six.

Tyrion’s quote

(HBO)

"Are you trying to pass your own statements off as ancient wisdom?” asks Danny, calling out Tyrion, to which he answers: “I would never do that… To you.”

Of course, the wordsmith has previously quoted himself, telling Missandei: “A wise man once said the true history of the world is the history of great conversations in elegant rooms.”

“Who said that?” the former slave questioned, to which the Lannister responded: “Me. Just now.”

Citing Bronn

Jerome Flynn as Bronn (HBO)

Later on the episode, Tyrion says, while explaining his plan: “Give me 10 good men and I'll impregnate the b**ch.” Born said almost exactly that before, the quote being: “Give me ten good men and some climbing spikes, I’ll impregnate the bitch.”

The Three-Eyed Raven

Bran actor Isaac Hempstead-Wright has offered some insight into what exactly is going on behind those glazed eyes, saying: “Bran is existing in thousands of planes of existence at any one time. So it’s quite difficult for Bran to have any kind of semblance of personality anymore because he’s really like a giant computer.”

The character, as noted by many, used his abilities to tell Sansa how pretty she looked on her infamous wedding day, something that seemed particularly odd.

Jon Snow didn’t expect Danny to be beautiful

(HBO)

“He walks into the room and doesn’t expect to see such a beautiful young woman of similar age to him,” Kit Harrington said of the huge meeting. “Any young man’s reaction is going to be, ‘Okay…’ but he puts that aside, because he has to.”

Emilia Clarke added: “I had an idea it was coming this season, sure. It was fun to play — she doesn’t like him and she doesn’t believe him.”

Tyrion’s plan

(HBO)

While Tyrion’s plan to take Casterly Rock may have surprised some — using the “hoe door” — some keen viewers predicted as much thanks to a season two exchange between the Lannister and Varys.

“When I reached manhood, my father put me in charge of all the drains and cisterns in Casterly Rock”, Tyrion said.

That snippet of information, plus a story in George RR Martin’s A World of Ice and Fire regarding how Lann the Clever, the only person to ever take Casterly Rock, snuck inside the castle through a narrow secret entrance, could have hinted at Tyrion’s plan.

Ellaria confirmed dead

During the episode, we saw Cersei enact her most terrifying torture method yet; locking up Ellaria and Tyene Sand, poisoning the daughter while her mother watches on.

In a post-episode discussion, Ellaria actor Indira Varma confirmed the character won’t be returning to the show, saying: “I don’t die on screen. I stay alive, I’m just not going to reappear. I think it’s really clever.”

The Mad Queen

While many found the scene shocking, the torture method was actually a notable callback to past events in Westeros, although, we haven’t actually seen those events on screen.

As any Game of Thrones fan will tell you, during the Mad King’s reign there was a certain rebellion, led by Robert Baratheon, along with Ned Stark.

Despite his family being loyal to the Targaryens for years —as pointed out by Danny during this episode — Ned went against them after the King murdered his father, Rickard, and brother, Brandon, after they attempted to save sister Lyanna from Rhaegar.

The method in which he killed the two Starks was absolutely horrendous; the Mad King suspended Rickard, wearing a full suit of steel armour, above a flame from the Throne Room’s roof.

That wasn’t all, though. Brandon was tied up and forced to watch from the side, a rope around his neck and a sword just out of reach. Brandon tried to reach the sword, strangling himself in the process as Rickard was literally burnt alive.

Of course, we all know how that turned out for the Mad King — Jaime Lannister ended up murdering him, getting the nickname Kingslayer in the process.

With Cersei’s torture method being very similar, plus the Queen having already burnt down the sept using the Mad King’s Wildfire, can we expect the same fate for her? A very popular theory regarding a certain prophecy theorises how Jaime murders Cersei, which this surely hints at.

Arya’s return to Winterfell

Not exactly during the episode, but the trailer for next week revealed that the young Stark will be returning home. Finally.

Game of Thrones airs on Sky Atlantic and is available on NOW TV.

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