Game of Thrones season 8 may still be some way off, but that hasn’t stopped the Westworld season 2 finale squeezing in a Westeros-shaped Easter egg in reference to HBO’s other big show. The Game of Thrones Easter egg was such a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, though, that it probably passed you (and me, it has to be said) by. Mild Westworld spoilers to follow.
Leave it to Reddit to uncover the Thrones visual reference, which took place when Dolores took Bernard into the library within the Forge’s mainframe (or something, the show is confusing). In there, shelves filled with books that represent the guests’ core being (see, told you) is being illuminated by a very familiar looking light.
That style of lighting – the armillary sphere, to give it is proper name – may just be a coincidence but, knowing how much thought goes into every little aspect of Westworld, it’d be remiss of the showrunners to let a simple coincidence slip them by. In case you don’t recognise its Game of Thrones significance: it appears in every single episode – during the title sequence.
The similarities don’t end there. Samwell Tarly’s trip to a gigantic library of his own, at the Citadel, during Game of Thrones season 6, also yielded similar results. Just look at these ornamental lights.
It may not look like anything at all to some – but it’s a nice piece of visual mirroring. Not all Easter eggs have to grab you by the shoulders and shake you silly until you’ve twigged how it links to something else you’re fond of. This is Westworld to the very core: smart, subtle – and something that requires you to dig a lot deeper than you ever expected just to find the meaning behind it.
About that light... you might want to take a look through the surprisingly deep evolution of the Game of Thrones title sequence. It might just surprise you.
