Did You Catch The Biggest Easter Egg in Last Week's Game of Thrones? // Satire
By now, most fans of the hit television series Game of Thrones will have seen the third episode of its final season “The Battle of Winterfell.” This massive episode showcases the final battle between the many flawed but heroic characters the audience has followed thus far, against the sinister Night King and his supernatural Army of the Dead. While there has been much discussion on the pros and cons of the episode, there's been almost no conversation regarding one of the episode's most obvious references. That being the explicit nod to Holiday classic Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July.
Released in 1979 by the production company Rankin/Bass, Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July combined two of the companies most popular characters Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Frosty the Snowman. One of the earliest and most recognizable television cross-overs, the special was notable for giving an origin story to Rudolph's glowing nose, which is revealed to be powered by the Queen of the Northern Lights Lady Boreal, and for including Frosty the Snowman's wife and children. Though Frosty's children make their first appearance in Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July, his bride Crystal was familiar to audiences having appeared in the sequel Frosty's Winter Wonderland.
Now, what is the connection to between this instantly recognizable film and the epic battle in GoT you may be asking? One must only look at the antagonists of both properties, the Night King and evil ice sorcerer Winterbolt, to see the clear impact Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July had on writer-showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss.
Night King (Pictured Right) and Winterbolt (Left) via HBO and Warner Brothers.
In Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July, Winterbolt is a tyrant stationed in the North Pole awakened in the 1970s after spending years of an enchanted slumber by Lady Boreal. Informed by the clairvoyance of the Genie of the Ice Scepter and aided by his giant Ice Dragons whose breath can create almost impenetrable fogs. Already the comparisons between Winterbolt and leader of the Whitewalkers should be glaringly obvious. The Night King possesses a psychic perception similar to Bran Stark that invokes the mystical wisdom displayed by the Genie of the Ice Scepter. And the fact that both possess blue-eyed ice powered dragons is such an obvious connection it almost doesn't bear listing.
But a stand-out moment in "Battle of Winterfell" is what truly solidified the connection between the two wintery wretches and lays to rest any question that their association is anything but intentional. While dragon riding heroes Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow are beginning to turn the tide against the Night King's undead legions, the frosted frightener creates a mystical icy fog preventing the two heroes from seeing friend and foe alike. How could this possibly be anything other than a purposeful homage to the same enchanted fog Winterbolt created to impede Santa's Sleigh and almost ruin Christmas? If only the forces of Winterfell had some red-nosed reindeer guiding their way, allowing just a few more of the many casualties to survive the legendary battle unscathed.
You Don't Read Comics reached out to HBO for comment, but have not heard back from them or the representation of Benioff and Weiss.
*This article is satirical and intended for humor purposes only. The events of its contents, while based on reality, are in no way meant to inspire anything other than the entertainment of our readers.
