Spoiler warning: If you’re not caught up on Game of Thrones, you should avoid this article for now.
Game of Thrones has officially returned, with Bran Stark being a royal creep, Jon Snow learning home truths, and Deanerys possibly rethinking some incendiary knee-jerk actions.
But apart from the main narrative hijinks, the Season 8 premiere contained more than a few easter eggs — including a possible Ed Sheeran shoutout.
As EW noted, the first episode of the final season included two cheeky cameos from the stars of your other favourite binge-worthy TV shows: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s Rob McElhenney and Silicon Valley‘s Martin Starr.
There’s a scene in which a (finally) valorous Theon Greyjoy rescues his sister Queen Yara from capture by the eye-poppingly power hungry Euron Greyjoy. Aboard the ship Silence, moored in King’s Landing, there are several guards who meet their doom during the stealth rescue.
One casualty is played by Starr, who plays the apathetic Bertram Gilfoyle in Silicon Valley.
Another of these guards, who takes an arrow through the back of the head and out the eye, is played by It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star and co-creator McElhenney, who posted a delightfully disturbing Instagram of his character.
“Don’t blink,” reads the caption.
As EW points out, McElhenney goes way back with Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who actually wrote an episode for Season 9 of Sunny in 2013.
Both McElhenney and Starr mulled over their cameos in a behind-the-scenes short.
“They gouged my eye out. They gouged my fucking eye out,” said McElhenney. “They can put it back in, right? Right? Benioff told me they would.”
Wouldn’t bet on it.
