Game of Thrones writer Bryan Cogman informed fans of a festive Easter egg about the series last week, revealing that he had just discovered it himself. He tweeted that, while watching A Christmas Story, he realized that he had subconsciously “stolen” a line of dialogue from the movie and used it in Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 2, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” He asked his followers: “anyone able to guess the line?”
A few fans threw out notable guesses, but it didn’t take long for the truth to come out either. A user by the name of Katy responded: “It’s not bad, it’s not good either.” Cogman had hinted that the line was about a drink, and in the context of A Christmas Story, Ralphie’s father (Darren McGavin) says it about a glass of wine. In Game of Thrones, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) says it about wine as well, though his language is more colorful.
Hint: it involves a libation.
— It’s Christmastime Again, Bryan Cogman! (@cogman_bryan) December 11, 2021
The line comes in just as Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) and Podrick (Daniel Portman) enter the room where Tyrion and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldeau) are drinking by the fire. Brienne stutters that they’re just looking for somewhere warm, and Tyrion cuts in: “To contemplate your imminent death. You’ve come to the right place. You want some of this piss? It’s not bad. It’s not good, either.”
Cogman is credited for the screenplay on this episode, which is regarded as the best episode of Season 8 by many fans online. It takes place on the night before the battle between humanity and the White Walkers outside of Winterfell, and it includes some of the most gratifying character work of the series’ ending.
“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” takes it title from a collection of novellas by George R.R. Martin which are generally referred to as the Tales of Dunk & Egg series. Cogman may have been nodding to a popular fan theory here, since the episode features Brienne being knighted by Jaime before they face the Walkers. Fans long believed that Brienne is the distant offspring of Ser Duncan the Tall, the “Dunk” of Dunk & Egg. Martin confirmed this theory at a fan convention in 2016, telling readers that the exact relationship between Brienne and Duncan would be “revealed in time.”
For now, fans have plenty of other fantasy adaptations to keep them busy, including a Game of Thrones prequel series premiering in 2022 and a Lord of the Rings prequel series on which Cogman was a consulting producer. However, many are most eager for Martin to finish the next book in his series, The Winds of Winter.
