GOT Fans Think The Show Hinted At The Ending In Its Very First Season 1 Poster

The series finale of Game of Thrones shocked most viewers with its ending, though with hindsight being 20-20, some book readers realized they should have seen it all along. However, eagle-eyed fans have noticed something else that might have warned them. Looking back through the marketing, Game of Thrones may have told viewers who would wind up on the Iron Throne even before it debuted its first season. There’s a tiny easter egg in the GoT Season 1 poster foreshadowing who will end up on the Iron Throne.

Spoiler alert: Do not read on if you still have not watched the Game of Thrones series finale. As everyone knows by now, Bran Stark ended up the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms (err, Six Kingdoms), thanks to a rousing commendation speech by Tyrion Lannister. (The Seventh Kingdom, The North, gets to go independent under Sansa.) Bran becoming king was not the most outlandish Iron Throne prediction among the fandom; it certainly was not a favorite in the betting pools that were watching Daenerys Targaryen or Jon Snow. But the show may have been subtly telling us Bran’s destiny years ago, even before the first episode of Game of Thrones ever aired.

After the series finale aired, fans looking for clues they may have missed started looking back across the seasons. They noticed a small detail: The first poster released promoting Game of Thrones included a raven sitting on the Iron Throne next to Ned Stark.

The combination of Ned Stark and a raven points to only one character: Bran. He is the son of Ned Stark, transformed into the all-seeing being known as the Three-Eyed Raven towards the end of the series. What is even wilder is that this poster was released before the first episode of Game of Thrones aired, meaning the answer sitting in front of everyone before most people even knew what the Iron Throne was.

To be fair, this may have just been an accident, with the showrunners knowing the ravens were an essential aspect of the series but not meaning for it to be an Easter egg. After all, as they admitted, George R.R. Martin did not tell them he had always planned on Bran becoming the king until after the first three seasons had already aired.

But something like this is enough to drive viewers not to trust anything that comes along with Game of Thrones. That includes House of the Dragon, another show where the Iron Throne is up for grabs, albeit this time between Targaryen factions.

There is one big difference: Fire and Blood is finished — at least the part the show will cover is, at any rate. That means the showrunners know the ending this time, so any Easter eggs in the poster would be deliberate. Thus far, fans haven’t noticed one. But don’t be surprised if everyone is back here in a few years staring at this first poster, realizing the answer has been there the whole time.

All eight seasons of Game of Thrones are streaming on HBO Max. House of the Dragon Season 1 continues with new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.