Ten years ago, a phenomenon such as Game of Thrones never would have happened. The story is a mishmash of elements that really should not work together. Political intrigue and corruption don't exactly share much space with dragons and ice zombies in the typical Venn diagram. Even now, in the post-Lord of the Rings film era, the genre of historical fantasy is more niche than mainstream. Of course, most viewers of the hit HBO program are not necessarily making Venn diagrams in their spare time, but there's no denying that Game of Thrones has been an unlikely success. So much of the show is so frustrating that it's almost difficult to explain why it's so much fun to watch. The geography alone is mind boggling, and the sheer number of characters that never seems to plateau despite the ever rising death toll each season makes the idea of creating a flow chart surprisingly attractive. There's Aemon and Aegon, Varys and Viserys, Jorah and Jeor, Jon and Jon, Robert and Robin and Robb...all boasting so many different titles and houses and sigils that headaches are far from uncommon to fans. Part of the complication lies in the fact that the show is based upon some very lengthy source material. With five of the seven intended novels in the A Song of Ice and Fire saga thus far published by George R. R. Martin--each of which includes a lengthy appendix for clarity--there are so many plots and presences that have seemed minor only to emerge as vital that to overlook even the smallest detail could mean missing the origin story of the ice zombies or the translation of a word in High Valyrian or a branch of an important family tree. Granted, much of the time, the lengthy descriptions of the courses of a feast in one great hall or another are not going to come back with a vengeance, and most of the sexposition won't make or break an ongoing arc, but there's always an element of surprise when a certain event mentioned offscreen two seasons prior proves essential to the unfolding of the series. So, it tribute to all of those easily overlooked overtones, here are 10 small moments from the first four seasons of Game of Thrones that are destined to come back in very big ways. Warning: Book and show spoilers ahead.
Fiction buff and writer. If it's on Netflix, it's probably in my queue. I've bought DVDs for the special features and usually claim that the book is better than the movie or show (and can provide examples). I've never met a TV show that I won't marathon. Follow on Twitter @lah9891 .
