Game Of Thrones: 10 Small Moments That Will Come Back In Big Ways

2. The Realm Recalls Elia

From the beginning, the main action the show and the books has been driven by the conflicts of a war long over. Robert's Rebellion overthrew King Aerys and led to the near extinction of the Targaryens nearly two decades before the start of the series. Few in the Seven Kingdoms particularly mourned the death of Aerys; he wasn't called the "Mad King" for nothing, and even Targaryen loyalists were pinning their hopes on Prince Rhaegar by the end. Still, the slaying of Aerys and most of the rest of the Targaryens has cast a shadow over the plot from the first episode. It wasn't until Season 4 that the show gave much focus to the collateral damage. Rarely even mentioned had been the brutal murders of Rhaegar's wife and children during Tywin Lannister's sack of King's Landing. Lacking a sister to marry in the grand old Targaryen tradition, Rhaegar wed the Dornish princess Elia Martell, who bore him a son and daughter. With Rhaegar absent during the sack, young Princess Rhaenys was stabbed half a hundred times. The infant Prince Aegon was taken from his mother's arms and dashed against a wall. Elia was raped and murdered by the Mountain. It's no surprise that folks in Westeros don't like to talk about it. That all changed, however, when Oberyn Martell arrived in King's Landing to seek justice for his beloved sister and her children. Of course, the Red Viper died a remarkably gruesome death far more quickly than anyone would have liked, but his presence in the capital as well as his public final moments as he extracted a confession of sorts from the Mountain brought the fate of Elia Martell into the spotlight.

Why It Matters: Oberyn may have died one of the most traumatizing deaths in show history as well as failed to exonerate Tyrion via the trial by combat, but his very presence served to finally bring House Martell into the game of thrones.

And House Martell has not been idle. Under the rule of the cautious Prince Doran, plans have been made to form an alliance with Daenerys Targaryen and overthrow Lannister power in King's Landing. With Myrcella as a valuable hostage and the emergence of a possible Prince Aegon smuggled to safety before the sack, the spears of Dorne will not be without targets in upcoming installments.

Dorne has not forgotten Elia and her children, and the rest of the realm will soon remember as well.