It's undoubtedly the geek news of the day: the premiere date for the first episode of Game of Thrones season 8 has been announced with a new teaser . This video also revealed an image that has left us all puzzled. What is the meaning of the feather that appears? Well, we have to go back to the first episode of the first season to try and explain it…
What does the feather in the 'Game of Thrones' video mean?
The release date for the final season of Game of Thrones has been announced via a new teaser video released by HBO. In addition to learning that the first episode will premiere on April 14th – April 15th in Spain , so keep that in mind – we've also seen new footage featuring Jon Snow, Sansa Stark, and Arya Stark.
Although we already analyzed the scenes in the release date announcement, there's one that deserves special attention and warrants further discussion here. It's the feather that falls to the ground as Jon Snow passes the statue of Lyanna Stark, his mother, and which later freezes in place as winter supposedly arrives.
To try and find its meaning, we would have to go all the way back to the first episode of season 1 , where we find the first reference to this element. It is then, in a scene inside the crypt itself, that we see Robert Bartheon, King of the Seven Kingdoms, place a feather in the hand of the statue of Lyanna, his great love.
You can watch the scene below to refresh your memory:
https://youtu.be/8Rlflp7s66s
This isn't the only time the feather appears. In season five, it reappears when Sansa visits the crypts after returning to Winterfell. Ned Stark's daughter stands before the statue of her aunt Lyanna and notices the feather on the floor, picking it up . Petyr Baelish then enters and speaks with Sansa about what happened between Rhaegar and Lyanna—though Littlefinger cleverly remains silent when she claims her aunt was kidnapped and raped, something we later learn never happened; she actually eloped with Rhaegar Targaryen.
https://youtu.be/Bfnl9owFc84
At the time, the series co-creator, David Benioff, had to explain the appearance of the feather after the fifth season aired, indicating on the series' official blog, back in 2015 , that it was merely a nod to the viewers, demonstrating the continuity of events in the series throughout its seasons:
The last time we saw Lyanna's statue was in the pilot episode […] King Robert Baratheon put this exotic tropical bird feather in her hand. As we were setting up [with Sansa], we thought: That feather is probably still there. People have not gone there and started cleaning. Certainly, after Ramsay destroyed Winterfell, there hasn't been a cleanup crew that has come down and vacuumed up. […] We thought it would be a great thing for Sansa to wonder about her existence. We hope viewers are also wondering: where did I see that before? -and then remember that in the first episode of the series, Robert left her to remember the woman he loved.
It can therefore be considered that the first appearance was accidental and the second a reference without much consequence, meant to make fans of the series think. But will it continue to be the same kind of nod now? Or are they trying to tell us something more? The series could very well use it as a metaphorical element where everything comes full circle, with Jon walking past his mother and throwing the feather to the ground. What about its freezing in the final seconds of the teaser ? Does this imply that Jon Snow will fall to the Night's Watch?
https://youtu.be/_l-bJ41U9EI
Another wild theory to consider is that the quill symbolizes the writing instrument of its creator, George R.R. Martin . The first episode symbolizes the beginning of this brilliant story, and Sansa's fall to the ground represents the series' departure from the books—starting with the fifth season, the show began to diverge from the written story, though maintaining some connecting elements to align with the ending Martin envisioned. Could this be a new homage to the ending and conclusion of the great adventure this writer has given us? There you have it.