Game of Thrones : 8 Callback Moments You Might Have Missed During the Epic Battle of Winterfell

WARNING: The following contains spoilers from season 8 of Game of Thrones.

Game of Thrones finally delivered its most anticipated showdown ever with the Battle of Winterfell, and with it came death, heroism and quite a few nods to past episodes come and gone.

The epic battle between the living and the dead on Sunday night’s episode saw several callbacks to previous moments in the HBO series — most of which you probably didn’t realize would be so pivotal at the time.

Read on for eight important callback moments the creators weaved in throughout the 82 minutes of chaos.

Melisandre’s Prophecy for Arya

Lady Melisandre (Carice van Houten) made her unexpected return just in time for the Battle of Winterfell, and a cryptic line she delivered to Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) way back in the season 3 episode “The Climb” proved to foreshadow the Night King’s ultimate defeat: “I see a darkness in you. And in that darkness, eyes starring back at me. Brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes sealed shut forever. We will meet again.”

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As fans are well aware, Arya has killed plenty of brown-eyed characters throughout the years (Walder Frey, for instance). Upon her reunion with Melisandre, that same phrase was repeated to her, and she realized it was her destiny to kill the blue-eyed Night King. Saving her brother Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and essentially all of humanity, Arya achieved two-thirds of the prophecy. So what’s left? A green-eyed victim — and that seems bound to lead her to the person at the very top of her kill-list: Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey).

Beric Dondarrion Finally Dies

Over the years, Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer) had proved hard to kill — after all, the man was resurrected six times. While his continuous resurrections at the hands of Thoros of Myr (Paul Kaye) seemed mysterious to both viewers and Dondarrion himself, his final death proved he was something he may have never considered himself as: a hero.

Dondarrion’s death was a true sacrifice because he protected the eventual Night King slayer, Arya, from getting slaughtered by a group of wights. Although he managed to get away with Arya and the Hound (Rory McCann), his wounds were far too consequential and he finally met death for good — but not without changing the course of history forever.

“Not Today”

One of the oldest lines in Game of Thrones‘ eight seasons resurfaced in the Battle of Winterfell, and it dates all the way back to season 1. During her training with Braavosi dancer Syrio Forel (Miltos Yerolemou), he would often ask her, “What do we say to the God of Death?” Her answer — “not today” — became a recurring line she used throughout her journey.

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In Sunday’s “The Long Night,” this line was uttered again to Arya, this time by Melisandre. “Not today,” she responded before taking the lessons she learned from Syrio seven seasons ago to heroically defeat the Night King, the true God of Death.

Melisandre Achieves Her Own Prophecy

While it’s Arya who delivers the final blow to the Night King, the Red Woman plays a huge role in defeating the Army of the Dead — and her prophecy about her own death played out exactly as she predicted.

In season 7, she told Varys she would return to Winterfell one more time — and that she would die. Upon her return to Winterfell before the battle, her death was clearly imminent, but she managed to help achieve the prophecy of “The Prince That Was Promised,” which states that the chosen one (which seems to be Arya) will defeat the darkness. Having fulfilled her destiny, the Red Woman finally removed the red choker that kept her youth alive, and quietly and peacefully died in the snow.

The “Pointy End”

“Stick them with the pointy end.” The line was first uttered way back in season 1’s second episode, when Jon Snow (Kit Harington) gave Arya her “Needle” sword and shared some advice on how to use it. Seven seasons later, Arya is a trained fighter, and she gave that same advice to her older sister Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) as she headed down to seek shelter in the crypts.

While Sansa doesn’t have much experience fighting, that simple line proves the faith and trust the sisters have developed in each other, and Sansa displayed her bravery when she whipped out the weapon Arya gave her upon the crypts’ invasion by the dead. While Sansa didn’t need to use it, Arya killed the Night King by precisely sticking him “with the pointy end.”

The Valyrian Steel Dagger

Along with Melisandre’s prophecy in season 3, the death of the Night King was covertly predicted in a season 7 scene between siblings Bran and Arya. In “The Spoils of Water,” Bran was given the Valyrian steel dagger by Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen) that was used in his attempted murder in season 1. Upon their reunion, Bran granted the weapon to his sister, and in that moment Arya was given the exact weapon she would use to kill the Night King.

However, the question still on everyone’s minds: Did Bran know, at that point, that Arya would kill the Night King? While nothing can be sure in Game of Thrones, the Three-Eyed-Raven giving Arya the dagger seems to indicate that he foresaw the future in that moment, and knew his sister would save both his life — and all of the living.

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Sansa and Tyrion in the Crypts

Sansa and Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) have had a whirlwind relationship throughout the series, dating back to their season 3 wedding, and their bond was highlighted once again while they sought shelter together in the crypts. In what they thought was their final moments, the pair shared several kind words with each other, with Tyrion even saying to her, “Maybe we should have stayed married.” In response, Sansa replied, “You were the best of them,” but added that it wouldn’t work out because of his loyalty to Daenerys (Emilia Clarke).

Sansa even contemplating a relationship with Tyrion seems to indicate that five seasons after their failed arranged marriage, these two may just have a future together. While hiding together during the dead’s attack on the crypts, they shared an emotional look as they prepared for battle.

“No One” Can Kill the Night King

The odds of the living seemed unfavorable against the Night King, especially given of Bran’s insistence that “no one can kill the Night King.” While Arya was the one to take down the King of the Dead, Bran’s predictions remain accurate — after all, we haven’t forgotten Arya’s time as a “Faceless Man.”

During her time with Jaqen H’ghar (Tom Wlaschiha), Arya trained as a faceless man, taking on the identity of others and becoming “no one.” That term relates directly to Bran’s prediction, as a “no one” was exactly who killed the Night King.

Game of Thrones airs Sundays (9 p.m. ET) on HBO.