George R.R. Martin Debuts Muppet-Inspired Characters in New 'Game of Thrones' Story

Part of the reason that it takes George R.R. Martin so long to write these Game of Thrones books [...]

Part of the reason that it takes George R.R. Martin so long to write these Game of Thrones books is that they are filled with all kinds of extensive descriptions. Names of families, lore and legends - even the descriptions of foods served in feasts can occupy pages and pages of Martin's novels.

In those descriptions are some fun Easter eggs, and now fans have spotted one in George R.R. Martin's newest work, Fire & Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones (A Targaryen History). In the tradition of odd pairings, this new Game of Thrones Easter egg is actually another Muppets reference!

Check out the passage from Fire & Blood vol. 1 that has now popped up on Reddit; it breaks down the lineage of House Tully, with some notable Muppet-themed ancestors of Catherine Tully/Stark:

"Then as now, the riverlords were a fractious, quarrelsome lot. Kermit Tully, Lord of Riverrun, was their liege lord, and nominally commander of their host…but it must be remembered that his lordship was but nineteen years of age, and "green as summer grass," as the northmen might say. His brother Oscar, who had slain three men during the Muddy Mess and been knighted on the battlefield afterward, was still greener, and cursed with the sort of prickly pride so common in second sons."

"Kermit" and "Oscar" are clearly references to the Muppets mascot and Sesame Street curmudgeon (respectively).

George R.R. Martin has been previously spotted dropping Muppets references into the history of the Riverlands and House Tully. Lord Paraount Grover Tully, his son Elmo Tully, and great-grandson Kermit Tully have all been established in Game of Thrones lore. The meeting of three major rivers in the Riverlands, known as The Trident, also has three forks, named the red, blue and green, forks (respectively) - another reference to the Jim Henson characters (Elmo, Grover and Kermit).

The description of Oscar Tully is especially cheeky, with the description of him as still being "green" on the battlefield having a "prickly pride" are on-the-nose descriptions of Sesame Street's trash can-dwelling monster grump.

However, while this nifty little reference in Fire & Blood will give some fans a chuckle, many other fans won't be all that moved. Most fans won't be moved by the prospect of this history of Westeros companion book, at all: they want that next Game of Thrones novel, Winds of Winter to hit shelves. After years of delays, and HBO set to finish the Game of Thrones TV series next spring, fan interest in the novels has shown signs of starting to wane a bit. At the same time, with the series expanding into more prequels on both page and screen, there's probably an expanding market of die-hard fans who do want the "whole story" - Muppets and all.

Game of Thornes returns to TV in April 2019.

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