Here's why those 'Game of Thrones' cave paintings look so oddly familiar

We've seen those patterns before.
 By 
Sam Haysom
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Warning: Contains spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 7, episode 4.

Assuming Jon Snow didn't hastily knock up those cavings paintings in a desperate attempt to convince Daenerys the White Walkers are real, there's a chance they might be able to tell us something.

Because no detail in Game of Thrones is ever there by accident, right?

So first, a quick recap: when Jon Snow led Daenerys into that dragonglass cave in on Sunday's episode, she was greeted with a bunch of weird twisty patterns like this:

Via Giphy

If those patterns look at all familiar to you, there's a good reason for that: we've seen them before.

As showrunner David Benioff pointed out in the behind-the-scenes YouTube video for episode 4, the patterns are actually the same ones that the White Walkers previously made using frozen corpses in the snow.

"One of the things we learned from these cave paintings is that the White Walkers didn't come up with those images," said Benioff.

"They derived them from their creators, the children of the forest."

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

So that's all very well and good, but what do the patterns actually signify?

"These are patterns that have mystical significance for the children of the forest," Benioff continued. "We're not sure exactly what they signify, but spiral patterns are important in a lot of different cultures in our world, and it makes sense that they would be in this world as well."

If there's one person who might be able to shed some light on that issue, it's Bran.

We can't imagine he'll be explaining it anytime soon, though.

You can watch the full behind-the-scenes video here:

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Sam Haysom

Sam Haysom is the Deputy UK Editor for Mashable. He covers entertainment and online culture, and writes horror fiction in his spare time.

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