Don't get too excited about 'The Simpsons' predicting 'Game of Thrones' Episode 5

Warning: Contains spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 8, episode five.

The Simpsons has, undeniably, predicted a whole bunch of real-world events. When it comes to politics in particular, America's favourite animated family seems to have a habit of hitting the nail on the head.

But not all predictions are as impressive as they first seem.

Back in 2016, a tweet claiming that The Simpsons predicted Trump's presidency went viral -- but the date on one of the images was later shown to be wrong, while another had been taken totally out of context.

On Wednesday, The Simpsons went viral yet again. Another prediction. This time the subject matter was Game of Thrones episode five, and the clip showed a cartoon dragon wreaking havoc on a city.

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Does that shot look eerily similar to some aerial shots of Daenerys burning King's Landing in episode five? Yes.

But the whole thing is a lot less spooky when it's put into context.

The Simpsons episode that clip was taken from is "The Serfsons," which premiered in October 2017. So it passes the first test.

But it's crucial to note that the whole episode is a medieval fantasy parody, set in a magical world that includes amulets and "icewalkers". It's not only parodying Game of Thrones -- there are also nods to movies like Lord of the Rings, plus a whole bunch of other references -- but HBO's show is certainly one of the main targets.

The clip with the dragon comes right at the end. Basically, the characters discover that if the dragon's fire goes out, the magic disappears from their world. Homer revives the fire, and the dragon -- in true Simpsons style -- promptly burns everything.

If you read that episode's description on its own, in other words, you'd probably think of it as nothing more than a classic Simpsons parody.

And as for shot of the dragon wreaking fiery chaos on humans? The inspiration could easily have come from a past Game of Thrones episode.

Via Giphy

That clip shows Daenerys attacking the Lannister forces in Westeros. It's from Season 7, episode four, which aired in early August 2017. "The Serfons" was likely well into production by then, sure -- but that clip isn't the only example of a large dragon burning things in Game of Thrones. Just ask the people of Meereen.

The Simpsons is undeniably brilliant at holding a mirror up to both real life and popular culture -- and in some cases, that's led to them including things in their show that have actually ended up happening.

But this one feels like a bit of a stretch.