‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 7 Premiere: Ed Sheeran’s Cameo Might Be More Important Than You Think

For many fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones, the cameo appearance by musician Ed Sheeran was not the highlight of the Season 7 premiere. However, could the scene reveal more about the climate in Westeros than just the state of its music industry?

SPOILER ALERT: This article reveals details about Episode 1 (titled “Dragonstone”) of Season 7 of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.

Ed Sheeran’s cameo in Episode 1 of the Season 7 premiere of Game of Thrones started with a song. Arya, travelling from the Frey’s keep, where she had slaughtered them all, hears someone singing in the woods and goes to investigate.

“It’s a pretty song, I’ve never heard it before,” Arya said.

“It’s a new one,” Ed Sheeran replied.

For many fans, Sheeran’s appearance was nothing more than a gratuitous attempt to place a cameo within Game of Thrones. As a result of the backlash, Ed closed his Twitter account.

But could his cameo in Episode 1 be more important than fans first thought.

As Nerdist points out, the song Ed Sheeran sang in the Season 7 premiere of Game of Thrones is titled “Hands of Gold.” The lyrics, which were transcribed by Digital Spy, are below.

“He rode through the streets of the city / Down from his hill on high / O’er the winds and the steps and the cobbles / He rode to a woman’s sigh / For she was his secret treasure / She was his shame and his bliss / And a chain and a keep are nothing / Compared to a woman’s kiss / For hands of gold are always cold / But a woman’s hands are warm.”

While it may be a new number in HBO’s version of Game of Thrones, in the book series, it is not. “Hands of Gold” first appeared in George R. R. Martin’s book A Storm of Swords. The song was originally written about Tyrion Lannister and his lover, Shae, and used to extort money out of Tyrion.

This is interesting because Ed Sheeran and the fellow members of his small group in Episode 1 are all paid Lannister guards. They have been placed there on account of the murder of the Freys. What this song could tell us is that, while they have been hired by the Lannisters, they may not be entirely for the Lannisters if they are singing a song used to extort one of them.

While many fans were criticizing Ed Sheeran’s cameo, others were pointing out that, although the song was originally written about Tyrion, perhaps, in the context seen in the Season 7 premiere, it could be applied to the Lannisters in general.

In fact, considering the title of the song, “Hands of Gold,” some fans are wondering if it is directed specifically towards Jaime Lannister, who has one golden hand.

This theory uses one of the lines, “For hands of gold are always cold,” to indicate a reference to a prophecy in the book series involving one of the Lannisters. This time, it is Cersei Lannister. As seen in a previous season of Game of Thrones, Cersei received a prophecy when she was younger, one that reveals Cersei will outlive all of her children. However, in the books series, there is a second part of the prophecy. This part reveals that one of her brothers will kill her. So, could Episode 1 of the Season 7 premiere be setting this up by having Ed Sheeran singing about it?

Nerdist also points out that the lines “For she was his secret treasure / She was his shame and his bliss” could be referring not to Tyrion and Shae, but to Jaime and Cersei. If this is true, it also adds further weight to the argument that Ed Sheeran’s scene was more important than fans first thought.

There was also some speculation as to what would happen in this scene. Many fans expected it to become a bloody mess, either due to Arya slaughtering them all, or by the group turning on a single female and attacking Arya. However, neither of these things happened. This is what led many fans to think the scene was merely written for Ed’s cameo. However, considering all of the group sing along with Sheeran and also show complete disrespect to the Lannisters, it is a great way to show Arya — and the audience — that her disdain for the Lannisters is not just her personal vendetta. If the Lannisters’ hired guards don’t care when someone makes a threat to kill the queen, then why would anyone else?

Also, one final thing to note about this scene, as one fan pointed out on Facebook, is the fact that Ed Sheeran is wearing armor that has a hole in it (you can see the hole in the above image of Ed Sheeran).

“In the picture of Sheeran I noticed the hole and the oxidation on the armor,” said Nicole in her Facebook post.

“That means someone else bled in it and it wasn’t even mended.”

While this may not mean anything sinister, what it could indicate is that not only do the Lannisters not have enough support to control all of Westeros, but that they also don’t even have the money behind them to replace their guards’ armor.

What did you think of Ed Sheeran’s appearance in the premiere episode of Game of Thrones Season 7? Let us know your thoughts and theories by commenting below.

Season 7 of HBO’s Game of Thrones will return on Sunday, July 23, with Episode 2, titled “Stormborn.”

The official synopsis for Episode 2 of Game of Thrones Season 7 is below.

“Daenerys receives an unexpected visitor. Jon faces a revolt. Sam risks his career and life. Tyrion plans the conquest of Westeros.”

[Featured Image by Helen Sloan/HBO]