Game Of Thrones Is Awfully Meta This Season

Game Of Thrones is the kind of show that falls under Prestige Drama, so it's supposed to constantly take itself seriously. That means no comedy, no bright colors, and definitely no meta references. Meta stylings, for those not obsessing over television tropes, occur when a series references itself or the well-known conventions of the genre it exists in, breaking the “fourth wall” of a television screen between fictional characters and real-life viewers. Essentially it's when a show nods towards the audience it's quite aware that it is, in fact, a show.

Since its inception in 2011, Game Of Thrones has avoided such tactics, which are far more popular with witty comedies like 30 Rock and genre cult favorites like Supernatural. Yet, Thrones is getting particularly tongue-in-cheek with its own history as we delve deeper into season 7. At this point, the HBO fantasy epic is even quoting memes about itself, which feels much more like NBC's Community than Thrones. But, that probably makes sense, as we've already pointed out, Thrones is pretty darn funny this year.

Scroll through the gallery to see just how much the drama is referencing past seasons and the books it's based off of, George R. R. Martin's A Song Of Ice And Fire Series. Yes, of course that "still rowing" joke is involved.