Euron Greyjoy’s axe in Game of Thrones pays tribute to a very special character

Euron Greyjoy is quickly becoming the character to watch week-after-week in Game of Thrones and for good reason.

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for Game of Thrones’ season seven, episode two.]

Last night’s episode of Game of Thrones saw Euron Greyjoy deliver a heinous attack on the Sand Snakes, sadistically killing Obara and Nymeria (the human, not the wolf, just to be clear) before capturing Yara and taunting Theon into trying to kill his own sister. Like other Game of Thrones episodes, the battle sequence had an air of individuality. Unlike Battle of the Bastards or Battle of Blackwater Bay, which slowed down many of its sequences to allow viewers to see exactly what was happening, Greyjoy’s ship attack was sped up and clipped, making some battle sequences harder to follow.

Because of this, some may have missed an important detail: the design of Greyjoy’s axe. As seen in the photo below, the axe takes the shape of a golden kraken, which is a reference to Euron’s older brother, Victarion. If you’re scratching your head and trying to place Victarion in the show, we’ll save you some time. Victarion has never appeared in it, despite both Euron and Victarion being included in the original Greyjoy family tree from Game of Thrones’ first season.

HBO

In the books, Victarion is well known for his axe. In one scene, Red Priest Moqorro warns Victarion about his brother, Euron, and references the mighty axe Victarion keeps at his side.

You come striding through the flames stern and fierce, your great axe dripping blood, blind to the tentacles that grasp you at wrist and neck and ankle, the black strings that make you dance.

Since showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have chosen not to include Victarion — there are simply too many characters from the book to include in the show — it seems like Euron will incorporate aspects of the character for fans of the older Greyjoy. It may come off like a bit of fan service for those missing the beloved warrior, but the inclusion has certainly made people happy.

“While I'm a bit upset that they're cutting Victarion out, paying homage to his character in pieces of Euron's character will do,” one person wrote on Reddit. “What's dead may never die!”

Euron Greyjoy is proving to be a fascinating character, from his decadent outfit in the season 7 premiere to his expert fighting styles in episode 2. His reign of terror will only continue as the season goes forward and his power grows, but directing an attack on someone from Daenerys’ army will only anger the potential-would-be-queen.

Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

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