Game of Thrones Season 7 Memes (Jon and Daenerys Laughing)

What the picture shows

In the photo, against a muted gray-brown studio backdrop, stand two people. On the left is a man with dark curly hair, in a black leather jacket with a high collar. On the right is a blonde woman with thick locks and a braid, in a light blue dress. Both are looking at each other and smiling broadly: the woman tilts her head back, while the man turns toward her in profile. This open, almost carefree expression on their faces contrasts sharply with the grim atmosphere of the series, in which these characters rarely allow themselves genuine laughter.

The shot looks like a staged promotional photograph made to advertise the season. Such portraits of actors are usually released before a premiere and then widely circulated online. The authorship of this particular shot and the circumstances of its first publication are not documented in detail in open sources, so they are not given in the article.

Origin and context

Game of Thrones was created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, based on the cycle of novels A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. The seventh season aired on HBO starting July 16, 2017, and consisted of only seven episodes, noticeably shorter than previous seasons. Despite the reduced runtime, the season became one of the main topics of discussion online: viewers followed the convergence of previously separate storylines, the movements of armies, and large-scale battles.

It was in this season that the relationship between Jon Snow and Daenerys, who had barely crossed paths in previous years, became one of the central storylines. Fans familiar with the books and the series began actively discussing a possible romance between the characters. Around their scenes together the fan term "Jonerys" took hold, formed from the characters' names, and it quickly turned into a label for the shipping of the pair.

The photo in which the characters are laughing together became the visual symbol of this storyline. In fan communities and on themed pages the shot was circulated as a universal image of "happy" shipping, rather than as part of a specific scene, which is what allowed it to live on apart from the plot.

How the meme is used

The typical pattern of use is a caption that contrasts the joyful expressions on the characters' faces with the actual course of events. Users add phrases like "they're happy while nobody knows what happens next" or "when they asked how your day went, and you'd just survived yet another betrayal." Sometimes the photo is captioned under a genuinely warm scene that is clearly a harbinger of trouble: viewers know that in Game of Thrones happiness almost never lasts long.

Another common format is a reaction to one's own expectations. The shot is captioned as "me, when the new season finally came out," "my hopes for the finale," or "when the show gives you a little hope." In such captions the characters' laughter is transferred onto the viewer, who feels joy but understands the picture is deceptive. The meme also appears in arguments about plot decisions: users ironically note that the characters have suddenly become too carefree for their brutal world.

Why the meme works

The strength of the joke lies in the contrast. Game of Thrones is known for killing off main characters and sudden twists, so any genuinely joyful shot is perceived by viewers as suspicious. Jon and Daenerys smiling in a bright, almost intimate setting look unusual even for this series, and it is precisely this incongruity that makes the picture a convenient tool for irony.

In addition, the shot is easy to read without context. Even someone who hasn't watched the series sees two happy people and understands the basic joke about the mismatch between the caption and the image. For internet culture this format is especially convenient: a single shot and a short phrase are enough to convey both affection for the couple and fatigue with predictable plot twists.