Euron Greyjoy, one of the numerous characters in the sprawling Game of Thrones universe, is known for his lasciviousness, rudeness and sadism. Euron (Pilou Asbaek) appeared in the sixth season of the HBO period fantasy series to stir the pot on the Iron Islands, which has been ruled by his brother, Balon. Euron kills Balon and usurps the throne from his niece Yara and nephew Theon. In the seventh season, the ambitious Euron proposes a military alliance with Westeros ruler Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) and throws in an incentive: marriage. Cersei demurs, but relents after Euron kills and traps her adversaries, telling him that they can marry after the war is over.
Euron isn’t exactly patient. In the first episode of the eighth and final season, which is available on Star World and Hotstar in India, the no-filter pirate bluntly informs the queen that their sexual union cannot wait for a formal wedding ceremony. When Cersei reminds him that she will yield after the war, he persists: “Wars sometimes last years.” Cersei’s breathtaking response, “You want a whore, buy one, you want a queen, earn one,” is lost on Euron. As Cersei walks away, Euron waits and watches. Cersei finally turns, giving her silent assent to a sexual encounter that disgusts her but pleases Euron to no end.
The moment reminded at least one Twitter user of the famous “Palat” scene in Aditya Chopra’s blockbuster romance Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995). Raj (Shah Rukh Khan) is seeing off Simran (Kajol) at a station in Switzerland. He has fallen hard for her during a forced vacation that threw them together, and he knows that the reserved Simran shares his feelings. As she walks away, Raj mutters to himself, if she loves you, she will turn. “Palat. Palat.” Right on cue, Simran turns back to look at him.
In a clever DDLJ-GOT mashup, it is Euron who is echoing Raj’s sentiments as Cersei walks away from him.
The moment isn’t original, but is borrowed from, of all places, Wolfgang Petersen’s action thriller In the Line of Fire (1993). Clint Eastwood plays Secret Service agent Frank, who, in the middle of protecting the American president from a crackpot assassin, shares some crackling chemistry with fellow agent Lilly (Rene Russo). The frisson leads to some lovely scenes, including one that will be familiar to DDLJ fans.
Frank and Lilly share ice-cream while sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at Washington, DC. Frank teases Lilly by mocking the recruitment of women in the Secret Service. “Do you make an effort to be obnoxious, or is it a gift,” Lilly asks.
Lilly says she has to go off on a date. As she walks away, Frank says to himself, “If she looks back, that means she’s interested. Come on now, give me a little look, one little glance back, give me that smug look and be on your way.” Lilly does turn back. It’s Frank’s turn to look smug.
In the commemorative book Aditya Chopra Relives… Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Chopra acknowledged his inspiration to author Nasreen Munni Kabir. Chopra told Kabir, “I copied the idea of ‘palat’ from a film that has nothing to do with Hindi cinema or love stories. It’s from a Clint Eastwood 1993 thriller called In the Line of Fire. There’s a moment when Eastwood sees his love interest walk away and says to himself, ‘turn’ or something to that effect. It got stuck in my head. Then I forgot all about it. When I was writing this scene, it came back to me. I liked the idea and used it here.”
Also read:
‘There was no mustard to be found’ and other heartaches from the ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ shoot
‘Game of Thrones’: The air is tense at Winterfell in new photos from episode two of season 8
Game of Thrones’ season 8: Winter is finally here, in more ways than one
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