While the overall quality of The Simpsons has taken a turn for the worse during the past 10 or so years, the show’s writers have a knack for predicting various pop culture and political events.
As detailed by Time, the animated series – which has been on the air for nearly 30 years – has not only foretold Donald Trump’s presidency but anticipated the NSA’s spying program, the rise of smartwatches, FIFA’s corruption scandal, and even the merger between Disney and Fox. Of course, with over 650 episodes under its belt, a few correct predictions were inevitable – a stopped clock is right twice a day, after all – but these coincidences are uncanny nonetheless.
What’s even crazier is how The Simpsons was able to predict the recent events and story beats on Game of Thrones. During a 2017 episode titled “The Serfsons,” which is clearly a parody of HBO’s high fantasy series, there’s a brief scene where a fire-breathing dragon is seen destroying a city. Interestingly, this closely mirrors the plot of last week’s “The Bells,” which saw Daenerys taking to the skies, riding her dragon as she reigned destruction down on King’s Landing, all in an attempt to lay waste to Cersei’s empire.
Well I be damned they predicted the future again#gameofthrones #GOTS8E5 #simpsons #Daenerys pic.twitter.com/7rE9nR2bun
— larissa (@cuddlemetria) May 13, 2019
https://twitter.com/Sid12Rao/status/1128433049283309568
The Simpsons always find a way to predict these things. #GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/plyDQl5U48
— Astra 💫 (@GideonToba) May 14, 2019
It didn’t take long for observant viewers to notice, and plenty took to Twitter and other social media platforms to share their findings. At the time of writing, neither of the shows’ creative teams have weighed in on the similarities. To be fair, though, with the emphasis on dragons, there was always a good chance that Game of Thrones would feature a few fiery scenes, but it does beg the question: how do The Simpsons‘ staff writers keep pulling this off?