The Seven Best 'Game of Thrones' Memes

It's seven years to the day since Game of Thrones first aired on HBO. Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss took a huge gamble in adapting George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, written with the intention of being unadaptable, to the small screen. And with reports they spent 55 days shooting a single battle sequence and are acting out decoy endings to keep spying fans from spoiling the ending, season eight is shaping up to be the most ambitious yet.

What they've created is now more than two days, 15 hours, and 30 minutes of blood, lust, and betrayal—it's a cultural cornerstone. Game of Thrones memes have advanced the language of the internet to the point that a stranger can assert their fan identity by simply announcing, "Winter is coming," after a chilly November gust. A presidential primary candidate referenced the show in explaining why he didn't win, for Christ's sake.

To honor the seven years defined by seven seasons following seven kingdoms worshipping seven gods, we've gathered seven of our favorite memes. These are beautiful instances where a joke lands so well that it's still funny in the off-season. Did we miss your favorite meme? Don't whine about it, tweet the ones you like most to @VICE.

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Send Beckett Mufson your memes on Twitter.