Game of Thrones season 7 finale: What is the Golden Company and how does it relate to Aegon Targaryen in episode 7?

The collective was mentioned in the HBO series as early as season four

The penultimate season of Game of Thrones has drawn to a close with a dramatic feature-length special that put everything in place ahead of next year's final batch of episodes

Among other things, the finale saw Cersei seemingly agree to a temporary truce with Daenerys and Jon Snow in a bid to attempt to defeat the oncoming threat of White Walkers - only for her to later reveal to a distressed Jaime that she plans to use this opportunity to her advantage with thanks to a mysterious group known as The Golden Company.

Now, this has been mentioned before this season in a moment that arrived during an exchange with the Iron Bank's Tycho Nestoris (Mark Gatiss) who, after seeming content that the Lannister's debt had been paid, asked Cersei if he could assist her with anything. After mentioning she needed help growing her army, she highlighted that Qyburn has been making “overtures” to the Golden Company. So, who is this mysterious group?

The answer: a collection of 10,000-strong mercenary sellswords based in Essos. This isn't the first time they've been mentioned in the series, either - in season four, Davos told Stannis to hire the group stating they had some of the most skilled fighters in the land. Furthermore, Jorah used to fight as part of them.

The Golden Company could be exactly what Cersei needs to provide her with a chance to keep the Iron Throne - and its fleeting mention can't be coincidental especially considering its mention in George R.R. Martin's source material is fairly crucial to its events.

IGN points out that the group was founded by Targaryen bastard Aegor Rivers, and - comprised of exiles from across the land - has one rather important member: Aegon Targaryen, the son of Rhaegar and Elia Martell who supposedly perished at the hand of Gregor Clegane (otherwise known as The Mountain) before the book series' events even began (ringing any bells?). In the books, he was rescued by Jon Connington, a character whose storyline has (kind of) been handed to Jorah's in the series.

Rather hugely, the season seven finale revealed the true heritage of Jon Snow, as well as his real name: Aegon Targaryen - the sixth of his name.

How this will all be woven into the series at such a late stage (there are just seven episodes left) remains unknown, but the reveal of Snow's true name bears huge magnitude. but considering the majority of Aegon's storyline has been handed to Jorah suggests he could have somehow intercepted Qyburn's meet with The Golden Company, potentially luring them away from Lannisters towards Targaryen rule in the process.

There's only a year to go to find out

Game of Thrones returns for an eighth and final season next year

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