The First Legitimate Spoiler for Game of Thrones Season 7 Has to Do With...Jon Snow's Cape?

When the word "spoiler" pops up, often we are taken to a fairly loose concept based on a single phrase or blurry image. We've all seen the spoiler reports that are actually just pure speculation because Actor X is in Airport Y, which means that obviously they're working on Film Z. More often than not we're disappointed because the rumor mill starts spinning and then our hopes are dashed when it's finally unraveled as pure coincidence.

As you can imagine, the spoilers out there as we approach Game of Thrones' return this Sunday are sadly in the same vein, since for the most part, this season has been kept under wraps by a devoted cast and crew. Over the last year, we've been wondering what will happen after the events at the Sept of Balor in the Season 6 finale.

But it seems as though may legitimately have just had a fairly big detail leaked by lead costume designer Michele Clapton. It happened when she was speaking with Uproxx about how #JonSnow's cape of all things was going to be a pivotal element of his journey in Season 7.

Wait, seriously? His cape?

Clapton indicated that Jon's Season 7 garb will hint at the character's past while also foreshadowing where he sees himself in the larger story. In discussing Jon Snow's transition from bastard of the North to the brink of death and back to a place of honor in the North, and how his garb changed through the seasons; she transitioned to how we'll see Jon move forward into Season 7.

If you remember in Season 6, we saw Jon lead his men into battle to reclaim Winterfell; shortly thereafter he began wearing a more lord-like outfit similar to his surrogate father, Ned Stark. This outfit was covered in an abundance of fur and a regal cape, and Clapton discussed the cape—and gave us what could be our first legitimate spoiler heading into Sunday's season premiere:

We had a lot of discussions about does the cape give him presence or is it better to not have that presence? What are we trying to say? There are times when we removed it because we wanted him to be more vulnerable. Especially I think, when he saw Dany, and he went to see her for the first time in her chamber. We decided to remove it, but then when he went to see Cersei, we put it on.

So we know Jon will meet both Cersei and Daenerys in season 7.

Although most fans assumed that this would eventually happen in the coming seasons, there was never really any hard evidence to support the theory, and certainly not when. But Clapton's statement seems to confirm everyone's suspicions while also adding some even more interesting news when you consider that he meets Daenerys in her chamber without his lordly cape, but chooses to wear it while meeting Cersei. So it could be that with Cersei, he's smart enough to understand he needs to project an air of authority and strength, whereas with the younger unknown of Dany, he approaches her more as an equal and ally. Or perhaps his more casual and comfortable, cape-less meeting with Daenerys is related to his paternal connections to the Taryargen family.

Clapton continued to explain how Jon Snow's costume had to serve as more than simply something to cover his body:

That’s a big heavy cape and yes, it is him as Ned, but he’s actually not Ned. It was quite interesting to see him transition to another look because it took on another part of his journey. Suddenly people understood him in that role; the way that he can appeal to not just the Northerners, but the way he’s brought that whole group with the Wildlings and everyone together, I thought was really important.

Jon's outfit will change over the season as he interacts with the other powerful players in #GameofThrones, some of whom are almost as dangerous as the Night's King. This is a large reason why Clapton chose to emphasize his appearance as he is one of few characters who holds allegiances to two different peoples, and his costume needed to reflect that.

It's also worth remembering that he's had a different role to play than anyone else on the show from the beginning. While the other leaders are all vying for power for the throne, Jon Snow is the great unifier; his task is not to rule, but to unite. While the rest have been building alliances to help their own cause, Jon has been building alliances to help the greater whole. He holds a unique position in the story, and it's interesting to see the detail that has gone into it, right down to his clothes.