Two HBO worlds collide in the latest episode of Westworld, which features a cameo by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with Daenerys Targaryen's last surviving dragon, Drogon. Game of Thrones concluded last year with season 8, which brought the war for the Iron Throne to an end and wrapped up the battle between the living and the dead.
Westworld was once positioned to take over from Game of Thrones as HBO's tentpole show, but following a disappointing second season the series is now struggling to regain viewers' interest. Westworld's season 3 premiere ratings were down 57% from the previous season, as the show turned its attention to the world outside the parks and Dolores' plans to claim the human world for a new robot race. The story hasn't completely left Westworld behind, however; episode 2, "The Winter Line," is set almost entirely on the island, both in Maeve's new home of War World, and in the central hub.
It's when Bernard and Stubbs are exploring the central hub that we get our first look at Park 4, a medieval fantasy world. As they are walking through the halls they pass by two technicians, played by Benioff and Weiss. The technician played by Weiss says that he's found a buyer in Costa Rica, to which Benioff's character responds, "How the f**k are you going to get that to Costa Rica?" Weiss replies, "In pieces, man." He then approaches the subject of their conversation with a circular saw: it's Drogon, peacefully slumbering in one of the Delos workshops. With the future of the parks uncertain, it seems that Delos' technicians are trying to get financial security by selling off some assets.
Westworld's Game of Thrones cameo definitely seems like something that was planned and filmed before Game of Thrones season 8 aired and was met with widespread disappointment and backlash. The presence of Drogon as a throwaway gag also has huge implications that will presumably go unexplored, as it reveals that Delos is capable of not only replicating humans and animals, but also of creating fantasy creatures like dragons.
There are more parallels between Westworld and Game of Thrones than simply being two HBO shows that started out strong and then slid downhill. In Game of Thrones season 8, Daenerys Targaryen - who had formerly been one of the show's main protagonists and a heroic figure - quite suddenly became a villain bent on the wanton destruction of King's Landing, and who had to be taken down by the show's other lead characters. Similarly, in Westworld season 3, Dolores is planning a potential genocide of the human race, and Bernard and Maeve are trying to stop her.
Who knows - perhaps Dolores is the buyer who wants to get their hands on Drogon, and Westworld season 3 will conclude with her riding on the back of a robot dragon into battle. At this point, anything goes.