Does Matthias Schweighöfer's Ludwig Dieter, revealing how a mild-mannered German bank clerk became a master safe-cracker in Las Vegas. Dieter's skills are discovered on YouTube by renowned thief and Interpol target Gwendoline Starr, and together they embark on the heist of a lifetime, stealing and opening Hans Wagner's famously sturdy "Ring cycle" safes - the Rheingold, the Valkyrie, and the Siegfried.
Only Gwendoline and Dieter enter the vaults for each heist, and the safe-cracker insists on regaling his partner with the story of Wagner's Ring cycle every single time. Though Gwendoline is annoyed by his rambling history lessons initially, she eventually realizes this knowledge is exactly why Dieter is the only man capable of penetrating Wagner's impenetrable creations. Dieter's most striking story comes during the Prague heist. The Valkyrie myth features two siblings, Siegmund and Sieglinde, who meet and fall in love without knowing their blood relation.
Army of Thieves' Valkyrie story bears more than a ing resemblance to Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. Aunt and nephew rather than brother and sister (that particular honor goes to Jaime and Cersei), Jon and Daenerys form a political alliance that benefits both their causes, but long nights talking tactics by an open fire lead to a steamy romance. Everything's going great for the young couple until Jon Snow discovers he's a secret Targaryen. Understandably reluctant to continue sleeping with Aunt Dany, losing Jon is one of several contributing factors (maybe?) to the Mad Queen's downfall.
Connecting Army of Thieves to Game of Thrones is Gwendoline herself - Nathalie Emmanuel, who portrayed Missandei in the HBO hit series. As Daenerys' right-hand woman, Missandei saw it all, including the Mother of Dragons falling for the rugged King in the North, and the rather unfortunate incest revelation that followed shortly after. In a fun nod to Emmanuel's Game of Thrones role, Gwendoline replies to the Siegmund and Sieglinde story with "Gross!" The safe-cracker then reassures her, "No, it's okay... they did not know at the time."
Gwendoline's disgusted response can't help but feel like a gag at Game of Thrones' expense. Missandei rarely spoke up about her Queen's antics, but Army of Thieves' Gwendoline finally gets to voice an opinion on the matter. Dieter then trying to argue the Valkyrie incest is "okay" because Siegmund and Sieglinde didn't know they were siblings also echoes how Game of Thrones tried convincing its audience Jon and Daenerys were worth shipping - even with the blood ties.
So subtle is Army of Thieves' Game of Thrones joke, it's difficult to tell whether the allusion is intentional or just a happy accident. Not many mainstream movie and TV releases willingly raise the topic of incest, and it's certainly quite the strange coincidence that the sole Army of Thieves character who gets to comment also played Daenerys' assistant in Game of Thrones, where inter-family trysts were more common than men with beards. Intentional or not, Game of Thrones fans watching Army of Thieves will undoubtedly have flashbacks to Westeros when Nathalie Emmanuel's Gwendoline discusses forbidden love with Ludwig Dieter.
