Maybe... maybe I'm just being cynical. On the other hand, being "faked out" by TV plots for a few decades can do that to you.

But I'm not saying it's coincidence...

The object of the game is to get you to tune in, and hopefully sit through the (now almost endless) commercials (and now the increasingly-obnoxious, dancing, noisy logos that interrupt your enjoyment of the show but don't count against their commercial break time). If being "intrigued" by vague allusions accomplishes that, great. The longer they can string the audience along wondering what's going on, the better. There doesn't have to be any substance behind it. There's no particular reason for them to have any "payoff" at the end of the episode, the season, or the series, because at that point they've accomplished their goal.