Sam Tarly started off Game of Thrones season 7 cleaning bedpans at the Citadel, and went on to cure Jorah of greyscale, leave the Citadel in frustration, and end up in Winterfell, where he and Bran Stark pieced together the truth about Jon’s Snow’s real origins: that he’s actually Aegon Targaryen, the trueborn son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark.
John Bradley described to the New York Times what exactly was going on in that scene with Bran. “Even the Three-Eyed Raven has gaps in his knowledge,” he said. “And if someone has gaps in their knowledge, Sam is very, very keen to fill them.”
"The thing about Sam is that he’s always been wrapped up in his own head. He’s been so isolated and felt like such an outsider for so long that he’s just constantly living introspectively. I think Sam is the kind of person who can absorb information rather efficiently. He can almost absorb the information by osmosis, almost subconsciously. His brain is never completely closed."
It sounds like Sam might have made a good Three-Eyed Raven himself. Bradley sees even more in common between Bran and Sam:
"Sam was treated with suspicion at the Citadel, and that kind of happened to Bran at Winterfell as well. He’s so isolated and lost in his own world, and he’s kind of freaking everybody out. He seems impenetrable. So it’s quite interesting that these two outsiders have found somebody in each other who recognizes their particular gifts — gifts that no one else in the course of the Great War really possesses. And they could be quite a force to be reckoned with because they complement each other so well.Sam was treated with suspicion at the Citadel, and that kind of happened to Bran at Winterfell as well. He’s so isolated and lost in his own world, and he’s kind of freaking everybody out. He seems impenetrable. So it’s quite interesting that these two outsiders have found somebody in each other who recognizes their particular gifts — gifts that no one else in the course of the Great War really possesses. And they could be quite a force to be reckoned with because they complement each other so well."
Helen Sloan – HBO
Regarding Jon’s heritage (Bradley wants to call Jon “Egg”), Bradley thinks it will have an effect on Jon and Sam’s relationship, “because the man Sam thought Jon was, in terms of what he represented in the world, that’s all changed.
"Jon is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, and that’s bound to change the way [Sam] perceives him and the future of the Seven Kingdoms. And that could affect Sam’s future as well, in a more positive way than he could anticipate."
Always good to have friends in high places.
As for how Sam and Bran will break the news to Jon, Bradley thinks Sam is the right person for the job. “Jon tends to believe Sam. Sam is the right person to tell him, because he’s also very thorough, very academic.”
At a personal level, Sam lost both his father Randyll and younger brother Dickon to Drogon’s flames during season 7. Although it’s unclear if Sam is aware of their deaths, Bradley does not believe Sam would be too broken up over the news.
"He doesn’t see himself anymore as a Tarly. He doesn’t see himself anymore as a man of the Night’s Watch. He doesn’t see himself anymore as a maester-in-training at the Citadel. He’s not tied to anything anymore. And he certainly wouldn’t jeopardize anything between Jon and Dany because Sam knows what his father was like. I don’t think Sam would be too heartbroken over it, to be honest!"
On other subjects, Bradley also addressed a popular fan theory that Samwell is the “author” of the Song of Ice and Fire saga, writing down his recollections at the Citadel.
"If that theory is proved to be true, it changes your entire perception of things. History is written by the victors, so is Sam writing his own version of events? You’d have to completely re-evaluate everything you’ve seen, almost from the start. Was Sam affected by how he sees the world? How he sees Jon? Was he flavoring what he was writing about by his own perceptions? That’s what I love about it, because maybe Sam’s perception is not the truth."
It would certainly change how we viewed the events of the series.
Another thing that could change our perception: thinking of the White Walkers as sympathetic. It’s an angle Bradley is considering:
"We’re told that all the time about certain groups of people — these people want this, these people want that — and that’s only half the story. If the White Walkers are human beings of a sort, then they do want something. They are fighting with a moral compass that just might be slightly different than ours. It’s not that they don’t have morality, it just might be different than ours. Their priorities are different. So if they are people with morals, and heart, and families and causes to fight for, other than a nihilistic destruction of everything that’s been in the world, then that’s a different prospect."
White Walkers with feelings? We’re not sure we can handle all of that. Sadly, we might have to wait a long while to find out.
Next: Nicolaj Coster-Waldau on season 7 and why Jaime finally walked away from Cersei
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