John Bradley (Sam): Every episode of season 8 will be “monumental”

Filming on Game of Thrones season 8 is set to start any day now — at least one star is already in the area — and the actors are starting to tease what’s in store. John Bradley (Samwell Tarly) talked to Huffpost about the subject, and if he can believed, we’re in for quite a ride.

“We assembled a team of directors this year who have been in charge of some of our big episodes in the past,” Bradley said. He’s right. For season 8, the show has brought back two of its heaviest hitters, including David Nutter (“The Rains of Castamere,” “The Dance of Dragons,” “Mother’s Mercy”) and Miguel Sapochnik (“Hardhome,” “Battle of the Bastards,” “The Winds of Winter”). According to Bradley, this can only mean one thing:

"Miguel and David have done some of the standout episodes of previous seasons. Clearly every single episode of the six you’ve got left in Season 8 is gonna be monumental and needs somebody at the helm who’s done that kind of high-stakes, high-octane direction before for us. I think what we used to call Episode 9 in ‘Game of Thrones’ folklore — the episode when everything comes to a head and you get a lot of spectacular sequences — I think you’re gonna get six ‘Episode 9s’ this year. You can tell that because we’ve got directors who have been in charge of some of the most huge setpieces in the past doing episodes all throughout the season.”"

That sounds exhausting, but very exciting.

Six episodes of this.

It should be noted that Bradley doesn’t sound like he’s speaking from personal knowledge, but rather basing his comments on the news about Nutter and Sapochnik. We’re not sure if he’s received the scripts or not, but considering that filming on season 8 is set to begin this month, it’s certainly possible.

Meanwhile, Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss are set to direct the series finale, which Bradley calls “poetic.”

"It’s in the right hands there. They know everything about the show. They’ve been in charge of everything ― every key decision in all seven seasons so far has been made by David and Dan. I think they’ve done an incredible job with this series. They deserve everything they get, and they deserve the right to finish this show off in the way they see fit. I don’t think there’s anybody better qualified, so I can’t wait."

The interview wasn’t just about Game of Thrones. Bradley is also in a new movie — American Satan — about a rock band that strikes a deal with the devil (played by A Clockwork Orange star Malcolm McDowell, obviously). Check out the trailer below:

But the most interesting part of the interview is about Game of Thrones. In addition to the bits on season 8, Bradley also discussed why Sam “took credit” for Gilly’s discovery of Rhaegar Targaryen’s secret marriage to Lyanna Stark when he met up with Bran Stark in the finale. “Sam hasn’t consciously plagiarized Gilly’s idea there,” he said. “He’s not giving her the elbow.”

"Sam heard that because he’s so good at processing information now. He can take information in, almost subconsciously, and almost without thinking about it. His eyes and his ears are constantly attuned to absorbing information, so he’s able to absorb that without even necessarily thinking about it. Sam is like a radio, and if there’s information in the air, he will pick it up, and he will store it whenever he needs it. It’s not about him … taking credit for her idea. He probably wasn’t even aware of where he heard that information. He just knows he heard it somewhere in the air, and he was able to pick it up and process it."

We wonder if Gilly sees it that way.

Plus, as Bradley sees it, Sam didn’t get credit for what he did to save Jorah’s life from greyscale, so it all kind of balances out. “Jorah Mormont didn’t go back to Daenerys saying Samwell Tarly cured him of greyscale….He’s not mentioned the name Samwell Tarly to Jon Snow or Daenerys, so Sam’s not getting his credit there for something he actually did.”

"Although Sam is taking a little bit of credit for something that he didn’t do, he’s also not getting credit for something that he actually did, so I think in terms of the equilibrium, he’s getting just the right amount of credit from a slightly different source than he probably deserved."

That is some impressive mental gymnastics there.

Next: Video: See how the Zombie Polar Bear from 'Beyond the Wall' came to life

American Satan is out on October 13.

To stay up to date on everything Game of Thrones, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Watch Game of Thrones for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channel