Fan Theory Says Samwell Tarly Is The Master Of Game Of Thrones

It’s not too often that a major Game of Thrones character offers up his own fan theory. But such was the case when The Hollywood Reporter interviewed John Bradley, who plays Samwell Tarly. Bradley offered some insight into the possible ramifications of the observation that the Citadel contains the show-world version of the opening credit sequence in its massive chandelier. You'll remember that Tarly enters the Citadel in the show's final episode, where he will train as a maester and study how to defeat the Night's King in the Oldtown library. “One theory is that what we're seeing now and how we're experiencing Game of Thrones is Sam telling the story of Game of Thrones,” Bradley tells THR. “If you take the logic of the story now, the story of Westeros and the story of the battle for the Iron Throne, it would be a book in that library. The visual motif of that is you're about to be told a story — the sense of an idea of being told a story, and people gaining that knowledge, the way Sam is absorbing knowledge in the library.” That’s an amazing point, especially considering that George R.R. Martin has been open about his story as a response and tribute to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Remember, Samwise Gamgee is the teller of that tale within its universe. So we could well end the series with Sam as its official scribe, writing of the time he saw Jon Snow rise from the dead to take back the Iron Throne. And Bradley says such a fate would befit his character. “People wonder if Sam would be a good leader if he was given the Iron Throne, but he wouldn't ever want it,” he tells THR. “It's out of his even peripheral vision. All he wants in life is to be loved, be accepted and do the things he enjoys. It's not about power in the world. It's about the power of taking control of his own life.” If this theory is right, it could be about taking control of his life and the narratives of the lives of so many others. It would also explain why Daenerys has so many hero moments and lucky coincidences; Sam is hearing her story second and third hand, so all the rough patches are ironed out and she can just be the heroic warrior queen. Fascinating.