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'Game of Thrones' just dropped a big hint about one of its most controversial fan theories

Not everyone loves this idea

'Game of Thrones' just dropped a big hint about one of its most controversial fan theories
24 July 2017

Sam’s scenes are really fucked up in this new Game of Thrones season, huh?

Last week we were ‘treated’ to his frankly disgusting (but yes, hilarious) ‘poop ‘n’ soup’ montage, and this week, somehow, it got worse.

We were shown, in very intimate detail, Sam slowly removing Jorah’s rotting, pus-filled greyscale from his skin. It was horrible, felt like it went on for hours, and ended by cutting to a close up of someone digging their spoon into a distinctly pus-coloured pie. Nope.

If, for some reason, you want to relive that horrific moment again, here it is.

Anyway, enough of that, thank god. As well as getting dangerously close to a deeply infectious disease, Sam also spent this episode having a little chat with Archmaester Ebrose.

The Archmaester has essentially set Sam a reading list to train him in documenting historical events, and while loading him up with leather tomes, mentioned that he is currently writing one of his own, snappily titled The Chronicle of the Wars Following the Death of King Robert I.

Sam is unable to hide his lack of enthusiasm for the title, and suggests maybe going for something a little more… poetic.

So why is this interesting? Why do we care about an old man and his boring book? Well, because it hints towards one of the most controversial Game of Thrones fan theories out there – one that states that Sam is actually telling this whole story we are watching play out in front of our eyes. He is our narrator.

Sam and the Archmaster in 'Stormborn'

What could a more poetic title for this book be, do you think? Perhaps A Song of Ice and Fire would be appropriate? Oh shiiii- 

While the Archmaester is currently working on the book, the theory suggests it will actually be Sam who ends up writing it – having seen the army of the undead, he is in a much better position to do so, after all.

And before you write this off as a stupid idea, here are a few compelling pieces of evidence as to why Sam as the narrator isn’t all that far-fetched:

  1. Why else would the rotating chandeliers in the Citadel’s library be so prominent in the show’s opening credits?
  2. George R. R. Martin has previously said that if he were any character in the books, he would be Sam.
  3. Jon is portrayed as brave, noble and heroic in the show – is that because Sam has portrayed him as such?

This is definitely a theory that not everyone loves, but it does have some legs. It also begs a number of questions, the main one being: just how reliable a narrator is Samwell Tarly?

Say he does make it to the end and Jon and Dany are the people that save Westeros from the White Walkers, it would make sense that the history presents them as gallant heroes, and those who stood in their way as villains.

If the theory is true there’s one thing we’ll say for sure – he’s written one hell of a story.