We’re big fans of Samwell Tarly but some people aren’t.
With Season 7 being recently released on DVD, now is the perfect time to catch up on Game of Thrones as that long wait until Season 8 continues. As fans of the show will know, one of the main reasons why GOT is so beloved is because of its characters – both good and bad.
While people might dismiss the show as being purely about ‘tits and dragons’ (Ian McShane’s famous words there), the fantasy drama understands one truth about the world better than most other show….people can’t be easily understood and defined.
Even the noblest of heroes can commit an act of pure evil and some of the so-called “baddies” have moments of redemption and humanity. To quote Littlefinger: “Always keep your foes confused. If they are never certain who you are or what you want, they cannot know what you are like to do next.”
This being said, one character that has somehow managed to keep their integrity, decency, and courage is Jon Snow’s best friend at The Wall, Samwell Tarly.
From the very first scene where we meet Sam at Castle Black, we’re led to believe that he’s weak, cowardly and unskilled with a sword. This being said, there’s a different kind of strength to Sam and it’s one that has proven to be incredibly valuable and rare.
Intelligent, brave and incredibly loyal, the eldest son of Lord Randyll Tarly has ultimately proven his father wrong. Throughout the show, Sam is one of the few people to have killed a White Walker and a Thenn but that’s not all.
He also had the balls to stand up to his tyrannical father and disobey his Night’s Watch vows in order to save Gilly and her newborn child. Sam also showed his decency, loyalty, and humanity by risking a fatal infection when he cured Jorah Mormont’s greyscale.
Oh yeah, he also discovered (eventually!) that there’s a plentiful supply of dragon glass that’s buried underneath Dragonstone…handy when it comes to The Great War against the army of the dead.
This being said, it appears that some Game of Thrones fans still have an issue with ‘Sam the Slayer.’
In an interview with journalist Julie Hamill, John Bradley (Sam) was talking about his love for The Smiths and Morrissey. It’s a fantastic chat but the conversation inevitably turned towards his character in Game of Thrones and why some viewers really dislike the would-be Maester.
This was a joy 🙂 https://t.co/NvGFZA7ybl
— John Bradley (@johnbradleywest) December 27, 2017
When asked if his character is universally liked, here’s what the actor had to say.
“No… there are people who hate Sam Tarly. Women seem to like him but a certain type of man doesn’t like to be reminded of their own vulnerabilities and they believe that men should be super strong and super stable. Men like that really hate characters like Sam. The thing about the character that I find interesting is that people say, ‘You turned brave.’ I think he was always brave.”
We know what you’re thinking, who are these people?
Given the events of Game of Thrones, we think Bradley’s assessment of events is 100% accurate. After all, who else would have the courage to fight a White Walker, stand up for what they believe in and clean an endless amount of shit-soaked chamber pots?
Most men would balk at the task. Not Sam.
He’s made of tougher stuff. Well, actually…
