Game of Thrones was brutal towards a lot of brave character, but the character that was introduced to us as the wimp — John Bradley‘s Samwell Tarly, somehow survived everything. Not only that, he ended up becoming the Grand Maester of the new realm of men, under King Bran. In a recent interview with Esquire, John Bradley discussed Sam’s ending, and how he ended up the Grand Maester. Read on!
Bradley had been uncertain about whether Sam would survive any of it, and said the ending was what he always wanted for Sam:
“Now he’s the Grand Maester on the small council and he’s using his knowledge and using his unique set of skills, in terms of his academic mind and curiosity, he’s using all of those tools that he has at his disposal to affect the common good and he’s making change. He’s making a difference. That’s the best ending that I could have ever hoped for Sam or even that Sam could have ever hoped for himself. It was beautiful and I hate getting rid of it, it’s just strange to say that because you do feel so firmly connected to the character, you’ve embedded the character. Sometimes, it’s hard to look from the outside in.”
He then talked about how Samwell ended up becoming the Grand Maester:
“There were enough people in Winterfell during the battle planning that Sam’s insight and Sam’s wisdom and Sam’s intellectual capacity was noted by the rest of the people around that table. So they know, that in Episode Six, they have a decision to make. Part of my pride in Sam and part of my hope for Sam would like to believe that they all got together and decided that he would be of use and his input would be valuable in that environment.”
He continued:
“I’d like to think that when they were assembling that team he was seen as somebody that was going to be a very valuable person in that arsenal and a great head to have around that table. And I think that that says a lot about his journey. He was ridiculed and he was worthless and he was cast aside by his family. He was a target of abuse for the rest of the Night’s Watch and everybody else at Castle Black. He’s now in a position where his opinion is being sought. His presence is required to make these big decisions.”
He also said that Bran and Sam’s bond could have also helped him climb the ranks, although deservedly:
“I think Bran and Sam have developed such a close bond by this stage because they went through the whole process of finding out Jon’s parentage. They’re such a formidable team because they’re the only two people in the world who can do what they do because Bran can see things and Sam can interpret them. As soon as Bran became King, Sam—who has never been slow when it came to seeing how he could work a situation to his advantage—he could have gone to see Bran and say “Bran now that we are mates and now that you’re King, remember that time when we found out about Jen’s parents? Well how about you do your old mate a favor and maybe see if the Grand Maester position is available.”
Bradley also commented on Samwell’s idea of democracy, and how he had always been too progressive for the world he was in.
What do you guys think? Did you like Sam’s ending? Talk to us in the comments, down below!
