Samwell (played by John Bradley) told Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) he was the rightful heir to the Iron Throne during the first episode of the final season of Game of Thrones.
Jon was shocked to discover his whole life had been a lie, with Samwell revealing he was born out of wedlock and therefore, the son of Rhaegar Targaryen (Harry Lloyd) and Lyanna Stark (Aisling Franciosi).
However, the revelation came only moments after Rhaegar’s younger sister and Jon’s biological aunt, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) told Samwell she was the reason his brother and father had been killed.
After discovering the truth, Samwell was left to ponder whether the dragon queen was the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, knowing full well Jon was entitled to rule over the Seven Kingdoms.
Therefore, actor John Bradley recently revealed this act of vengeance could be the reason he wanted to tell Jon the truth about his paternity on the HBO series, working in his favour to get revenge on Daenerys.
Speaking with TVLine following Monday’s explosive season eight premiere, the actor said: “When it comes to Jon, everything [Sam] does seemingly for other people — especially Jon — he’s helping himself, as well.
“What you’ve also seen from Sam, a lot of the time, is he holds a lot of influence over Jon himself.”
With the seemingly innocent character turning the gears in Jon’s mind, could he be setting the goals in place for the heir to the Iron Throne to turn on his aunt and carry out Samwell’s misdeeds as his own?
John continued: “He’s as much a schemer and a manipulator as anybody else. He’s got his own and Gilly’s and Baby Sam’s interests at heart, more than anything else.”
However, could Samwell actually be protecting Jon from Daenerys’ own bitter plans, knowing the lengths the dragon queen will go to to get what she wants?
Speaking to TheWrap, John said: “He sees with his own eyes and is kind of connecting this to his own set of emotions, just how cold she is and how sacrificial she is in other people’s lives.
“And he learns the lengths that she’ll go to if somebody decides to disobey her and how her quest for power seems to know no moral code when it comes to that.”
However, although Jon may have seemingly only just learnt he is Aegon Targaryen, the heir to the Iron Thorne, some theories have suggested he was told the truth right back in the very beginning.
Benjen took a parental role over Jon as he tried to dissuade his nephew to join the Night’s Watch and during the conversation, he seemed to hint towards the character’s parentage.
One Reddit user explained: “A lot of people, myself included, think Benjen’s first conversation with Jon shows that he knows who Jon is.
“There are a lot more things in the book that point towards him knowing, but biggest of all is when Jon says he doesn’t care about fathering sons and Benjen says “you would if you knew what it meant.
“Benjen has never had children, so it’s not like he’s just lamenting on Jon missing out on the joys of fatherhood.
“Obviously the implication there is that Jon not having kids means he would not be able to further the royal line of succession.”
As the season unfolds and battles ensue, will Jon make it out alive to secure his rightful hold on the Iron Throne?
Game of Thrones airs Sunday on HBO and Monday on Sky Atlantic. Fans can catch up on seasons 1-8 on Now TV.
