25 Game of Thrones theories fans need to know for season 8

Season 7 (2017): John Bradley.

photo: Helen Sloan/courtesy of HBO

Samwell Tarly is the Prince That Was Promised

Another prophecy that often comes up when discussing Game of Thrones is that of the Prince That Was Promised. This prophecy comes from the religion of the Lord of Light, best known for influencing Melisandre, and thus Stannis Baratheon, throughout the TV series. According to this prophecy, the Prince That Was Promised will pull a sword named Lightbringer from flames and use it to fend off the coming darkness.

It’s probably safe to assume that the darkness the prophecy refers to is the arrival of the White Walkers. However, there’s been a lot of speculation as to who could actually be the Prince. The more obvious choices include Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, and even Beric Dondarrion. Beric has a literal flaming sword, and the other two can wield dragons against the Night King and his army—a metaphorical sword, but an effective weapon all the same.

But some Game of Thrones fans have chosen to believe that the prophesied prince is someone less obvious. One theory claims that Samwell Tarly might be the long-awaited Prince. This theory assumes that Sam’s history is more complicated than he believes it to be—even going as far as to claim that Sam is secretly Aegon Targaryen, who was smuggled away when King’s Landing was attacked all those years ago.

This lineage may be a bit of a stretch, especially given the differences between the A Song of Ice and Fire books and the Game of Thrones television series. However, Sam is the person who discovers that dragonglass can kill White Walkers. This could be Westeros’ salvation, and given that it’s forged from dragons’ fire, it could also be considered a metaphorical sword forged from flames.

Like we said, it’s a long shot. But we should all know better than to underestimate Sam.