Interviewer: Outside of Jon's status as the heir to the Iron Throne, and outside of the fact that Sam does not believe in Daenerys' worthiness as a leader, why do you feel Sam believes Jon is the right person to govern Westeros?
John Bradley(Sam's actor):Aside from those two things, which are very important, I think you can look at it from a purely romantic point of view, if you like. Sam knows Jon really well. He knows his heart is in the right place. He knows he does things for the right reasons. He has a very strict moral code that he adheres to as much as he can. Sometimes he makes hard decisions. He never takes any decision lightly. He tries to do everything for the right reasons. That's the romantic view. If you want a more cynical version, of what's under the surface? Sam always has had a habit of manipulating Jon. He's manipulated him on so many other occasions. The reason he manipulates him in the past is to keep Gilly and Baby Sam safe. He manipulated him to be the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch because that was the best chance of getting Gilly and Baby Sam out of Castle Black and into the Citadel. If Jon is in a position of power, he thinks he can work on Jon to make as safe a life as possible for the people he cares the most about in the world. It's a little cynical, but I do think Sam is so hyper-intelligent and calculated that any plot he can scheme and any route he can take to keep Gilly and Baby Sam safe, he's going to do it. If Jon is in a position of power, then he can grease those wheels more easily. Those are two ways of looking at it. Take your pick!
Sam believes in Jon Snow. Jon Snow believes in Daenerys. Can Sam ever get on board with Jon's vision, or in his mind, has Daenerys crossed a line she can never come back from?
In terms of Sam telling Jon about his true claim to the throne, I think it was hurried along by what Daenerys told him. I think he definitely sees Daenerys as unstable, as a volatile character, as somebody who is determined to succeed without a real moral compass. She'll kill people for a minor act of disobedience. I think Sam is very wary of her now and sees how dangerous she can be — not just for Jon Snow, but also in terms of the entire Seven Kingdoms. We could have a Mad Queen here. Sam knows enough about history to know what people who are slightly unhinged and slightly unbalanced are like when they're in charge, and the damage they can cause. Sam has learned from the mistakes of history. He's never going to come around to Daenerys. He's too wise for that. He's too wary and suspicious of her now. If she's going to be incredibly destructive and volatile, then she could get the Seven Kingdoms into a worse position if she continues to be unyielding, impulsive and so violent. If she's going to continue dealing with things in such a violent way, then he can only see dark days ahead if she's on the throne. His desire to tell Jon about his claim to the Iron Throne is all but informed by his desire to make sure some of those dark days of the Mad King and the past reigns of imbalance never continue into the future. Sam has an agenda now. He definitely has an agenda.
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Daaaaamn. These are some harsh words.
