This 'Game Of Thrones' Theory Says The White Walkers Aren't Gone Just Yet
Samwell Tarly, Gilly and baby Little Sam are the closest thing Game of Thrones has to The Waltons, but their wholesome if slightly unconventional family might be where the biggest threat to Westeros is hiding in plain sight.
The Redditor u/TurntCrawdad reckons that this sweet little trio might secretly be harbouring a sleeper White Walker, even though they were all memorably exploded by Arya Stark Michael Jordan-ing herself into position to stab the Night King at the Battle of Winterfell. Take it away, u/TurntCrawdad.
"As we know, [George RR Martin's] writing is often influenced by the works of famous historical writers, as well as history itself. When I was reading about Gilly, I came to understand that her name originates from the real-life plant known as gilliflower/gillyflower.
"Gilliflower is mentioned in Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale, in which they are 'cross-fertilised by humans, rather than by Nature: 'I have heard it said/There is an art which in their piedness shares/With great creating Nature... I'll not put/The dibble in earth to set one slip of them.'"
By the way, if an animal is 'pied' it means that it has mixed colours, not that it's tried it on with a prospective partner and been comprehensively knocked back. So what does that mean for Sam, Gilly and Little Sam? u/TurntCrawdad says that, "Gilly's name and the mention of gilliflower in a Shakespearean story certainly can't be a mere coincidence," which is a very bold statement, but we'll allow it. The implication is that Gilly and her child might be carrying some White Walker blood in their veins, and that it could burst forth in the big finale.
What if, they say, the Night King didn't head for Bran Stark to kill him, but to take possession of Little Sam, who he sees as his property - a child who was supposed to be the hundredth to be sacrificed to him, conceived on the same day as the Red Comet appeared? With the Night King gone, does the title pass on to the next in line? Look, it's a lot to wrap up in one episode, true, but since when has cramming plot points and concertinaing character arcs bothered season eight of Game of Thrones?
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