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This Tiny Moment In The 'GOT' Premiere May Have Secured The Iron Throne For Jon Snow

by Dylan Kickham
HBO

Now that we are finally into the final season of Game of Thrones, the question of who will end up on the Iron Throne is more pressing than ever. You can bet that every single detail in the show's final six episodes will contain some crucially important meaning, which is why fans are combing through every scene of the Season 8 premiere to try to find any hidden clues. And there may have been a big one hidden in a seemingly inconsequential scene. Game of Thrones fans think Sam secured the Iron Throne for Jon Snow thanks to a very subtle trick.

Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers from the Season 8 premiere episode of Game of Thrones. The most important moment in the Game of Thrones premiere was Jon Snow learning the truth about his lineage. Of course, viewers have known that Jon Snow is actually Aegon Targaryen, the secret son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark and the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, since last season when Samwell Tarly and Bran Stark discovered the information. But Jon Snow has been in the dark about his true identity up until halfway through the final season premiere. Sam pulls Jon aside and informs him that he is a Targaryen by blood and thereby the true king of Westeros.

As predicted, though, Jon Snow is not exactly happy to hear about this. He only recently bent the knee to Daenerys Targaryn, agreeing that he will help her claim the Iron Throne and not take it for himself, and not to mention that he and Dany are in a particularly lovey-dovey phase of their new romance. It appears as though Jon may keep the truth about his Targaryen lineage and his claim to the Iron Throne a secret in order to continue to aid and be with Daenerys... but that is where this tricky Samwell theory comes into play.

At another point in the premiere episode, Sam finally met Daenerys, and in what seemed like a bit of a comic relief moment (or as close as Game of Thrones can get to comic relief), he asks Dany to officially pardon him for taking a book from the citadel. Dany smiles and agrees, because it feels like such a minor and harmless request, but some fans think that Sam actually tricked Dany into handing over the Iron Throne to Jon Snow in that moment.

HBO

As fans on Reddit pointed out, the book that Sam took from the citadel was the journal the proves Jon Snow is indeed Rhaegar Targaryen's son. Since the only other proof of this is Bran's visions, this journal is the only concrete way to expose Jon as the true heir to the Iron Throne. Even though Jon may want to keep his identity a secret, Samwell has so much more loyalty to Jon than to Daenerys... and he even seems to develop some resentment towards Dany after their first meeting since she admits to killing his father.

Now that Dany has officially pardoned Sam for taking the journal, Sam can freely use it to reveal the truth about Jon Snow and give his friend the Iron Throne instead of Daenerys. We will just have to wait to see if that is really what Sam is planning to do.