Game Of Thrones Season 6 Finale: 10 Big Questions We're Asking After 'The Winds Of Winter'

Sam's story, so often an afterthought during the sixth season, is picked up again in the finale. The timing is a little odd, and it stands out as an unnecessary part of the episode, although there's no doubt that the Citadel looks very impressive. Who wouldn't want to visit that library?

The wider issue here, though, is that the purpose of Sam's story no longer exists (although Sam himself doesn't know it). With Aemon dying, he was sent to train to become Maester for the Night's Watch, under Lord Commander Snow. Since then, Jon's been killed, resurrected, quit the Watch, fought and defeated Ramsay Bolton, and been crowned King in the North. Despite all that, Sam's only now arrived at the Citadel. The Night's Watch, meanwhile, hasn't featured for multiple episodes, and doesn't seem a pertinent part of the show at the moment.

It seems impossible that Sam could actually become a Maester quickly enough to serve as one to either the Watch or Jon at Winterfell, so what is he going to do in Oldtown? Instead, it seems more likely that he'll learn some key knowledge - probably about the White Walkers - that proves crucial in the coming endgame, and that prompts him to return to Jon. What that knowledge will be exactly, though, is anyone's guess.