Samwell Tarly--the self-proclaimed coward--spends much of Season 3 failing to live up to his reputation. After the Night's Watch mutiny at Craster's Keep, Sam rescues young Gilly and her newborn son before his frenzied brothers of the Watch can have their way with her. They seek shelter for the night in a ramshackle cabin, and Sam shows her the knife that he'd taken from the stash of ancient obsidian weapons that he'd dug out of the snow. All seems to be going well...until the crows begin to shriek. Sam, because he has never had the opportunity to see a horror movie, decides that he will investigate. Gilly follows him. Outside, hundreds of crows have gathered in the branches of the trees around the cabin, and their cries echo all over the snowy clearing. All at once, however, the crows fall silent...and a White Walker emerges from the forest. Sam valiantly raises his sword, but the creature grabs the blade barehanded, shatters it, and sends Sam flying backward with a single blow. The White Walker advances on Gilly and the wailing baby, so Sam draws the only weapon that remains to him: the dragonglass dagger. He charges the White Walker and jams the brittle blade into its back. To his and Gilly's shock, it howls in unearthly pain. Its body turns to ice, and it cracks and crumbles in on itself until it is no more...leaving Samwell Tarly as the only living man who knows how to kill White Walkers.
Fiction buff and writer. If it's on Netflix, it's probably in my queue. I've bought DVDs for the special features and usually claim that the book is better than the movie or show (and can provide examples). I've never met a TV show that I won't marathon. Follow on Twitter @lah9891 .
