Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 7.
Are fans in for a significant time jump during Game of Thrones Season 7? New photos from the set indicate they are. Other sights from the Belfast front of Game of Thrones’ production have potentially confirmed a major spoiler concerning Jon Snow’s major Season 7 battle.
How do the pictures show and indicate a possible time jump?
In the set photos obtained by the website Hoy , John Bradley, who portrays aspiring maester Samwell Tarly on Game of Thrones , can be seen in-character driving around in a carriage. Accompanying him in other set photos published by Hoy is Hannah Murray, who portrays Sam’s love interest, Gilly. Seen sitting in her lap is a young boy, who is presumably playing Little Sam. The giveaway of a possible time jump comes with the casting of a new Little Sam, who appears to be around 4-years-old.
Costume drama
Other notes of interest from the set photos are that Sam’s costume is the same black quilted number from his time on the Night’s Watch. If he has completed his maester training in Season 7, one would think he would be wearing the official robes.
Sam is also wearing a new green robe with a fur collar over his ensemble. Sam has clearly worked on winterizing his wardrobe. For her part, Gilly is wearing a new floral dress.
What could Sam be up to in Season 7?
Since Sam has not transitioned into any maester-type apparel, his maester status in Season 7 is unclear. Has he completed his training in Game of Thrones Season 7? He is driving a carriage, which could indicate he, Gilly, and Little Sam are headed to another destination away from Oldtown. Where could they be going? Maybe back to the North to reunite with Sam’s best friend?
How big of a time jump are we talking about?
It depends on how old Little Sam was when we left off in Season 6. He appeared to be no more than a year old when the season ended. In the set photos, the actor now playing Little Sam appears to be around 4, maybe even 5-years-old. That is a significant time jump.
Even though he was born in Game of Thrones Season 3, Little Sam has failed to age much over the past three seasons. While other child characters have continually aged, such as Cersei and Jaime’s children, Little Sam has remained strangely unaffected by the progression of time.
What does this mean for Game of Thrones Season 7?
Well, if Little Sam has aged between three to four years, that could possibly mean that Season 7 will begin three or four years after the events of Season 6 concluded. It all depends on when the time jump takes place.
When will the time jump occur?
This is the trickiest thing to figure out. There is currently no indication of when it will happen. When the time jump occurs is tantamount to figuring out what this could mean for Season 7. Both timelines could have significant implications for Game of Thrones .
If it happens before Season 7 begins
That could mean Sam has completed his maester training and is leaving Oldtown to put his newly acquired skills to use. Three years is certainly enough time to have accomplished his training. That also allows Game of Thrones to skip over the “college years” of Sam honing his craft.
A time jump, pre-Season 7 also means that Jon Snow (Kit Harington) will have been the King in the North for a substantial period of time when Game of Thrones picks back up. Like Sam, that would mean Jon has settled into his new role as King in the North. It would also mean that it has been years since Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) learned the truth about Jon’s parentage, and Jon has possibly remained none the wiser.
If the time jump happens during Season 7
If it happens midseason, it could explain a lot about what transpires in Season 7. If there is a time lapse, it explains how Game of Thrones’ expansive story can be tied together in such a short span of episodes.
Another possibility
Given that Little Sam has not aged for three seasons, it is possible they are just catching him up to the timeline on the show and will not have any substantial impact on Game of Thrones’ storytelling. We will just have to wait and see what Season 7 holds.
Major Update on Jon Snow’s Season 7 Battle
Last week, the Inquisitr speculated on whether the actor photographed in an exclusive set picture published by Watchers on the Wall was Kit Harington (Jon Snow). While Watchers on the Wall identified the man in the photo as Harington, the Inquisitr speculated that it might be actor Joseph Mawle, who portrays Benjen Stark on the hit series.
While there have been no new developments on the set photo, thanks to a fan photo posted on Instagram by user @sarah_ash_mawhinney and relayed by the Instagram account @got_updates , Winter is Coming has confirmed that Mawle has been spotted near Game of Thrones’ Belfast set , where they are filming a major Season 7 sequence.
With Mawle’s presence near the set, another facet of the alleged Season 7 plot leak on Reddit has potentially been confirmed. According to the alleged Game of Thrones plot leak that was originally written by Reddit user awayforthelads and later recompiled by user maureencreates, Jon Snow’s Uncle Benjen will save his nephew from certain death when Jon is almost killed during his battle to capture a wight. For more of the Inquisitr ‘s coverage on Jon Snow’s Season 7 battle, click here .
Find out how all of the aforementioned spoilers play out in Season 7, when Game of Thrones premieres next summer on HBO.
[Featured Image by HBO]