Summary

• The White Walkers spared Sam in Game of Thrones because they saw him as a useful messenger to spread fear and inform the Night's Watch about their undead army.
• The White Walkers' motivations were complex and went beyond simply killing everyone in their path. Their actions showcased their uniqueness as villains in the fantasy genre.
• The true reason for Sam's survival may forever remain a mystery, adding to the intrigue and interest surrounding the White Walkers in the Game of Thrones mythos. A future spinoff may shed more light on their actions and long-term goals.

One of the biggest questions from Game of Thrones was why didn't the White Walkers kill Sam in season 2 — and despite the show concluding it remains one of the biggest mysteries. At the start of Game of Thrones season 2, Sam joined the Great Ranging to travel beyond the Wall. The group from the Nights Watch arrived at Craster's Keep where Sam fell in love with Gilly. Sam continued marching to the Fist of the First Men, where he found a hoard of Dragonglass, one of the few substances capable of killing White Walkers.

Though fiercely intelligent, Samwell Tarly was never among the most capable and strongest warriors of Westeros, so he fell behind and got stuck in a blizzard when his fellow Crows fled back to the Fist. Following the arrival of an army of wights, a White Walker riding atop a horse seemingly looked directly at Sam before screeching and leading its army to the Fist, away from Sam. To date, there haven't been any explanations for why that White Walker let Sam live, but there have been some compelling thoughts surrounding the subject.

Theories Why The White Walkers Let Sam Live

The Show Doesn't Give An Answer, But There Are Some Solid Game Of Thrones Theories

Many Game of Thrones viewers have wondered why the White Walker didn't kill Sam when the Night King's army had slaughtered (and recruited) every other living thing in its path. One popular belief was that Sam was spared to serve as a messenger to the living. Since Sam saw firsthand the enormity of the White Walkers' undead army, he could spread the truth — which would result in more fear.

Essentially, the White Walkers could have wanted Sam to travel back to the Wall and inform the Night's Watch of what was coming, which is consistent with another encounter that occurred earlier in the series. At the start of Game of Thrones, three men encountered a White Walker, and two of the three men were killed, with the third spared just like Sam. It was likely the lone survivor was spared to act as a messenger.

It's clear that the White Walkers, in both situations, didn't consider the ranger or Sam to be immediate threats, and were instead more useful to the undead army alive and spreading fear. Indeed, as the original Game of Thrones pilot episode initially saw the White Walkers speaking their own language, it wouldn't be surprising for them to have employed such tactics early on.

Meanwhile, in the question of "Why didn't the White Walkers kill Sam?", some have argued that the White Walker didn't see Sam. The humanoid turned his head, but that could have been a method to look in the direction of the camera to instill fear in viewers. Either way, sparing Sam turned out to be instrumental in taking down the Night King, the White Walkers, and their army. If it wasn't for Sam and his research, Jon, Daenerys, and their forces would have never been able to protect Westeros from their invasion.

Mysteries Like This Are What Make The White Walkers So Interesting

Sparing Sam Showcases Why White Walkers Were Such Good Villains

The true reason the White Walker didn't kill Sam in Game Of Throne will likely forever remain a mystery, just like most unanswered questions about White Walkers. However, Sam inexplicably getting spared by the undead army only serves to make the Night King and his wights more interesting. In essence, this is what separates the White Walkers from other undead monsters in the fantasy genre.

While the origins, goals, and even the final fate of the White Walkers were revealed in Game of Thrones, their uniqueness and how they're grounded within George R.R. Martin's lore mean that the answers to White Walker mysteries pose even more questions. This is why, years after the Night King's death by the blade of Arya Stark, the White Walkers remain a point of interest in the whole mythos. This can be further observed in House of the Dragon revealing Aegon the Conqueror's dream/prophecy about the Long Night.

Perhaps the simplest answer to why the White Walkers didn't kill Sam is that they were never just simple zombies, and their complex motivations ultimately meant that an outright explanation for Sam's survival was never deemed necessary. On the other hand, sometimes this means that the Game of Thrones writers get credit for adding mystery, when it was just shaky writing on their part. Either way, with House of the Dragon season 2 and other Game of Thrones spinoffs in the works, more could be revealed about the White Walkers' actions and long-term goals.

A Game Of Thrones Spinoff Should Reveal Why Sam Wasn't Killed

The White Walkers Warrant Further Exploration

As of now, there are multiple different Game of Thrones spinoffs in development, and at least one of them could finally reveal why the White Walker didn't kill sam. While viewers are unlikely to see the White Walker threat during House of the Dragon, with the primary plot seeing the Targaryen civil war, other spinoffs could tap into White Walker lore and mythos.

It's possible that the upcoming Jon Snow sequel series could see the Crow-turned-Free-Folk learning more about how White Walkers operate and why Sam would've been spared from such a dire threat. However, there are also some prequels that could discuss White Walkers. The series Bloodmoon was supposed to chronicle the famed Long Night and introduce the White Walkers during their earliest beginnings.

Set 8,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones, Bloodmoon surely would've revealed why the White Walker's didn't kill Sam had it not been canceled. Since 10,000 Ships mainly takes place in Dorne, The Sea Snake follows Corlys Velaryon's voyages, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight zeroes in on the Kingsguard, and The Golden Empire sees the Yi-Ti Dynasty's reign, more information on the White Walkers from Game of Thrones will have to be revealed either in the Jon Snow series or the untitled animated series.