This week's 'Game of Thrones' added fuel to the fire of this bonkers Samwell Tarly theory

Only two things are certain in Game of Thrones: death, and more death.

But one of the stars seems to be feeling pretty confident about his chances of making it to the end of the series, despite its notoriously high body count.

Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) certainly seemed like an underdog when he was introduced in Season 1 -- but author George R. R. Martin has proven that he's a big fan of underdogs; or "cripples, bastards and broken things," as Tyrion Lannister once famously observed.

With that in mind, Bradley recently offered a pretty compelling argument for his character's continued existence during a podcast interview: "The thing about Sam is, if he’s still around at this stage, you do suspect that there is gonna be a point to keeping him around."

Intriguing ...

Of course, we could say the same about any Game of Thrones character -- obviously all of them serve a narrative purpose, or they'd be dead already. But Bradley's observation does seem to hint that Sam may still have a pivotal part to play in the final two seasons.

Many fans -- including Bradley himself -- suspect that Sam is actually the narrator of Game of Thrones, and that the end of the show will reveal an older version of Bradley's character as a Maester in the Citadel, telling the story of the battle for the Iron Throne long after it's over.

Sure, it's a little Tolkien-esque, but since George R. R. Martin has cited the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit author as an inspiration for his novels (and written many of his plot twists as a way of subverting Tolkien's more convenient narrative shortcuts), that's kind of fitting.

This theory gained traction at the end of Season 6, when fans noticed that the chandelier in the library at the Citadel looked suspiciously like the astrolabe from the show's opening credits.

And in episode 2 of Season 7, titled "Stormborn," Sam's conversation with Archmaester Marwyn (Jim Broadbent) certainly added fuel to the fire.

Marwyn revealed to Sam that he's currently writing a book about the recent history of Westeros -- and coincidentally, it sounds like it'll cover all the plot twists we've seen in a certain TV show (and long-gestating book series).

"If you want people to read your histories, you need a bit of style," the Archmaester points out. "I'm not writing A Chronicle of the Wars Following the Death of King Robert I so it can sit on a shelf unread."

Um, that title is kind of a mouthful, right?

Sam agrees, telling the Archmaester that he'd probably go with something a little more "poetic." Like, say, A Song of Ice and Fire? Or maybe A Game of Thrones?

If this fan theory is true, Sam may well end up finishing his version of the story before George R. R. Martin does.

(Editor's note: This story was updated on July 25 to include plot details for episode 2 of Game of Thrones Season 7.)