By Reports have come out about the casting of Samwell Tarly’s Parents and Siblings in the Next Season of Game Of Thrones. We look at the Tarlys, their family history, and why they will contribute a great deal in the HBO series.
House Tarly
House Tarly is a noble house of the Reach, the strongest House sworn to House Tyrell. Their stronghold is held in Hornhill near Highgarden:
Their Sigil is a Huntsman yielding a bow and arrow about to strike, with their words “First In Battle”.
They are also one of the rare houses in Westeros to possess a Valyrian Steel Sword called Heartsbane.
They are a rich, powerful and fierce family from the Seven Kingdoms whose legacy relies on combat. That will play a very important part on the relationship between Samwell and his Father.
But even though we never met the Tarly Family, except for Samwell, we still got a glimpse of who the patriarch is…
What Do We Know About Randyll Tarly So Far?
Remember that short exchange between Stannis Baratheon and Samwell Tarly in Castle Black in Episode 5 of the 5th Season “Kill The Boy”? Here’s why this exchange between the 2 was so important into setting up the Tarly family, Randyll especially:
The scene starts with the One True King entering the library, looking for the son of Randyll Tarly. He completely ignores Sam and Gilly as she walks out in fear – she saw what he did to Mance Rayder, the King Beyond The Wall, and knows better than to be near him considering she’s a wildling herself.
Notice how he completely ignores Sam, which he must think, at this moment, is definitely not the son of Randyll Tarly.
When he realizes there’s no one else in the room, he looks in shock at Sam, as he figures HE must be the man he’s looking for. His reaction makes the scene:
That is the look of someone looking for the son of a Great Fighter (more on that later), that actually killed a White Walker, and is currently facing what doesn’t seem, at first sight, to be the man to fit that description. Poor Sam…
It is then that he comes clean to Sam about how he admires his father for being a strong soldier, the only one to defeat his brother Robert in combat, despite Stannis warning him of the latter. At the time, House Tyrell and their Bannermen, House Tarly especially, stayed loyal to the Targaryen Crown and fought the Rebels (Baratheon, Stark, Tully and Arryn).
This discussion was definitely put in place as foreshadowing for when we actually get to meet Randyll Tarly, Sam’s father, and see why he, a tough warrior, sent his eldest son to the Wall to stripe him of his title as his heir.
Without further ado, let’s meet Sam’s Family.
Meet The Tarlys (Parents)
Randyll Tarly
Freddie Stroma (Downton Abbey) will play Randyll Tarly, the fierce warrior and liege lord of the family. He is a strong soldier and a better commander, being the only man alive to have defeated Robert Baratheon during his Rebellion to the Throne, 16 years prior the series’ beginning.
A fierce no non-sense military minded fellow, having his eldest son Samwell not live up to his expectations made him dishonor him, and send him to the Wall so that he can name his other son the heir to Hornhill.
Melessa Florent
Samantha Spiro (From Hell, MacBeth) will portray Melessa Florent, the matriarch of the Tarly household. The Florent family is another noble house of the Reach, loyal to the Tyrells.
Melessa is much softer than her husband Randyll, and loves all her children, Sam the most. We should expect some interesting scenes in Season 6, if Sam passes through Horhill before heading to Oldtown, where his father frowns at him, and his mother shows him the love only a mother could show her offspring.
Interesting Side Note: if the name Florent rings a bell, it is because she is a cousin of Selyse Florent/Baratheon, deceased (in the show) wife of Stannis Baratheon.
Meet The Tarlys (Children)
Dickon Tarly
Freddie Stroma (Harry Potter) will portray Dickon Tarly, Randyll youngest, yet more brutal and fight ready son. Since Samwell is his eldest son, Randyll had him join the Nights Watch to have him relinquish his title as heir to Hornhill, so that Dickon may hold the title afterwards.
A much more combat oriented person than his brother, we could expect some interesting clash of brothers this season. Keep in mind that Samwell is one of the rare men in Westeros to have killed a White Walker. Something that might be brought in any argument these two might have.
Talla Tarly
Rebecca Benson (MacBeth) will play Talla Tarly, Sam’s younger sister. She also grabs traits of her mother, and tends to be more loving to her older brother than the way her father and younger brother are.
Sam is also supposed to have 2 other sisters in the books. We can guess that for the sake of simplicity and to avoid confusion, the show producers decided to only have 1 sister portrayed in the show.
Samwell Tarly
Our favorite White Walker Slayer, Samwell is the oldest son of Randyll, but has been dishonored by his father who sees him as a disappointment. While the Tarlys are known for combat, even present in their family words (First In Battle), Samwell was always more oriented towards knowledge as a weapon. He even wanted to be a Maester as a kid, a sacrilege for his Soldier father. Well, now that he’s headed to Oldtown, Sam will make his dream come true, and learn the arts of a Maester at the Citadel, in order to replace the late Maester Aemon for the Nights Watch.
