Poor Dickon Tarly. If you’re a casual Game of Thrones fan, you probably remember him as the guy with the unfortunate name who got roasted by a dragon. If you're a die-hard, you know he's the living embodiment of the "recast" trope. Most people think Dickon was just a background character meant to show how mean Randyll Tarly was, but his arc actually represents one of the most pivotal shifts in the show's final act.
He wasn't Samwell. That was the whole point.
While Sam was busy hoarding books and trying not to die at the Wall, Dickon Tarly was the son Randyll actually wanted—strapping, obedient, and skilled with a blade. But here’s the weird part: he was played by two completely different actors, and almost nobody noticed until the second guy became a massive star.
The Tale of Two Dickons: Why Freddie Stroma Left
Most fans associate the face of Dickon Tarly with Tom Hopper. You know him—the massive guy from The Umbrella Academy and Black Sails. But go back to Season 6, specifically the awkward dinner scene at Horn Hill. That wasn't Tom. It was Freddie Stroma.
Stroma played Dickon as a bit more of a "golden boy," a slightly arrogant but mostly just there younger brother. It worked for a single episode. But when Season 7 rolled around, the production schedule for Game of Thrones clashed with Stroma’s commitment to the ABC series Time After Time. He had to choose. He chose the lead role in a new show over a minor supporting role in Westeros. Honestly, you can't blame him.
The recast was a blessing in disguise for the show's tone. Tom Hopper brought a physical gravity to the role that made the Field of Fire sequence in Season 7 feel much more personal. When you see a guy that big and that capable looking absolutely terrified of a Dothraki scream, it raises the stakes. It's one thing for a coward to be scared; it's another when the "perfect soldier" is trembling.
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The Tarly Family Dynamic was the Real Tragedy
Randyll Tarly is arguably one of the most underrated villains in the series. He wasn't a psychopath like Ramsay Bolton or a schemer like Littlefinger. He was just a hard, rigid man who valued a specific type of masculinity above all else.
Dickon was the victim of that rigidity.
Think about the choice Dickon makes at the end of "The Spoils of War." Daenerys gives the captured Lannister and Tarly soldiers a choice: bend the knee or die. Randyll refuses because he’s a stubborn traditionalist who views Dany as a foreign invader. But Dickon? Dickon didn't have to die. Tyrion even tries to save him, suggesting he be sent to the Wall.
"You'll have to kill me too," Dickon says.
It wasn't bravery. Not really. It was a son who had spent his entire life trying to earn the respect of a father who only loved him because he wasn't Sam. If Randyll was going to stand and die for his pride, Dickon felt he had to do the same to prove he belonged. It’s a heartbreaking bit of character writing that gets overshadowed by the giant fire-breathing dragon.
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Why Dickon Tarly Matters for Samwell’s Ending
If Dickon lived, Samwell's story ends differently. By the time we get to the series finale, Sam is the Grand Maester (or at least sits on the council) and is effectively the head of House Tarly.
The death of Dickon Tarly effectively ended the Tarly line as Randyll envisioned it. The "warrior" legacy died in the ash of the Reach. What remained was the "scholar" legacy. This is a subtle but massive theme in George R.R. Martin’s world: the old way of "blood and iron" failing while the people who actually understand history and mercy are the ones left to pick up the pieces.
Some fans argue that Dickon’s death was a "waste" of a character. I disagree. His death served as the ultimate catalyst for Sam to finally stop being afraid of his father's shadow. When Sam finds out from Daenerys that his father and brother are dead, it’s the first time we see Sam truly confront the weight of his heritage without the looming threat of Randyll’s belt.
The Logistics of the Field of Fire
Let's talk about that battle. Production-wise, the "loot train attack" was a nightmare to film. Tom Hopper has spoken in various interviews about the heat and the sheer scale of the practical effects.
Dickon’s role in this sequence was to be our "boots on the ground" perspective. We see the horror of the Dothraki charge through his eyes. While Bronn is being a hero and Jaime is being a commander, Dickon is just a kid realizing that the stories of war are nothing like the reality of dragonfire.
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He saves Bronn at one point, showing that he actually was a "good" man in the traditional sense. He was loyal. He was brave. He was everything Sam wasn't, and yet, he’s the one who ended up as a pile of soot.
Common Misconceptions About the Character
- "Dickon was a jerk to Sam." Not really. In the books and the show, Dickon is portrayed as someone who actually had a decent relationship with Sam, or at least wasn't actively cruel. He was just the favorite.
- "He was a Lannister soldier." Nope. The Tarlys were Tyrell bannermen who betrayed the Tyrells to side with the Lannisters (and the Crown) because Randyll hated the idea of "foreign savages" (Dothraki) invading Westeros.
- "The name was a joke." Yes, Bronn laughs at his name in the show. In the books, "Dickon" is a common enough name in the Reach, but the showrunners definitely leaned into the comedic timing of it to make his eventual death feel more sudden and jarring.
What You Should Watch (or Read) Next
If you’re fascinated by the Tarly family lore, you have to dig into the books, specifically A Feast for Crows. The book version of Randyll Tarly is even more terrifying, and the pressure on Dickon is more pronounced.
For those who want to see Tom Hopper actually survive a TV show, The Umbrella Academy is the obvious choice. He plays Luther Hargreeves, who is basically Dickon Tarly if he had gorilla DNA and a father who was an alien instead of a jerk from the Reach.
To really understand the impact of Dickon's death on the Tarly legacy, re-watch Season 8, Episode 2, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms." The moment Sam gives Heartsbane—the family’s Valyrian steel sword—to Jorah Mormont is the moment the Tarly tradition officially changes hands. It’s a direct result of Dickon no longer being there to inherit it.
The Tarly story is a microcosm of the whole show: the "perfect" world of knights and honor is a lie that gets you killed, and the "broken" people are the ones who change the world.
Actionable Insights for Game of Thrones Fans:
- Check the Credits: Next time you do a re-watch, look for Freddie Stroma in Season 6, Episode 6. It’s wild how different the energy is compared to Tom Hopper’s portrayal later.
- Analyze the "Sons" Theme: Compare Dickon Tarly to characters like Waymar Royce or even Ramsay Bolton. The "son trying to please a hard father" is a recurring tragedy in Westeros.
- Visit the Locations: The scenes where the Tarlys meet their end were filmed in Los Barruecos, Spain. It’s a stunning natural monument that looks exactly like the scorched earth from the show.
The Tarly line didn't end because they were weak. It ended because they were too rigid to bend. In a world of dragons, you either bend or you burn. Dickon chose to stand, and that made all the difference.