Sam Taylor is the main protagonist of The Cellar, the first episode of the 2020 reboot series Amazing Stories released on AppleTV+. He is a construction worker helping to restore old houses, alongside with his brother Jake Taylor. While attempting to restore an old farmhouse in Iowa, USA, Sam discovers a barometer which happens to be a magical time portal that sends him from 2019 to 1919. He meets with Evelyn Porter, a upper class woman, who assists him to get back home while he falls in love with her.
Sam is portrayed by Dylan O'Brien, who also portrays Stiles Stilinski in Teen Wolf, Thomas in the Maze Runner film series, and Joel Dawson in Love and Monsters, and voices Bumblebee in the 2018 film of the same name.
Sam Taylor is introduced as he and his homosexual brother, Jake Taylor arrive at an old farmhouse in Iowa, USA where they plan to restore it for their unnamed client. When they explore, Sam checks the basement and discovers an old but mysterious barometer hanging on the wall. He ignores it and heads back upstairs to help his brother.
Later, Sam meets up with a young woman named Francesca at a bar and begins to have a chat with her. When they begin talking, he shows her a picture on his phone, featuring his brother Jake, brother-in law Roger and infant niece Alice, which Francesca finds to be interesting. Francesca drops Sam at the farmhouse and Sam continues to help his brother finish restoring the house.
As evening falls after a day of restoring the house, Sam prepares to fix a fireplace where he discovers an old box hidden in a secret place in the fireplace and opens it up. Jake comes to have a look as Sam finds some old matchsticks with the word "cabbage" on it and a photo of a young woman dressed in a bridal gown. Sam becomes interested in her until sirens begin to go off due to a bad storm and the brothers prepare for it. They pick up the equipment they need to restore the house and cover the windows. The power goes out and Sam goes to check the fusebox in the cellar. As he does, Sam hears a screeching noise as the barometer's needle begins to drop down. When the screeching stops, Sam heads upstairs to find Jake but is surprised to see that everything has changed.
As he calmly walks through the house, he sees a young woman playing on a piano and he recognizes her from the photo he found. When she pulls a shotgun at him, Sam calmly tells that he is leaving and gets out before the mother of the young woman arrives. Sam explores around and finds that everything has turned from modern to a Western looking neighborhood. He sees a poster in a window of a closed shop with the year 1919, and Sam realizes that he has gone back in time, 100 years prior.
Sam makes his way back to the farmhouse so he can find a way to get back to 2019 and he overhears the mother, Paula Porter, speaking to her daughter Evelyn Porter when she asks her to hand over the records that she was listening to in the cellar. To gain Evelyn's trust, Sam says that the records are his and he introduces himself to them, saying he was a friend of Paula's late son (who died from unknown causes) and Evelyn thinks of a cover. Paula then hands Sam the records and invites him to Evelyn's engagement party being held the following evening, Sam says he was only stopping by to pick up "his records". As soon Paula was out of sight, Sam hands the records back to Evelyn, which she gratefully thanks him for.
As Sam tries to find a way to get back to his own time, Evelyn becomes confused and Sam is forced to tell her that he is from the future, the year 2019 which Evelyn finds to be amusing. To convince her, Sam tries to show her his iPhone, but he realized he dropped it when he travelled through time, but he still has the photo of Evelyn he found in 2019. Evelyn says she never had her picture taken, but Sam says she will and asks her about the cellar and who built the farmhouse. Evelyn replies that her grandfather built it and Sam decides to visit him in order to ask him about the cellar.
Sam changes into a 1910s suit and joins the engagement party where Evelyn takes him to meet her grandfather, Warren Porter and he introduces himself to him. Warren introduces Sam to farmer Henry Barrett who knows about the basement but before he can finish, Evelyn's fiancee William gives a speech to the guests; his wife died (from unknown causes) which left him and his children nearly broke and he prepares to marry Evelyn so she can inherit the fortune, which Evelyn does not accept. While Evelyn and William dance, he informs her that a photographer will be hired to take a picture of her in her bridal gown, which finally convinces Evelyn that Sam is from the future. After Sam shares a dance with William's daughter, Mildred, William thanks him and Evelyn tells Sam that he was right about the photo. Evelyn decides to talk to Sam and asks to go for a walk and Sam agrees.
Evelyn asks Sam of what the future would be like, Sam reveals how everything would be different in 2019 compared to 1919 and Evelyn takes an interest in it. They head to a speakeasy and the shopkeeper lets them in to the speakeasy when Sam gives him the password, "cabbage" which he learned from 2019. Sam and Evelyn share a dance in the speakeasy and Sam bets Evelyn to go on stage and perform in the song in front of a band and Evelyn agrees. As Evelyn performs beautifully on stage, Sam begins to develop feelings for her. After leaving the speakeasy, Sam tells Evelyn that she should become a singer so she can make a living and Evelyn says she was looking at him the whole time. Just then, Paula comes to retrieve Evelyn and says to Sam that she is an engaged woman.
The next day, Sam goes to visit Henry Barrett at his farm and asks him about the low pressure in the cellar. Henry explains that he has a barometer, which Sam recognizes, and Henry explains that a rare bad storm occurs irregularly and the needle drops down, which caused a tree to fall onto his barn the day before. Sam realizes that this is the key to his time travel and asks Henry if he could borrow the barometer in exchange to help him fix his barn doors and Henry agrees.
Sam goes to see Evelyn, who is packing a case up as she is tired of living in her repeated upper class life and Sam shows her the barometer which is the key to his time travel. He asks her if she can go with him so she can finally leave her life of misery and make a living as a singer. When he tells her: "maybe you were always meant to come back with me", Evelyn passionately kisses him and Sam returns. While waiting for the storm to arrive within 19 days, Sam places the barometer in the cellar while he helps Henry fix his barn doors and seeing Evelyn in secret before her wedding, which is due in 19 days.
After Sam finishes making the barn doors for Henry, Evelyn is dressed in her bridal gown, as the photographer prepares to take her photo of her. As soon as the photo is taken, Evelyn rushes to Sam in the cellar, but William catches up, with some men and pulls Evelyn away as he knew of the affair and leaves Sam in the basement. A bad storm occurs and the barometer begins screeching again, sending Sam back to 2019 exactly as he disappeared. Upset and agitated, Sam tries to convince his brother Jake about his adventure, but Jake does not believe it, thinking he is imagining it.
Sam waits for a few days for another storm to occur irregularly but is dismayed that another one would occur within 10-15 years and he does not believe it. He searches on his phone to find a newspaper article about an accident that occurred in 1919 with Evelyn's name on it which worries Sam. Another storm occurs irregularly and Sam returns to the barometer which takes him to the future, 2034, where he finds the farmhouse being changed to a modern style and heads upstairs to find a woman comforting her son in bed. Sam tearfully realizes that it is Evelyn and that he will be raising a family with her, he races back to the barometer, taking him back to 2019. Sam finds that Jake changed he basement and he tries to convince him again, but Jake suggests he should take Sam to a doctor to help him. Sam then fools Jake and locks himself in the basement as another storm occurs, triggering the barometer and sending Sam back to 1919.
Sam discovers that the cellar is flooded due to a storm and he rushes to find Evelyn. It is raining but Sam manages to find Evelyn who is relieved to see him. As they journey back to the cellar, it is still flooding and Sam gets pinned by a piece of roof that had fallen due to the storm. Evelyn tries to help him, Sam tells her of what he saw in the future which makes Evelyn excited and Sam tells her that she has go without him. Evelyn says she won't leave him, but Sam says she will, telling her he loves her, which she tells that she loves him too and Evelyn is sent to 2019. In 2019, Jake makes his way to the cellar to find Sam gone and finds Evelyn at the door, which finally convinces him that Sam was right about his time traveling adventure.
Jake provides clothes for Evelyn to wear and he tells her how much Sam really loved her and Evelyn agrees. They find two letters hidden in a secret passage where Evelyn hid her records in 1919, one for Jake and one for Evelyn. Back in 1919, Sam had survived the flooding when two men came to help him but he has not returned to 2019 when a bad storm never came. He became a construction worker with his own company, Sam Taylor Construction and has never stopped loving Evelyn. Sam states that his life in 1919 is what he loved and he came from a place with many choices while Evelyn had none. Sam placed his photo of Evelyn in her bridal gown, with some matchsticks with the password "cabbage" in the same box and hid it in the fireplace, revealing that he was the one who put the box in the fireplace so his future self would find it. Sam's fate is left unknown.
Back in 2019, Evelyn and Jake are left heartbroken over the disappearance of Sam after reading their letters left to them by Sam, with Jake being told to build his own house and Evelyn, persuading her that "your life is waiting, go out and get it". Years later, Evelyn becomes a successful singer, making her win an award in New York (displayed in the farmhouse) and is placing her son into bed, named Sam, who was named in honor of her beloved Sam. Evelyn hears a noise and is too late to find that Sam has already gone back after witnessing her with their son.
Relationships[]
Sam and Evelyn passionately kiss
Evelyn Porter - Sam's beloved soulmate. When he unintentionally time-travelled from 2019 to 1919 while restoring an old farmhouse, he met her in the house before its restoration and recognized her from the photo of her, in a bridal gown, he found in 2019. His relationship with her started out as she thought he was breaking into her house, but Sam said he wasn't and left the house calmly before Evelyn's mother arrived home. Sam was able to gain her trust when he fooled her mother that he was a friend of Evelyn's late brother, and handed her records back to her which Evelyn was grateful for his kindness. When he informed her of where he was from, Evelyn thought he was making a joke but was convinced when her ex-fiancee told her about a photo being taken with her in a bridal gown. Sam and Evelyn grew closer and went to a speakeasy where they shared a dance and they developed feelings. When Sam learned how to get back to 2019, via the magical barometer, he asked Evelyn if she can come as well, which Evelyn accepted so she can leave her miserable upper class life. Sam and Evelyn started a romantic relationship without her family noticing and seeing each other in secret. After failing to travel to 2019 together, Sam traveled to rescue Evelyn again, but was pinned by a roof during a bad storm. He managed to send Evelyn through time, before telling her of what he saw in the future and that he loves her. Despite being in 1919 and unable to get back to 2019, Sam never stopped loving Evelyn and wrote a letter to her to persuade her to earn a living as a singer. He loved her so much, the same way Evelyn loved him in return. They are star-crossed lovers.
Jake Taylor - Sam's brother. Sam was very close to his brother and they worked together to restore houses for clients with their own company, Taylor Construction. Sam was also a devoted uncle to Jake's daughter, Alice and Jake mentioned that Alice wanted see Sam again, due to her loving him. When Sam told him about his time-travelling adventure and Evelyn, Jake did not believe at first, but he was finally convinced when Evelyn travelled to 2019 and Sam was stuck in 1919. Jake remembered what Sam told him about how he saw everything in 1919 and how much Sam really loved Evelyn. Sam wrote a letter to Jake to persuade him to build his own house for his family and Jake was left heartbroken over his brother's disappearance.
Henry Barrett - Sam's friend. Sam met Henry Barrett when he time-travelled to 1919 and at Evelyn's engagement party and asked him about the low pressure in the cellar. Henry gave him the words of how a bad storm occurs irregularly and the low pressure causes a barometer's needle to drop down, which was the cause of Sam's time travel. He helped Henry fix his barn doors in exchange of borrowing his barometer and became good friends with Henry. When Sam was stuck in 1919, Henry and another man saved him from drowing in the cellar, with Sam remaining a construction worker and helping Henry with chopping wood up.
Francesca - Sam's former love interest. Sam met Francesca in a bar when he was finding a girl to ask out on and became friends with her. However, when he travelled to 1919, he got over Francesca and chose Evelyn over her.
Trivia[]
The episode, The Cellar, was heavily praised by both fans and critics, who find it to be very emotional and heartwarming. The performances of Dylan O'Brien and Victoria Pedretti, as well their characters and chemistry set were praised and are considered to be one of their famous roles to date.
Sam Taylor shares some similarities to Doc Emmett Brown and Jack Dawson. Sam and Doc are time travelers who fall in love with two women in the past. Sam and Jack fall in love with two wealthy girls, who are fed up of their upper class life, but they get sadly seperated from each other at the end.
