Idk if it's just me, but from the beginning of reading the story, I've had a feeling that Sam is attracted to men and just can't accept it. His dad is homophobic, so he probably grew up hearing all that hate, which makes him even more in denial.
I mean, all the king's sons are gay, and somehow they all end up attracted to Sam. Of course, it could just be Yaoi logic or the whole gay-attracts-gay. idk
In the backstory, before Sam lifted the king's hair, we never actually saw where he kissed him. Just because he got married, why couldn't he come back to visit at all? Not even a letter? Or was he running away from his feelings, trying to forget that he likes the king.
And yes, there are people who think Sam has Stockholm syndrome. HMM, idk. He's not afraid to ask for help he even tried to escape once. Every time he thinks to himself, it's always like, "Oh, this is wrong." But you see him moaning and seemingly enjoying sex without being drugged. And please don't tell me, "Oh, he was raped so much that he started to like it." NO. I hate BJs, and I give them to my husband all the time. Like, yeah, I don't make a sad or angry face I just suck it , But my point is, if you hate something so much, how can you showexpressions like Sam does, making it look like he's actually enjoying it?
And yeah, sometimes there's fear in his expressions and such, but what if his fear comes from the king being a murderer? You know how the king kills people like flies. Maybe all the killing has messed up his mental state. I mean, how many people has the king killed since Sam came to the palace?
I think Sam's mental state is damaged because of all the people dying, not mainly because of the rape.
The king, on the other hand, is the one I think has Stockholm syndrome, like he put himself in that situation. How? The palace was a prison to him. He distrusts all authority because no one helped him. He kind of justifies the abuse, like, "Oh, because I'm the bastard son," blah blah. He doesn't fight back.
Sam isn't controlling him. However, Sam is his savior. The king depends on him for EVERYTHING, and he's the only reason why he wants to live.
That's just my take on how I see it. ╮(￣▽￣)╭