The Game of Thrones Convention saw a number of familiar faces from both Game of Thrones and its prequel House of the Dragon take to the stage to speak on various panels. Actors discussed everything from past memories to potential futures.
When it came to Kit Harington’s time to speak, everyone was pushing for answers on the in-development show, running under the working title of Snow. However, Harington refused to be drawn on the subject, focusing instead on questions about Game of Thrones.
Nonetheless, his musings about the HBO show may have revealed where Snow could take Jon Snow down the line. For example, when asked about how Game of Thrones left Jon Snow, the actor replied with the following, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.
“I think if you asked him, he would’ve felt he got off lightly,” Harington said. “At the end of the show when we find him in that cell, he’s preparing to be beheaded and he wants to be. He’s done. The fact he goes to the Wall is the greatest gift and also the greatest curse.”
“He’s gotta go back up to the place with all this history and live out his life thinking about how he killed Dany, and live out his life thinking about Ygritte [Rose Leslie] dying in his arms, and live out his life thinking about how he hung Olly [Brenock O’Connor], and live out his life thinking about all of this trauma, and that…”
After a brief pause, Harington continued: “That’s interesting. So I think where we leave him at the end of the show, there’s always this feeling of like… I think we wanted some kind of little smile that things are okay. He’s not okay.”
We already know that Snow is very much Harington’s own project. He pitched it to G.R.R. Martin and has had a lot of input on the show himself. We also know that the actor was plagued with his own troubles after Game of Thrones, going to rehab and considering quitting acting altogether. Judging by the timeline of how long Snow has taken to get to this point, Harington must have had the idea for the sequel while he was working through his own issues.
Could Snow be a reflection of Harington’s own self-journey? Will Jon be plagued by similar issues and loss of identity?
I think Snow could well explore what happens for Jon Snow next, rather than attempting to fix Season 8 as some might suspect. In the same was as Harington had to find himself again after leaving Game of Thrones, and perhaps this will be reflected in Jon Snow finding himself after leaving Westeros.
Of course, this is all speculation for now. But I think Harington’s clear deep thought about Jon’s headspace and how he might be feeling must surely have informed how he is approaching this sequel series.
(featured image: HBO)
