With the news that actor Kit Harrington is attached to a Game of Thrones spin-off about Jon Snow in development at HBO, many of us are trying to remember what happened to his character at the end of Game of Thrones. It’s been more than three years since the series finale in 2019, so here’s a refresher.
Jon Snow was revealed to be the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, rather than Ned Stark’s bastard. As such he was really Aegon Targaryen, with a strong claim to the throne of Westeros. But Jon didn’t end up on the Iron Throne. Instead, he faced the awful dilemma of what to do when his lover Daenerys Targaryen (also his aunt, awkward) turned into a tyrant when she finally conquered King’s Landing. Daenerys had her dragon, Drogon, torch the city in an act of pure brutality. So Jon made the agonizing decision to stop Daenerys and he kills her, though according to Harrington this was an action Jon took on instinct alone. “He doesn’t know he’s going to betray her until right at the end,” Harrington told Entertainment Weekly after the GoT finale. In the end, it became a matter of familial loyalty. “In Jon’s head, it’s a number of [reasons: Dany] doesn’t factor in anyone else’s decisions and it also means [Dany] is going to kill my sisters, so it becomes [my] family vs. her.”
What happened to Jon Snow after he killed Daenerys?
After Daenerys’ death, Jon was taken prisoner by the Unsullied. They would not agree to his unconditional release, but eventually, a deal was struck that he could return to the North and ostensibly to the Night’s Watch. It’s left a bit open-ended and somewhat of a mystery as to what Jon’s fate ultimately will be there. His sisters Arya and Sansa revealed that they cannot visit him, so he’s hardly holed up at some cozy outpost within reach. We do know that Jon reunited with his direwolf, Ghost, and the last shot of him sees him riding through an appropriately snowy scene with a band of Wildings, the free folk who lived beyond the Wall and are not bound to any of the Seven Kingdoms.
What was the reaction like to Jon Snow’s ending on Game of Thrones?
Considering the many times that fans had to suffer thinking that Jon was dead and gone for good, fans appreciated the final scenes of Jon seeming to be free. However, the final season of Game of Thrones and especially the season finale were heavily criticized for their scripting and plotting, and many people watching were unhappy with what felt like Daenerys’ out-of-character about-face and that Jon is the one who has to kill her.
At the time, Kit Harrington expressed that he was happy with Jon’s end, which to him felt conclusive. “Seeing him go beyond the Wall back to something true, something honest, something pure with these people he was always told he belongs with—the Free Folk—it felt to me like he was finally free,” Harrington said. “Instead of being chained and sent to the Wall, it felt like he was set free. It was a really sweet ending. As much as he had done a horrible thing [in killing Daenerys], as much as he had felt that pain, the actual ending for him was finally being released.”
Despite Jon having this conclusive and “sweet” ending, it now appears that if the Jon Snow spin-off proceeds beyond development, he’ll be going through it once more. The poor guy just can’t catch a break.
What would the Jon Snow spin-off be about?
The proposed new show focusing on Jon Snow is only in early development, but we do know that Harrington is attached to the project and will reprise the role if it is ordered to series. The spin-off would take place after the events of Game of Thrones, though we don’t know how many years have passed in the interim. But this would potentially leave the door open (sorry, Hodor) for other actors from Game of Thrones to return for starring roles or cameos. Fans would likely be most interested in some family reunion scenes. As Variety reported:
Since the potential Jon Snow sequel series would take place after the final season of “Game of Thrones,” it’s possible that familiar characters — such as his half-siblings Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) and Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) — could show their faces.
While information on the show is limited at current, and we don’t know the creatives involved behind the scenes, we imagine that author and GoT mastermind George R.R. Martin has at least given the spin-off his stamp of approval. Considering that Martin still has two more books in the series to write, it’s possible that his ending differs quite a bit from the ending in the series (he’s said as much), and Martin may have a lot more plot for Jon that he wants to see play out onscreen.
What do you think about a potential Jon Snow show? Are you ready to saddle up and ride out into the Haunted Forrest, or should we let the poor man rest?
(images: HBO Max)
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