What happened to Jon Snow? And why? What was the point of his whole desperately game-changing secret Targaryen ancestry? Most importantly, how did he end up packed off beyond the wall again? Did clues to his eventual fate lie concealed in the previosu seven seasons of the HBO adaptation? Or are the crucial plot points woven into the pages of George RR Martin’s novels?
The basic answers seems to be no.
Fans know that the books will end on the same major plot points. Therefore we assume Jon will kill Daenerys in the books and Bran will end up as king.
Fans are still convinced the whole Targaryen heir and Prince Who Was Promised plotlines will feature far more prominently in the final two books, The Winds of Winter and A Hope of Spring. The TV show elected not to explore this rich scenario. Nor did it manage to give Jon a satisfying or remotely logical ending.
Jon’s final fate in the TV show rested entirely on one unexpected character in the end, Grey Worm. But why? Even the man who played the Unsullied hero, Jacob Anderson, had his own opinion, but we respectfully disagree.
At San Diego Comic Con the actor was asked why didn’t Grey Worm kill Jon Snow after he killed Daenerys Targaryen?
Anderson said: “It’s a good question. I think that in my head there came a point with Grey Worm toward the end where it became like ‘Enough is enough.’ I think that’s a big reason why he left, it was like everyone who was ever dear to him was dead now. And he’d only just learned how to have people be dear to him. So I think he was just like ‘This is a violent place, and this isn’t what I want my existence to be anymore. I don’t just want it to be violent. So I think there’s a sense that he was willing for there to be a trial – he wasn’t trying to just kill everyone. Anymore. I don’t think he wants to necessarily kill Jon Snow, he just doesn’t want him to be alive.”
This is a slightly generous interpretation.
Basically, the writers needed Jon Snow out of the picture because nobody will choose Bran as king with a huge hero standing right there, representing the best of the two most important bloodlines.
Oh, and he is also the only person alive who can ride the last remaining dragon.
The explanation that Grey Worm demanded his exile is nonsense. Grey Worm would only have accepted death. Furthermore, why pay attention to Grey Worm? He is leaving anyway and his forces, while formidable, cannot stand against the entire Westeros. How will Grey Worm even know if Jon doesn’t go into exile?
Under who else’s law is JOn guilty? Daenerys was not yet the legal queen of Westeros and had in fact just killed Cersei, technically still the legal ruler at the time. Killing Daenerys broke no Westerosi law.
It was yet another rather preposterous plot device used to get the writers out of another situation where they knew the required end point but were transparently not sure or able to get there.
The fate of Jon Snow sums up the fate of the entire final season.
