Note: This article contains spoilers for the final season of Game of Thrones.
When Game of Thrones star Kit Harington first read that his character Jon Snow was going to be the one to end Daenerys Targaryen during a season 8 table read, it was one of the most “holy f**k” moments of his career.
But while it was a shock to him initially, the actor has come to understand that Jon had no other option over than to kill his lover/aunt if he wanted to keep his Stark family safe.
“Jon essentially sees it as Daenerys or Sansa and Arya, and that makes his mind up for him,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
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“He chose blood over, well, his other blood. But he chooses the people he has grown up with, the people his roots are with, the North. That’s where his loyalties lie in the end. That’s when he puts the knife in.”
During the final season’s run, many fans took to social media to criticise showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss for the way Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke) story played out, as she followed in her father’s footsteps and torched King’s Landing in order to defeat Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey).
Others, however, pointed out that the controversial arc had been a long-time coming, and that the writers were merely following through with a subplot that was first hinted at back when she coolly watched her brother Viserys die in season one.
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For killing Daenerys, Snow was banished to the Wall to become a brother of the Night’s Watch once more. But Harington never saw it as a punishment.
“When I read it, that bit really made me cry,” he continued. “Seeing [Jon] go beyond the Wall back to something true, something honest, something pure with these people he was always told he belongs with. It felt to me like he was finally free.
“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.”
Game of Thrones aired on HBO in the US, and you can also catch up on the show via Hulu. Pre-order seasons 1-8 on DVD and Blu-ray now.
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