In binary times, there are factions in the Game of Thrones universe that, even almost five years after the end of the saga, still arouse passion. Defenders of Daenerys Targaryen hate those who argue for Sansa Stark. Both sides are irritated by those who defend Jon Snow. There is no saint who can calm the mood. Those who read Miscelana know that here, we are pro-Jon Snow. So we don’t like the end of the series, but we celebrate the announcement of the sequel, Snow.
In 2018, exhausted, with personal problems and a lot of pressure, Kit Harington was one of the most famous men on the planet, linked to Jon Snow with no power – as it turns out – or changing his hairstyle until GOT was finished. For 10 years, while other cast members were able to move around and throw themselves into new roles, Kit was “stuck” with Jon, at least visually. (Peter Dinklage has made other films, but he too was easily identified and complained about it.) So he was one of the most vehement to even discuss the possibility of a sequel. Now we know that practically immediately he called a team of creatives that works with him and proposed an argument about what the hero’s life would be like after everything that happened. Snow, the sequel’s working name, is still under lock and key but is expected to be released sometime in 2024 or 2025.
During the first official Game of Thrones fan convention, Kit was the biggest star in attendance and was up for talking about the past but not talking about the future. He is always ironic and candid about his reviews and defends the series’ controversial conclusion. In 2019, he gave reason to the writers to “kill” Daenerys, after she destroyed King’s Landing. “I think it’s going to be divisive,” the actor told Entertainment Weekly. “But if you trace her backstory from the very beginning, she does some terrible things. She crucifies people. She burns people alive. It’s growing. So we have to say to the audience, ‘You’re also denying this woman. You knew something was wrong. You’re guilty, you applauded her,'” he added, angering Mother of Dragons fans (and Jon’s aunt). The actor remains firm in the same conviction.
Does this mean that Jon Snow was okay with the ending? Remembering that he killed the queen, lover, and aunt and “only” was exiled, but he lived on, Kit maintains coherence. According to his assessment, what Jon did was right, but he wanted to die for it. “If you asked him [Jon], he would feel like he did well,” the actor said at the convention. “At the end of the show, when we find him in that cell, he’s getting ready to be beheaded and he wants to be. It’s done. His going to the Wall is the greatest gift and also the greatest curse.”
Thank you, Kit! I have always argued this issue as the problem of the ending. Without going into the merits of Daenerys’ arc, or the sexism of destroying the heroine and turning her into a despot, Jon Snow was a good man, who did what he needed for everyone and was discarded like trash, although he was the true heir to the throne. Jon was manipulated by his siblings and friends to betray the Targaryen Queen and those same masterminds of the crime were exempt from defending him when he was tried. Never remembering that he did what they asked and that he was a Targaryen himself, they “save” him by condemning him to return to a life he had left behind: serving the Wall. With Jon unable to stay in Westeros, his brothers were named overlords – Bran, King of Westeros, and Sansa, Queen of the North – and he became Queenslayer. UNFAIR!
“He has to go back to the place with all this history and live his life thinking about how he killed Dany [Emilia Clarke], and live his life thinking about Ygritte [Rose Leslie] dying in his arms, and live his life thinking about how he hanged Olly [Brenock O’Connor] and lived his life thinking about all that trauma,” the actor explained to fans. “I think where we left it at the end of the show, there’s always this feeling of… I think we wanted some kind of smile that things are okay. He’s not okay,” he added.
Without much official information, speculations proliferate on the Internet. Who can come back? Is Daenerys resurrected? After all, Drogon took her body, and there are ways to bring the dead to life, Jon will tell you that. The possibilities are countless. Emilia Clarke, a personal friend of the actor and his wife, has already denied that she has any involvement, but the cast of GOT is an expert in keeping secrets. Others, such as Kristofer Hivju (Tormund Giantsbane), Gwendoline Christie (Ser Brienne), and Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), have not ruled out having a role, as well as Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark). Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) has not spoken on the matter. But there is hope for Jon’s happiness: when asked if he would ever love again, Kit replied, “I hope so.” He deserves to be happy!
MiscelAna 