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Jon Snow is the boy Ned Stark brings home from war to be raised alongside his trueborn son, Robb. Ned's wife, Catelyn, had no choice but to accept his decision. As seen in Game of Thrones, she harbors an extreme hatred for Jon, and he grows up without any sort of mother figure.
Jon's always been under Robb's shadow, but the boys are close, nonetheless. He is the least privileged among the Stark kids of Winterfell, yet loved by all his half-siblings except Ned's eldest daughter, Sansa. Jon has no stake in Ned's lands or titles and desires to be a ranger of the Night's Watch like his uncle, Benjen Stark. So, what becomes of him in Game of Thrones?
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Jon Snow: The Bastard Of Winterfell
Jon Snow is a moody man behind a strong front at the start of Game of Thrones. He is repeatedly reminded of his bastard identity and illegitimacy. He doesn't care about families or fathering children but instead pleads with Uncle Benjen to take him to the Wall. He is set on taking the Black because that's all he cares about at the start of his arc. Before departing, Jon has the blacksmith at Winterfell - Mikken craft a castle-forged steel sword (later christened Needle) for his beloved kid sister, Arya. In their last conversation, Ned promises to reveal the identity of Jon's mother the next time they speak. His last words to Jon are:
There's great honor serving in the Night's Watch. The Starks have manned the Wall for thousands of years. And you are a Stark. You might not have my name, but you have my blood.
Ned and his entourage take the Kingsroad and Jon rides in the opposite direction.
A Sworn Brother Of The Night's Watch
Game of Thrones season 1, episode 3 "Lord Snow" is dedicated to Jon's initial days at Castle Black. The boy of seventeen doesn't need training like the rest and has the upper hand over the recruits. The master-at-arms, Alliser Thorne, despises him and mockingly calls him "Lord Snow" while Lord Commander Jeor Mormont sees a leader in him.
Lord Snow here grew up in a castle, spitting down on the likes of you.
Jon outshines everyone but at the same time, experiences intense anger that tends to spiral out of control in the training yard. He goes easy on the recruits because Tyrion Lannister helps him see that young boys like Grenn and Pyp come from broken homes too.
It's a lucky thing none of them were trained by a master-at-arms like your Ser Rodrik. I don't imagine any of them have ever held a real sword before they came here.
Tyrion leaves Jon with some food for thought, and later, the first Ranger, Benjen Stark, educates him on the inner workings of the Night's Watch:
Here, a man gets what he earns when he earns it. We will speak when I return.
With these two valuable lessons, Jon gradually channels his anger and befriends Grenn and Pyp. Winter is approaching fast, Benjen leaves beyond the Wall to investigate disturbing reports (of the Dead) and, as fate would have it, Samwell Tarly of Horn Hill enters the gates of Castle Black. He isn't much of a warrior, he likes reading, and like everyone else, he too has a sad story. Pyp and Grenn like to pick on him but realize the value of companionship and a sense of belonging to the Night's Watch, thanks to Jon.
Sam's no different from the rest of us. There is no place for him in the world, so he's come here. We're not gonna hurt him in the training yard anymore. Never again, no matter what Thorne says. He's our brother now, and we're going to protect him.
Jon is assigned to the order of the stewards as opposed to rangers, much to his dismay. He and Sam take the Night's Watch vows before a Weirwood tree in Game of Thrones season 1, episode 7 "You Win or You Die." Jeor Mormont chose him as his steward because he wants him to rule one day. Samwell is a cent percent correct when he tells Jon:
The old man is the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. You'll be with him day and night. Yes, you'll clean his clothes, but you'll also take his letters, attend him at meetings, squire for him in battle, you'll know everything, be part of everything. And he asked for you himself. He wants to groom you for command.
After Jon and his direwolf, Ghost, save Jeor from a Wight attack, he receives House Mormont's ancestral Valyrian steel sword - Longclaw, for his bravery. This Wight attack also leaves little doubt about the existence of the Wights and the White Walkers. Jon also makes Maester Aemon's acquaintance and is shocked to find out that he is a Targaryen who remained true to the Watch even when House Targaryen was wiped out in Robert's Rebellion.
Lord Commander Of The Night's Watch
Though Jon briefly deserts to fight alongside Robb when he receives the news of his father's beheading, Pyp, Grenn, and Samwell bring him back. They remind him he is bound to the Night's Watch and only death can release him of his vows. The men of the Watch, led by Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, ride out beyond the Wall at the end of Game of Thrones season 1 in search of the missing Benjen and to investigate reports of the Wildlings and the White Walkers.
Jon is reborn on this ranging expedition, and he truly forsakes his previous identity. He watches the occasional Night's Watch ally, the Wildling Craster, offer his male offspring to a White Walker to be taken to the Land of Always Winter. Jeor is killed in the mutiny at Craster's Keep. Jon infiltrates the ranks of the Wildlings (people born beyond the Wall who do not recognize the political authority of the Seven Kingdoms), and spends some time with the King-Beyond-the-Wall, Mance Rayder, who defected to the Free Folk long ago. Mance has united the tribes, and they are planning to attack the Wall because they know the dead are coming for all of them. Though loyal to his post, Jon adopts a different view about the Free Folk. He gets more serious about the war with the dead, and he falls in love with a bloodthirsty Wildling woman named Ygritte. Having gathered sufficient intelligence, Jon leaves her side and returns to Castle Black to prepare for the Battle of Castle Black at the end of Game of Thrones season 3.
Jon Snow's Death
In the aftermath of the battle, Jon gives Ygritte a proper burial and keeps Tormund Giantsbane captive. Castle Black barely withstands the attack and Jon knows Mance is going to strike back. He walks into Mance's camp to negotiate, but Stannis' army cuts through them and takes the King captive. Jon is elected as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch in Game of Thrones season 5, much to Alliser Thorne's dismay, and he rejects Stannis Baratheon's offer of the lordship of Winterfell in exchange for Mance's army.
Jon considers allying with the defenseless Free Folk and letting them through the gates of Castle Black to prevent the strengthening of the Night King's army. Stannis burns Mance alive, but Jon shoots an arrow into him to give him a quicker death. Maester Aemon's words "Kill the boy, and let the man be born" give him the impetus to rescue the remaining Free Folk from Hardhome. This culminates in the Massacre at Hardhome, in which, Jon slays a White Walker with his Valyrian steel sword and watches the Night King raise hundreds of dead Free Folk as wights of his army. The only good thing out of this battle is the intelligence that Valyrian steel and dragonglass are lethal to White Walkers. Jon manages to bring some of the Free Folk south of the Wall but is assassinated in a reactionary mutiny led by Alliser Thorne and left to die on the castle grounds. Melisandre brings him to life, following which he executes the mutineers and ends his watch in Game of Thrones season 6, episode 2 "Home."
From King In The North To Warden Of The North
Jon is still at Castle Black when his sister, Sansa, escapes from Ramsay Bolton's clutches. After initial reluctance, Jon prepares to gather forces to retake Winterfell from the treacherous Boltons. Jon fights alongside Tormund and the Free Folk in the Battle of the Bastards and wins it in Game of Thrones season 6. Starks reclaim the North and Jon is proclaimed King in the North. His first order of business as king is to secure the defenses of the North against the Dead. This development coincides with Daenerys Targaryen's arrival at Dragonstone. She sends Jon a raven, and he leaves with Davos Seaworth to ally with her and seek her permission to mine dragonglass on the said island.
Jon leaves Sansa in charge and comes face to face with Daenerys in Game of Thrones season 7. He ends up bending the knee to her because, without her help, the North is bound to collapse. Amid all this, Bran and Samwell deduce that Jon was never a bastard but the trueborn son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. He was named Aegon Targaryen, and he is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne.
Daenerys halts her advances and travels north to fight alongside her lover, Jon, in the North. After the alliance of the living defeats the White Walkers and their army, Jon sets out to take King's Landing from the Lannisters. Jon helplessly watches a deranged Daenerys burn the city even after the bells of surrender have been rung. In the end, he stabs her through the heart to protect his sisters from her wrath. He is sentenced to the Wall as a punishment in Game of Thrones season 8 episode 6 "The Iron Throne."
Game of Thrones ends with Jon, Ghost, and Tormund Giantsbane leading the remaining Free Folk back into the Haunted Forest. Jon abandons Castle Black to live the life of a ranger, and ironically, it was the only thing he ever wanted.
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones, based on the Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R.R. Martin, tells the sprawling story of warring families in Westeros. This includes the Starks, the Lannisters, the Baratheons, and the Targaryens. Along with human conflicts, Westeros is also threatened by the re-emergence of dragons, and an undead enemy from beyond the Wall.
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