History Characters / GameOfThronesJonSnow

* BookEnds: A depressing end. [[spoiler:Jon's story both begins and starts with him taking the Black of the Night's Watch. Perhaps subverted by the AmbiguousEnding. It's unclear if he's traveling North of the wall as a scouting party or if he's joining the Wildlings.]]
** On a more poetic note: The story of the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms began and ended with an Aegon Targaryen and a dragon.

** The show omits Jon's negotiations with Tormund wherein he will take wildling children as hostages when the wildlings come over the Wall to ensure the wildlings do not raid or reap Westerosi lands or make off with Westerosi daughters. This is done to minimize conflict between the wildlings and Westerosi and create a compromise that both parties can begrudgingly live with. When asked if Jon can go forth with executing the hostage of the offending wildling parent, Jon believes that if push comes to shove, he ''will'' behead the kids as his Stark ancestors did when they took child hostages from rebellious Northern houses (in contrast, while Daenerys Targaryen takes child hostages from the Meereneese noble families, she is unable to bring herself to actually execute them when their families act against her).

** Downplayed. While Jon is one of the [[https://youtu.be/yarEbKyk8PU?t=147 straightest examples of a hero in the books]] as well, some of his grittier actions to save lives in the novels are removed from the show as a result of PragmaticAdaptation, such as pulling off a [[SwitchedAtBirth baby swap]] exchanging Mance Rayder's child with Gilly's to save the kid by preventing Melisandre's HumanSacrifice, fearing Melisandre wants to burn Mance's child for his king's blood. While he is reasonably certain Gilly's son is safe from Melisandre because Gilly's son has no king's blood, Jon forces Gilly to comply by terrifying her, holding her hand to a flame and threatening her baby.[[labelnote:*]]Jon is certain Gilly’s son is safe because Stannis wouldn't sacrifice an innocent in cold blood without sufficient reason, and Jon has Gilly’s son raised under his protection with the care of wet nurses. Though Gilly loves Mance's son, she is understandably miserable over being separated from her own child, having been forced to leave her son at Castle Black and take Mance's son to Oldtown as part of Jon's plan to prevent Melisandre's HumanSacrifice.[[/labelnote]]Likewise, Jon sternly forces Samwell to go to Oldtown and become a maester in contravention of Randyll Tarly's wishes rather than it being Sam's own idea.

** In the show, he is not shown to have nearly as much of a [[HotBlooded hot temper]] as in the books, where he has to be restrained from going for Ser Alliser Thorne with a knife after the latter insults Ned, suffers a rage blackout during a training session when he remembers a childhood incident with Robb and finds himself pummeling one of his friends in a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, says that he would rather rain "death and destruction" down on House Lannister than convince them to help the Night's Watch, and muses to himself that he ought to cut off the head of Alys Karstark's EvilUncle Cregan and give it to Alys and the Magnar of Thenn as a wedding gift. Book Jon can be quite the little ball of anger.
** The show also omits Jon taking several wildling children as hostages when the wildlings come over the Wall to ensure their parents' cooperation, and assuring his fellows that if push comes to shove he ''will'' behead the kids, as his Stark ancestors did when they took child hostages from rebellious Northern houses (in contrast, while Daenerys Targaryen takes child hostages from the Meereneese noble families, she is unable to bring herself to actually execute them when their families act against her).

* FatalFlaw: Recklessness. Jon is a man of action through and through who sees what needs to be done and acts immediately, which is fine if he is a soldier or squad commander... but doesn't work so well when he is in a position of high authority. His tendency to act without consulting others or even explaining his logic to others has a tendency to alienate his allies or put his life in unnecessary danger. This trait cost him the loyalty of a large portion of the Night's Watch, his life, nearly cost him losing the Battle of the Bastards, and the support of the Northern Houses, as he needed Sansa and Lyanna Mormont to constantly clean up his messes once he became King in the North.

** The show also omits Jon taking several wildling children as hostages when the wildlings come over the Wall to ensure their parents' cooperation, and assuring his fellows that if push comes to shove he ''will'' behead the kids, as his Stark ancestors did when they took hostages from rebellious Northern houses (in contrast, while Daenerys Targaryen takes child hostages from the Meereneese noble families, she is unable to bring herself to actually execute them when their families act against her).

** The show also ommits Jon taking several wildling children as hostages when the wildlings come over the Wall to ensure their parents' cooperation, and assuring his fellows that if push comes to shove he ''will'' behead the kids, as his Stark ancestors did when they took hostages from rebellious Northern houses (in contrast, while Daenerys Targaryen takes child hostages from the Meereneese noble families, she is unable to bring herself to actually execute them when their families act against her).

* CassandraTruth: A major part of his struggle in season 7 is getting people to actually believe that there's an army of the deadheading towards Westeros right now, being led by the mythical Night King. When he pleads to Daenerys about the threat, she's quite understandably skeptical of his claims, not least because they've only just met. Later, when he talks to Tyrion, he admits that it all sounds crazy and even ''he'' wouldn't believe it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. Tyrion replies that he believes him, but reasons that the others won't be convinced so easily.

* AdaptationalDumbass: While TV Jon Snow is shown to be observant and quick-thinking, he can be very impulsive and relies more on AsskickingEqualsAuthority. This is a direct contrast to his book counterpart, a GeniusBruiser who devotes more time to solving problems with his mind rather than his sword.[[labelnote:From the books]]Book Jon is well-read and culturally aware, being a fanboy of Daeron the Young Dragon, knowing a lot about the history of the Free Cities, and much of the lore of the North and the First Men. During the Battle of the Wall, he fights alongside the archers and assists in the efforts to ward off the Thenns' attack while assisting in command of the Wall's defense. As Lord Commander, he serves as a strategic adviser for King Stannis and rather brilliantly helps the latter's campaign to retake the North while maintaining the Watch's neutrality. Jon also oversees the integration and settlement of the wildlings south of the Wall, is a diplomatic back-and-forth between multiple factions at Castle Black and along the Wall, and negotiates and haggles a loan for winter provisions from the Iron Bank of the Braavos, proving his sophistication and worldliness. He also has plans to build glasshouses for winter provisions, starting apprenticeships so the Watchmen can learn needed skills, and in the books, Jon sends Sam to Oldtown so he can study to be a maester and provide real intelligence from the Citadel.[[/labelnote]]

* IAmWho: In Season 8, [[spoiler:Sam reveals to Jon that he Aegon Targaryen, the legitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, and tells Jon he is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. Sam explains this is an AwfulTruth Ned had to keep hidden to protect Jon from Robert Baratheon.]]

** In the show, he is not shown to have nearly as much of a hot temper as in the books, where he has to be restrained from going for Ser Alliser Thorne with a knife after the latter insults Ned, suffers a rage blackout during a training session when he remembers a childhood incident with Robb and finds himself pummeling one of his friends in a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, says that he would rather rain "death and destruction" down on House Lannister than convince them to help the Night's Watch, and muses to himself that he ought to cut off the head of Alys Karstark's EvilUncle Cregan and give it to Alys and the Magnar of Thenn as a wedding gift. Book Jon can be quite the little ball of anger.

* BattleButler: He's appointed a Steward instead of a Ranger, which doesn't sit well with him (until Sam points out Lord Commander Mormont did it to groom him for command). Gets his fair share of ass-kicking anyway.

** In the show, he is not shown to have nearly as much of a hot temper as in the books, where he has to be restrained from going for Ser Alliser Thorne with a knife after the latter insults Ned, suffers a rage blackout during a training session when he remembers a childhood incident with Robb and finds himself pummeling one of his friends in a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, says that he would rather rain "death and destruction" down on House Lannister than convince them to help the Night's Watch, and muses to himself that he ought to cut off the head of Alys Karstark's EvilUncle Cregan and give to Alys and the Magnar of Thenn as a wedding gift. Book!Jon can be quite the little ball of anger.

** In the show, he is not shown to have nearly as much of a hot temper as in the books, where he has to be restrained from going for Ser Alliser Thorne with a knife after the latter insults Ned, suffers a rage blackout during a training session when he remembers a childhood incident with Robb and finds himself pummeling one of his friends in a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, says that he would rather rain "death and destruction" down on House Lannister than convince them to help the Night's Watch, and muses to himself that he ought to cut off the head of Alys Karstark's Evil Uncle Cregan and give to Alys and the Magnar of Thenn as a wedding gift. Book!Jon can be quite the little ball of anger.

** In the show, he is not shown to have nearly as much of a hot temper as in the books, where he has to be restrained from going for Ser Alliser Thorne with a knife after the latter insults Ned, suffers a rage blackout during a training session when he remembers a childhood incident with Robb and finds himself pummeling one of his friends in a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, says that he would rather rain "death and destruction" down on House Lannister than make peace with them, and muses to himself that he ought to cut off the head of Alys Karstark's Evil Uncle Cregan and give to Alys and the Magnar of Thenn as a wedding gift. Book!Jon can be quite the little ball of anger.

** In the show, he is not shown to have nearly as much of a hot temper as in the books, where he has to be restrained from going for Ser Allister Thorne with a knife after the latter insults Ned, suffers a rage blackout during a training session when he remembers a childhood incident with Robb and finds himself pummeling one of his friends in a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, says that he would rather rain "death and destruction" down on House Lannister than make peace with them, and muses to himself that he ought to cut off the head of Alys Karstark's Evil Uncle Cregan and give to Alys and the Magnar of Thenn as a wedding gift. Book!Jon can be quite the little ball of anger.

** Downplayed. While Jon is one of the [[https://youtu.be/yarEbKyk8PU?t=147 straightest examples of a hero in the books]] as well, some of his grittier actions to save lives in the novels are removed from the show as a result of PragmaticAdaptation, such as pulling off a [[SwitchedAtBirth baby swap]] exchanging Mance Rayder's child with Gilly's to save the kid by preventing Melisandre's HumanSacrifice, fearing Melisandre wants to burn Mance's child for his king's blood while he is certain Gilly's son is safe from Melisandre because Gilly's son has no king's blood.[[labelnote:*]]Jon is certain Gilly’s son is safe because Stannis wouldn't sacrifice an innocent in cold blood without sufficient reason, and Jon has Gilly’s son raised under his protection with the care of wet nurses. Though Gilly loves Mance's son, she is understandably miserable over being separated from her own child, having been forced to leave her son at Castle Black and take Mance's son to Oldtown as part of Jon's plan to prevent Melisandre's HumanSacrifice.[[/labelnote]] In the show, the mutiny that results in Jon's stabbing is motivated entirely by xenophobia from a larger faction of Night's Watchmen. In the novels, Jon likewise works to protect the wildlings but while this does piss several Night's Watchmen off, several of Jon's actions in the fifth book compromise the Night's Watch stance on neutrality (such as advising Stannis on his northern campaign and openly declaring his intentions to ride south against Ramsay Bolton after Ramsay provokes Jon), layering the reasons of the mutineers, who are very reluctant about taking this action.
** When he meets Mance Rayder in the books, the reason Jon provides for his [[FakeDefector defection]] is not, as in the show, due to his real disgust with Craster but his BastardAngst, which is something he feels as well, though Jon recognizes he has had it far better than many illegitimate children with a family he loves. In the show, Jon is emphasized as having skepticism about Melisandre's magic and powers but in the novels, while he still remains skeptical, he starts believing some of the Red Woman’s words after witnessing her actions to spare Mance and when she gives him the chance to save his sister Arya from the Boltons.
** When he became Lord Commander of the Night's Watch in the books, Jon forces himself to give up the companionship of his friends and isolates himself as a result of TheChainsOfCommanding in an effort to fulfill his duty, since Jon remembers that his father taught his sons, "A lord may love the men that he commands but he cannot be a friend to them," because one day (as his father told him) he might have to pronounce judgement and/or give them a command which may result in their death during battle. In the show, Jon is shown as AFatherToHisMen who remains just as close to Samwell Tarly and Dolorous Edd as before, even after his election.
** In the show, he is not shown to have nearly as much of a hot temper as in the books, where he has to be restrained from attacking Ser Allister Thorne after the latter insults Ned, suffers a rage blackout during a training session when he remembers a childhood incident with Robb and finds himself pummeling one of his friends in a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, says that he would rather "rain death and destruction" down on House Lannister than make peace with them, and muses to himself that he ought to give Alys Karstark and the Magnar of Thenn the severed head of Alys's EvilUncle Cregan as a wedding gift.

** When he meets Mance Rayder, the reason Jon provides for his [[FakeDefector defection]] is not, as in the show, due to his real disgust with Craster but his BastardAngst, which is something he feels as well, though Jon recognizes he has had it far better than many illegitimate children with a family he loves. In the show, Jon is emphasized as having skepticism about Melisandre's magic and powers but in the novels, while he still remains skeptical, he starts believing some of the Red Woman’s words after witnessing her actions to spare Mance and when she gives him the chance to save his sister Arya from the Boltons.
** When he became Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Jon forces himself to give up the companionship of his friends and isolates himself as a result of TheChainsOfCommanding in an effort to fulfill his duty, since Jon remembers that his father taught his sons, "A lord may love the men that he commands but he cannot be a friend to them," because one day (as his father told him) he might have to pronounce judgement and/or give them a command which may result in their death during battle. In the show, Jon is shown as AFatherToHisMen who remains just as close to Samwell Tarly and Dolorous Edd as before, even after his election.

* ObliviousAdoption: He has no idea that his father, Ned, is actually his maternal ''uncle'', or that his mother is really Lyanna Stark, or that he’s related to the ''Targaryens'' via his biological father. [[spoiler: At least until Sam tells him in the premiere of Season 8.]]

* CompositeCharacter: He's mostly the Jon Snow of the books. However, after the revelation of his real name Aegon, his character takes key elements of his half-brother Aegon Targaryen, who was revealed to have survived his supposed death at the Sack of King's Landing in the books (or at least, there's a young man who believes he's Aegon, which some characters are skeptical about, but it [[AmbiguousSituation hasn't been proven or disproven yet]]). Like the "Young Griff" in the books, Jon is made an UnwittingPawn by Varys to supplant Daenerys as the rightful claimant to the Iron Throne. His same-named half-brother still exists in the backstory, but is unquestionably dead.

* CompositeCharacter: He's mostly the Jon Snow of the books. However, after the revelation of his real name Aegon, his character takes key elements of his half-brother Aegon Targaryen who was revealed to have survived his supposed death at the Sack of King's Landing in the books. Like the "Young Griff" in the books, he's made an UnwittingPawn by Varys to supplant Daenerys as the rightful claimant to the Iron Throne.

%% * BadassBeard: He has a beard of varying intensity.

* LooksLikeJesus: Progressively, as his BadassBeard becomes fuller as seasons go by. Both their deaths even involves a cross, though Jon wasn't crucified. His resurrection sequence is also modeled on Renaissance paintings of Jesus.

[[Characters/GameOfThronesWesteros The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseStark House Stark]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseStarkChildren House Stark Children]] ['''Jon Snow''', [[Characters/GameOfThronesSansaStark Sansa Stark]], [[Characters/GameOfThronesAryaStark Arya Stark]]], [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseStarkHousehold House Stark Household]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseBolton House Bolton]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesRamsayBolton Ramsay Bolton]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseKarstark House Karstark]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseMormont House Mormont]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseReed House Reed]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesOtherNorthernHouses Other Northern Houses]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseLannister House Lannister]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesTywinLannister Tywin Lannister]], [[Characters/GameOfThronesCerseiLannister Cersei Lannister]], [[Characters/GameOfThronesJaimeLannister Jaime Lannister]], [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseLannisterHousehold House Lannister Household]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseClegane House Clegane]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseBaratheonOfKingsLanding House Baratheon of King’s Landing]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesJoffreyBaratheon Joffrey Baratheon]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseTargaryen House Targaryen]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesDaenerysCourt Daenerys I’s Court]] [[[Characters/GameOfThronesDaenerysTargaryen Daenerys Targaryen]], [[Characters/GameOfThronesTyrionLannister Tyrion Lannister]]], [[Characters/GameOfThronesServantsOfDaenerys Servants of Daenerys]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseBaratheon House Baratheon of Storm’s End and Dragonstone]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesStannisBaratheon Stannis Baratheon]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseGreyjoy House Greyjoy]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesTheonGreyjoy Theon Greyjoy]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseArryn House Arryn]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesPetyrBaelish Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseTully House Tully]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseFrey House Frey]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseTyrell House Tyrell]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseTarly House Tarly]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesHouseMartell House Martell]] ([[Characters/GameOfThronesSandSnakes Sand Snakes]]) | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheFreeCities The Free Cities]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesSlaversBay Slaver's Bay]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheDothrakiSeaAndTheRedWaste The Dothraki Sea and the Red Waste]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesQarth Qarth]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesNightsWatch The Night's Watch]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesRoyalCourt Royal Court]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheOrderOfTheMaesters The Order of the Maesters]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheKingsguard The Kingsguard]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesWildlings Wildlings]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesBrotherhoodWithoutBanners Brotherhood Without Banners]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheFaithOfTheSeven The Faith of the Seven]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesRedTemple Red Temple]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesIndependentCharacters Independent Characters]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesTheatreTroupe Theatre Troupe]] | [[Characters/GameOfThronesSupernaturalBeings Supernatural Beings]]]]]]-]

* MixedAncestry: Being the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen means he's both of the First Men and Valyrian blood.

[[folder:A-F]]

** Ultimately he is a triumphant {{Reconstruction}} of this trope. When Tyrion and Daenerys criticize him for not lying to Cersei, Jon gives his WorldOfCardboardSpeech:

The believed-to-be [[HeroicBastard illegitimate]] son of the honorable lord of Winterfell, Eddard Stark. His prospects limited by his bastardy, Jon [[ReassignedToAntarctica joins the Night's Watch]], the once-noble order created to guard Westeros from threats beyond the Wall but has since [[BadassDecay fallen into]] [[ArmyOfThievesAndWhores disrepair]]. As the rest of the Starks face the dangers of the game of thrones, Jon must fulfill his duty to defend the realm and learns of the growing threat from the [[ZombieApocalypse otherworldly White Walkers beyond the Wall]]. To prepare against the wildlings' attack on the Wall, Jon becomes a FakeDefector and learns of their plans. However, he becomes sympathetic to the wildlings and [[FirstLove falls in love]] with the fierce wildling woman Ygritte but must betray both to defend the realm. Though the Night's Watch is able to fend off the attack with aid from Stannis Baratheon, it comes at a heavy price for Jon.

* ActionHero: While Jon is a talented swordsman and good fighter in the novels, he is the embodiment of AsskickingEqualsAuthority and a veritable OneManArmy who has among his other impressive feats, killed a White Walker general in single combat. He's a LivingLegend for a reason, with 442 deaths to his name by the end of Season 8 in [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=V8Zjv0F_Pv4 this video]].

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Literally achieves [[RankUp higher honors and command]] every time he demonstrated his [[TookALevelInBadass growing skills as a soldier:]]

** When Tyrion warns Jon that Arya and Sansa will not [[spoiler:bend the knee to Daenerys]], it's Jon's protectiveness of his sisters that [[spoiler: plays a factor in convincing him to do the right thing and assassinate Daenerys to stop her campaign of destruction after he fails to dissuade her from destruction -- as much as Jon [[SecondLove loves Daenerys]], [[KillTheOnesYouLove he cannot stand by and do nothing while Daenerys burns innocent people and destroys cities]]... and she won't tolerate Sansa and Arya's refusal to submit, as Tyrion and Arya warn.]]

'''Jon''': [[ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne I don't]].

** Jon begins the series as a WideEyedIdealist ShelteredAristocrat and a lord's [[HeroicBastard illegitimate son]] who wants to [[HeroicWannabe desperately prove himself.]] He is mockingly nicknamed "Lord Snow" for being a bastard son with a young lord's upbringing, is chided by his Uncle Benjen and Tyrion -- giving Jon a reality check -- and then Maester Aemon and Lord Commander Mormont open Jon's eyes about the real sacrifices the Night's Watch demands and the true threats beyond the Wall. Jon grows out his naive idealism by the end of Season 1 and [[TheHerosJourney over the course of his experiences]] in the following seasons, realizes Aemon's and Mormont's lessons first-hand and that the real conflict is between the living and the dead. Jon becomes one of the series' primary heroes and eventually is one of the {{Big Good}}s for the story.

* GoingNative: Jon's time among the Wildlings and his relationship with Ygritte has led his Night's Watch superiors to accuse Jon of this. He's unquestionably loyal to the Night's Watch but with his frequent references to the Wildlings as "Free Folk", it's more than a little obvious that his time among them has had an effect. Tormund {{Lampshades}} the same:

** He is a MasterSwordsman, good friend, charismatic leader of men, somewhat melancholic, and philanthropic, in the manner of his biological father, Rhaegar Targaryen. Like Rhaegar, who Ser Barristan insisted did not like killing despite being good at it, Jon Snow hates violence and war, and as he notes to Dany, who states that most men are quite happy doing what they are good at, Jon Snow is not. Jon also is known for defying convention, as well as his fulfilling the StarCrossedLovers trope twice in the series: first with [[{{FirstLove}} Ygritte]], and long after [[DiedInYourArmsTonight Ygritte's death]], with [[{{SecondLove}} Daenerys]], both of whom are technically "the enemy" in the eyes of his faction and group.

* LoveCannotOvercome: Although he loves Ygritte, he [[LovedINotHonorMore puts his duty and loyalty to the Night's Watch first]] and leaves her, making them enemies once more. [[spoiler:This happens ''again'' in Season 8; he loves Dany, but he cannot abide her killing of innocent civilians and knows she's too unhinged and dangerous to be left alive, ultimately being the one who [[KillTheOnesYouLove kills her]]]].

* {{Pride}}: Though a good and moral person, this can be a character flaw of his. His confidence in the superiority of his abilities often causes him to lose sight of the bigger picture and complain about the unfairness of his life. Good thing he has [[{{Sidekick}} Sam]] and friends to put things in perspective for him.