In Defense of Jon Snow

Game of Thrones is running into problems with its fans as it tries to stick the landing.  After an average opener and a stellar second episode, the show found itself stuck with trying to extricate itself from the White Walker storyline. Since the first episode, the Night King and the White Walkers have been this existential threat hovering north of the Wall.  But ultimately, that was a narrative dead-end, because the literal game of thrones is over who wins the right to rule Westeros.  For several seasons now, we've been trending towards a showdown between Cersei, Danerys and Jon. The White Walker storyline was increasingly grafted on to this story.

It wasn't irrelevant, by any means.  Defeating the Army of the Dead legitimizes both Jon and Daenerys.  They risked everything to protect humanity, and it cost them dearly. It also had the plot impact of reducing the relative strength of Daenerys' army, which had to happen so the final confrontation with Cersei would have higher dramatic stakes. If she had three dragons, the Unsullied and the Dothraki, the conflict would be over in the blink of an eye. The conflict with the Dead also united Jon and Daenerys in ways beyond the (feeble) chemistry of the fact they are both good looking.

But as we hurtle towards the final two episodes, we are meant to pick a side between the three claimants.  There is Cersei, cruelly adept at the "game," but no one's idea of a just or good ruler.  She blew up a cathedral full of people. So, we have been increasingly led to wonder about the coming split between Jon and Daenerys, nephew and aunt, lovers, Targaryens.  The plot has made us question Daenerys' sanity.  Is she becoming fire-mad, like he father?  All the qualities that made her the "Princess that was Promised" were demonstrated in Slaver's Bay, not Westeros.  She seems out of touch with the country she is meant to lead.  So, the Mad Queen versus the Bad Queen...

Which brings us to Jon Snow/Aemon Targaryen.

Jon has three defining qualities: he's mopey, he's dopey and he's hopey. The mopey thing is understandable, given his status as the bastard of Winterfell.  As someone who didn't read the books, people pointing at his character in Season One as being critical left me perplexed. Sad Jon Snow is literally a meme. But melancholy beats crazy or evil, so being mopey doesn't disqualify him.

The dopey and hopey are two sides of the same coin.  Jon is honorable. That's his defining character trait. He sticks up for the weaker members of the Night's Watch; he ingratiates himself with the Free Folk but stays true to his oath; he saves the Night's Watch and then the Wildlings; he lets them through the Wall at the cost of his own life; he risks everything to recruit Daenerys and Cersei in the War against the Dead. Jon IS a good man.  He shares that fatal male Stark flaw of believing honor will shield him.

Part of the problem is that we keep getting told that he's a good man.  That's...bad writing. But some of it has to be the fundamental disconnect between what we need to know about Jon Snow and Kit Harrington's limitations as an actor. Harrington did a great job with Sad Jon Snow, but there isn't much inspirational to his character.  Mopey Jon Snow has outweighed Hopey Jon Snow.  Dopey Jon Snow, I can excuse, because some of that was plot service (Daenerys needed to lose a dragon to the Night King, because the plot required it, for instance). His failure at the Battle of the Bastards seemed as much about setting up Sansa as the smarter of the two as it did about his impulsive decision to charge out and save Rickon.

Because he's Mopey and Hopey, Jon would probably be a good king.  But the show has needed to make him Dopey, so that he can rise about the stupidity of his own poor decisions (like Operation: Steal a Wight).  That was a bad idea, but it was a bad idea that needed to happen to cement the bond between Daenerys and Jon and to lose a dragon. 

Benioff and Weiss have simply written themselves into corners that are tough to write themselves out of.  Jon Snow has borne much of the brunt of this. There is a theme within the show that contrasts the ability to conquer with the ability to rule.  Martin, himself, has stated that this is a theme.  Snow has made bad decisions.  So have Daenerys (crucifying people, for instance) and certainly Cersei (did I mention she blew up a church). What sets Snow apart, as Tyrion and Varys discussed, is his lack of ambition for the throne, despite his superior claim to it.

These roles were cast years ago, with mostly unknown actors. They got so very, very lucky with Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner.  But it's difficult to buy into Jon Snow as an inspirational leader.  Mopey Jon Snow gets in the way of Hopey Jon Snow.  I don't think the character has been served especially well by either the writers or the actor playing him.

However, at this point, Jon Snow/Aemon Targaryen sitting on the Iron Throne with Sansa advising him strikes me as a better outcome than most.