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***SPOILERS FOR LAST WEEK’S GAME OF THRONES AHEAD***
I’m not here to break down that big Jon Snow reveal at the end of last week’s episode of Game of Thrones. I mean, the internet is already full of articles about the magic of R’hllor, the Christian themes of resurrection, and the theory that Jon Snow is really a Targaryen.
However, I do want to break down what happened before Melisandre’s rather lackluster ritual brought Jon Snow back from the dead. Namely: Jon Snow proved in death that he is a more popular ruler than Daenerys “Khaleesi” Targaryen is in life. And that is very, very interesting.
I know: Who would have thunk it? In the real world, we’ve been rooting for Dany since day one. She’s the beautiful and fierce underdog who literally burns her haters and gets to ride a dragon. But while we’ve been chanting “Yassss Khaleesi!” from our living room couches, the people of Westeros have been silently falling for the leadership style of Jon Snow. That is to say, everyone who’s met Jon Snow seems to mark him as a natural born hero. Ned, Tyrion, Lord Commander Mormont, Mance Rayder, Stannis Baratheon all considered him “one to watch.” Even the characters who hated Jon Snow respected him. Last season, as he let the Wildings through Castle Black’s gates, Ser Alliser Thorne said, “You have a good heart.” You know, before also saying that Snow’s heart would get them all killed. (And then, later, he killed Jon Snow.)
Jon Snow had Ser Davos Seaworth, Melisandre, half the Night’s Watch, and the Wildlings banding together to protect his corpse. I repeat: his dead, cold corpse. That’s true loyalty. Contrast this with how Daenerys has left Meereen in absolute chaos in her absence. Or how she lost the support of the Dothraki horde after Khal Drogo died in Season One. She has only ever held on to a core group believers (that included some traitors) after she proved that she could bring dragons to life.
As much as Daenerys has been generating #ironthronebuzz for herself over the last six seasons, she’s always had trouble holding on to support. From the beginning, she’s been confronted with people who only gain her trust to betray her or who only want to use her name (or her dragons) to fulfill their own aims. Even her most loyal and steadfast followers will admit that they stay by her side because they’ve been dazzled by the magic they’ve seen her produce. Daenerys is a fantastic strategist and charismatic leader. She’s made a name for herself as a cross-continental abolitionist. But the core of her appeal is that she is “the Mother of Dragons.”
So, with magic, Jon and Dany are probably equal in terms of likability, but if you take it away from the equation, he’s done more with his words and deeds to win loyalists than she has.
With this in mind, this weekend’s episode of Game of Thrones should be fascinating. In the previews for the episode, we see the Wildlings look on at Jon in awe. The voiceover says, “They think you’re some kind of god.” An important point there is that they were already on his side before he proved he was magical. Their loyalty was already a given; now their devotion will take on the a level of faith.
This week Dany is being dragged by the Dothraki to Dosh Khaleen — an assembly of Khal’s widows who are sequestered to live out their days as nothing. So far, this new Dothraki horde is not impressed by her. Most fan theories suggest that Drogon, whom we see flying above the Dothraki in the trailer, will help convince them to join her cause. I’m not a fan of that. I want to her to rely on her diplomacy and smarts to rally men and women to her side. Maybe she’ll do just that. If Daenerys can find a way to rally the Dothraki to her cause without Drogon, she might finally prove that she is a truly badass leader.
Jon needed a miracle to solidify his hero status, but Dany needs to pull from within to really cement hers.
In any event…just for fun…which character do you like more? Remember: This is a popularity contest.
