Jon Snow Needs to Take Some Responsibility on ‘Game of Thrones’

He’s been dodging his duties for long enough. Jon Snow (Kit Harington) needs to step up and take some responsibility in the Game of Thrones finale.

It’s not necessarily that Jon has to kill Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and seize the Iron Throne, so much as he has to step up and be the leader every single person in Westeros wants him to be. He has to stand up to Daenerys and advocate for the rights of the common folk, and stop shrinking from calls that he outs himself as a Targaryen heir just because it hurts his girlfriend’s feelings. (Because all evidence suggests the reason he’s loathe to make a big deal about his parentage is because Daenerys is a wreck over it.)

When Game of Thrones started, Jon was a uniquely ambitious teenager. He knew that as Ned Stark’s bastard he couldn’t ascend as a noble, so he directed his dreams to the Wall. He wanted desperately to be a heroic ranger, like his Uncle Benjen. At the Wall, he immediately reveled in being the best swordsman in the yard. So much so, that it brought out a mean streak in him that Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) called out in Season 1, Episode 3, “Lord Snow.” He tells Tyrion the other recruits hate him because he’s better than they are. In that single conversation, Tyrion counsels him to check his privilege*. A later conversation with Benjen in the same episode drives home that if Jon wants to be seen as a leader, he has to earn it. Almost immediately he begins training the other recruits and leading them in terms of kindness. The message: Jon wants to lead, and he wants to do it the right way.

*Which is something Tyrion’s never quite managed to pull off with Daenerys.

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Jon’s ambition is further hinted at later in the season. When he discovers that he’s been assigned to the Stewards, and not the Rangers, Jon takes it as a blow until Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) explains that he’s being groomed for leadership. Jon’s still displeased, but it’s obvious that this opportunity calms him down. Again, he is subtly ambitious, in the only way the bastard of a Lord could hope to be.

While Jon doesn’t covet the Iron Throne, he previously has not shied away from leadership. He’s almost welcomed it as an honor and a responsibility. He’s visibly elated when he’s elected the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch in Season 5, and he seems happily overwhelmed when he is named the King in the North. In Season 5, Episode 2, “The House of Black and White,” Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) offers to legitimize Jon and grant him Winterfell in exchange for his support. Jon admits to Sam that it’s all he’s ever wanted, but he then explains that he’s not going to accept. It’s not so much that he doesn’t want to call Stannis king, but that he made a vow to the Night’s Watch and breaking that vow would undermine his credibility as a lord from the get-go. What this tells us is that Jon does want to be a leader, but not if it goes against a vow he’s already made.

Which brings us to what happens when he learns he’s the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. He’s not allowed to be happy because his first thought is “Daenerys is our queen.” When Sam says she shouldn’t be, Jon replies that it’s treason to even say so. Throughout the season, when Jon is asked by those in the know if he wants the Iron Throne, he says no, but always because he’s already sworn himself to Daenerys.

So it’s not necessarily that Jon doesn’t want the Iron Throne, but maybe that he feels that he can’t want the Iron Throne. Because of this, he’s kowtowed to Daenerys ahead of her fiery attack on King’s Landing, and neglected to give the people of Westeros the option of rallying behind him. So far, all that’s led to is horror. If Jon had taken responsibility for his birthright, if he had led the people following him, and finally if he had dared stand up to Daenerys, maybe King’s Landing wouldn’t have burned.

Whatever happens next, Jon Snow needs to step up and save Westeros. The realm needs a protector, and that’s who Jon Snow was born and trained to be.

The Game of Thrones Series Finale premieres Sunday, May 19, 2019 on HBO.

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