‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 8 Finale: Here’s Some Reasons Why Drogon Didn’t Kill Jon Snow

After the Season 8 finale of HBO’s Game of Thrones aired, many viewers were left wondering why Daenerys Targaryen’s (Emilia Clarke) dragon, Drogon, didn’t barbeque Jon Snow (Kit Harington). Instead, the mighty beast chose to destroy the iron throne, the very thing his mistress had been fighting so hard for.

SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses Episode 6 (titled “The Iron Throne”) of HBO’s Game of Thrones Season 8. Please proceed with caution if you have not yet viewed this episode and wish to avoid spoilers.

In Episode 6 of Game of Thrones Season 8, Jon decided once and for all that he had to put the people of Westeros ahead of his own feelings towards Daenerys. Plunging a dagger into his lover — and aunt — Jon cradled Daenerys as she died. Not long after that, Drogon appeared inside the throne room and looked as though he was about to kill Jon. Jon also looked prepared for that eventuality as he stood tall and awaited his fate. However, Drogon had other plans. Using his dragon fire, the beast melted the iron throne instead and viewers were left wondering why.

As Thrillist points out, Drogon destroyed the very thing that caused the downfall of Daenerys. It was the one thing she wanted more than anything else in the entire world and the one thing that ended up causing her so much grief in the end. Perhaps giving Drogon more credit than what a dragon is worth, it appears he identified the real enemy in the room and it wasn’t Jon Snow.

Considering the entire series of Game of Thrones has been based on who would win the iron throne in the end, it was a pretty bold move to have the very symbol of what held the show together burned to the ground. However, it also paved the way for a democracy to be formed in the wake of the devastation. So, perhaps the series creators also had that in mind as they destroyed the iron throne.

In addition, Jon Snow is actually Aegon Targaryen. This means that perhaps Drogon identified Jon as the same kind as Daenerys and shied away from killing the very House in Game of Thrones that has always been associated with dragons and the same House that would also be extinct if Jon were to die.

Or perhaps Drogon didn’t want Jon to sit on the iron throne after killing Daenerys and destroyed the very thing he knew his mistress had been fighting for.

TV Guide points out that many fans were hoping Jon would be burned by dragon fire. Not because they wanted Jon Snow to die but because they wanted to see the effect of dragon fire on the Targaryen. However, Jon has previously had a run in with fire when he saved the Lord Commander of Castle Black from a wight. This encounter showed that Jon does actually get burnt when confronted with fire. So, fans who were hoping Jon would have risen from the flames unscathed would have been sorely disappointed if this were the option Drogon took.

Episode 6 was the final episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones Season 8 and the series overall. HBO is currently in production on a prequel series set in the same universe as Game of Thrones. However, no release date has been announced for this new series.