‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 8 Finale: Here’s What Happened To Jon Snow

Jon Snow had a lot to contend with in the Season 8 finale of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Here’s what happened to him by the end of Episode 6.

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.

Ever since Jon Snow (Kit Harington) discovered that he was actually Aegon Targaryen, it signaled the end of his relationship with Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). Not only did his title usurp Daenerys’ claim to the iron throne, but it also meant that their relationship was now considered to be incestuous with Daenerys being Jon’s aunt.

However, by Episode 6 of Season 9 of Game of Thrones, it became apparent that not only was Jon and Daenerys’ relationship ruined but that Dany was descending into the madness that was so common among Targaryens. As a result of this, in the Season 8 finale, Jon did the unthinkable and killed Daenerys rather than have her continue in her attempt to take over the entire world.

While his act could be justifiable considering Daenerys had just razed King’s Landing to the ground after Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) had already surrendered, it still created problems to those left in power. And, as Metro points out, the idea of democracy has just been formed in Game of Thrones, meaning that Jon’s true heritage was now obsolete.

After Jon killed Daenerys, he was immediately captured by Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) and there he stayed until the heads of the remaining great Houses in Westeros convened and decided his fate. In the end, Jon was not killed for his role in murdering Daenerys. Instead, Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), who was now the Hand to King Brandon Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright), sentenced Jon to live out his life at Castle Black.

When Game of Thrones started, Jon Snow had decided to pledge himself to the Night’s Watch and traveled to Castle Black in order to serve in the army that protected Westeros from the dangers contained beyond the Wall. He was then killed by several of his brothers of the Night’s Watch and resurrected by Melisandre (Carice van Houten). This meant that his watch (which ends with death) had been served and he was permitted to leave Castle Black. He has now been issued a return to Castle Black and he will serve a second tenure there.

However, by the end of the Season 8 finale of Game of Thrones, it was discovered that Jon had actually ignored Tyrion’s sentence. Instead, he joined the wildling, Tormund (Kristofer Hivju), and headed out beyond the Wall with the rest of the wildlings returning home. In effect, this now means that Jon Snow is filling the position of Mance Rayder (Ciarán Hinds), also known as the “King-Beyond-the-Wall” for his role in uniting the tribes of wildlings, also known as the Free Folk.

While many fans are still arguing over whether or not Jon’s fate was deserved, the Game of Thrones fandom is united in the fact that Jon was reunited with Ghost in the Season 8 finale and his direwolf finally got the affection from Jon that the beast so richly deserved.

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 yet been announced for this new series.