“Game of Thrones” ended, in 2019, with Jon Snow headed North. Kit Harington’s character, who over the course of the series went from lowly bastard to Night’s Watch recruit to battle leader to King of the North, before he was reluctantly revealed as the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, ended the series by agreeing to return North of the Wall.
Game of Thrones Reboot?
Earlier this year, we learned that we may not have seen the last of Jon Snow. Back in June, it was reported that a Jon Snow sequel series, with a working title of “Snow,” was in development at HBO.
The show, reportedly, was Harington’s own idea, with George R.R. Martin revealing in a blog post that the actor “brought the idea to us.”
There’s no word on who will be the writers or showrunners on the “Snow” show, although Martin said in his blog post that “I cannot tell you the names of the writers/showrunners, since that has not been cleared for release yet,” indicating that at least a writing team had been hired.
In addition to “House of the Dragon,” which aired its first season this year, multiple “Game of Thrones” spinoffs are in various stages of development, although “Snow” is the first announced one to include established “Game of Thrones” characters and to be set after the events of the original series. Most, including “House of the Dragon,” are set much earlier in the Westeros timeline.
Beyond the announcement, not much has been revealed about what shape the new show may take; if it arrives, that will likely happen years in the future, considering how complex
This week, we heard a bit from the actor who played Snow, although he didn’t directly address the new series.
Jon Snow Show?
Harington, per Entertainment Weekly, appeared on a panel at an official Game Of Thrones Convention and talked about the endgame of the Jon Snow character on the original show.
“I think if you asked him, he would’ve felt he got off lightly,” the actor said of his character. “At the end of the show when we find him in that cell, he’s preparing to be beheaded and he wants to be. He’s done. The fact he goes to the Wall is the greatest gift and also the greatest curse.”
“He’s gotta go back up to the place with all this history and live out his life thinking about how he killed Dany, and live out his life thinking about Ygritte,” Harington said, referring to the character’s wildling love interest in the early seasons (played by Rose Leslie, who Harington went on to marry in real life.)
He went on to talk about how Jon Snow’s ending wasn’t exactly a happy one.
“So I think where we leave him at the end of the show, there’s always this feeling of like… I think we wanted some kind of little smile that things are okay. He’s not okay.”
It did, however, leave Jon still alive to perhaps have continuing adventures. The moderators of the panel at the convention, however, did not ask about the new show. Harington did, though, hint that Ghost, his dire wolf, might be back in the upcoming series.
Harington had briefly mentioned the project in an interview in September, in which he stated that “the only thing I’ll say is that I know nothing about it… George is allowed to talk. I would be talking in riddles if I went any further.”
Considering where Snow is at the end of the series, it raises all sorts of questions about exactly what direction it will take, especially if it runs for many seasons.
How Game of Thrones Ended
Here’s how things stood at the end of “Game of Thrones”: Daenerys Targaryen is dead, killed by Jon, who has been banished North of the Wall, likely subject to murder by the Unsullied and others loyal to Daenerys should he ever return. Meanwhile, Bran Stark (who was raised as Jon’s brother, even though they’re technically cousins) has been appointed king of Westeros, while Jon’s “sister,” Sansa, is now Queen in the North. Their other surviving sibling, Arya Stark, is off sailing “West of Westeros.”
And Jon, despite both his reluctance and the many people who want him dead, still has a very powerful claim as heir to the Iron Throne (even if the Throne itself was melted into dust by Drogon, the dragon, in the series finale.) Dragon, too, is still alive as of the end of the series.
The biggest question of all about a spinoff would be that of which “Game of Thrones” characters would return, and whether the show would be a de facto continuation of “Game of Thrones.”
What Happens Next?
The series would focus on Jon Snow, of course, but merely keeping Jon beyond the Wall and interacting with new characters would probably get boring relatively quickly. Sure, there would likely be some banter between Jon and his wildling sidekick Tormund, but that only goes so far. The show could also explore what things are like North of the Wall, after the area and its wildling inhabitants were presumably wiped out by the White Walkers when they were on their way South.
Assuming it doesn’t remain entirely North of the Wall, the series would likely at least check in on the surviving major characters, and Jon’s relationships with them. Will we see Jon back at Winterfell, with the queen he knew as a sister?
What about in King’s Landing, with his “brother” King Bran and his old pal Tyrion who, despite numerous screwups in the past, remained Hand of the King as of the end of the show?
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You can’t have a “Game of Thrones” series without dragons, and Jon Snow knows how to ride them, so I imagine we would see Dragon returning at some point as well. And with both Ygritte and Daenerys long dead, who might emerge as a Jon Snow love interest?
When Will the John Snow Show Air?
Once again, it will likely be a while before we see an actual Jon Snow TV series, assuming we do at all. The show has not been officially given the green light, and there’s also a possibility that it won’t be at all, especially considering the major cost-cutting going on at Warner Bros. Discovery, which has not necessarily spared HBO. One “Game of Thrones” spinoff got much further along than the Snow show currently is, and was scrapped.
Even if it is greenlit, “Game of Thrones” shows are expensive, complex, and time-consuming productions, so don’t expect Jon Snow to return to your TV screen for at least a couple more years.
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
