Jon Snow was raised as a bastard, left to join the Night’s Watch, and kept fighting ancient ice creatures that can reanimate the dead. And let’s be honest, Jon Snow is also the rightful king of Westeros, was resurrected, and is considered by many to be the prophesized hero, Azor Ahai.
Keeping that in mind, Jon Snow is an archetypal fantasy hero in Game of Thrones and a Song of Ice and Fire. However, this doesn’t justify the times he went wrong, and so this article will list the ten worst things Jon Snow has done.
10. STABBING DAENERYS
This addition can seem controversial as Jon Snow had to stab Dany. She threatened Jon’s family in her victory announcement, committed genocide, and was also going to fight a constant war.
Regardless of that background, it was a wrong move to make. This was a case of dirty hands for Jon Snow- doing a bad thing out of compulsion.
9. BREAKING HIS VOWS
In the first season, Jon has an issue placing faith in the Night’s Watch and rides away from Castle Black with the intent of uniting with Robb during the War of Five Kings.
This is the first time that Jon broke his vows. The reason why he came back was his friends in the Night’s Watch, who persuaded him to return.
8. BENDING THE KNEE TO DAENERYS
During Season 7, Dany is taxing Jon to bend the knee. However, he does not wish to bend the knee as the King in the North, and the Northern Lords would not be delighted seeing him do so to a Targaryen queen. Thus, Jon disagreed with bending the knee throughout the season. This all changes after Dany saved Jon and the gang from beyond the wall. Jon then bends the knee and accepts her as his queen, knowing that this will not go down well with the Northern Lords. This was useless since it was evident that Dany was going to help Jon during the fight against the White Walkers, regardless of him bending the knee.
7.PINK LETTER REACTION
For fans, the pink letter may not stand out to memorably. Before Jon’s execution at the Night’s Watch, he got a letter sealed with pink wax that is apparently from Ramsay Snow. The message goads Jon to break his vows by stating a desire to attack Ramsay at Winterfell.
Within hours of the letter’s arrival, Jon Snow got killed by the Night’s Watch for his response to the message.
6. NOT KILLING LITTLEFINGER
Littlefinger will forever be an undiscovered element. Jon had the chance to kill Littlefinger in the Crypts of Winterfell but chose only to terrorize Baelish. While killing Littlefinger might have been problematic due to his association with the Vale.
5. NAIVELY TRUSTING THE NIGHT’S WATCH
Jon happened to acquire one of Stark’s main traits – naivety. This was his downfall in Season 5 in GOT. While it was the pink letter that ultimately triggered his execution, the letter was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.
After Jon being provoked by the Night’s Watch, he welcomed Wildlings into Castle Black and hoped to send aid to Hardhome. The Night’s Watch disagreed with his call as Lord Commander and, as revealed about the murder of Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, the Night’s Watch didn’t shy away from removing its leader.
4.CHARGING RAMSAY AT THE BATTLE OF THE BASTARDS
During the Battle of the Bastards, Sansa reminds Jon to not fall for Ramsay’s insults. However, that’s what Jon does. Surely he keeps trying to save Rickon, but it was Ramsay who wanted to pull the army out of formation. From the beginning, Jon’s army abandoned the strategy. If it weren’t for Sansa’s intervention with the Knights of the Vale, Ramsay would have been victorious. While there’s no proof that Jon would’ve faired better to the original plan, but things would’ve still been better.
3. HIS TREATMENT OF GHOST
For people who don’t know, the dire wolves are to House Stark what the dragons are to House Targaryen. It’s a shame that, apart from the first few seasons, Jon starts to lose interest in his dire wolf, Ghost. The wolf is ever loyal, even staying by his side when he was executed. Jon, however, doesn’t repay this loyalty.
We first see him outside the walls of Winterfell, waiting to charge the army of the undead. We then find out that Ghost survived the battle, but Jon decides to send him back north, without a pat goodbye. Fortunately, they’re reunited in the final episode.
2. SUICIDE MISSION BEYOND THE WALL
In Season 7, Jon proposes to convince Cersei to a truce that he’ll lead a ranging party beyond the wall to bring a wight as a proof that White Walkers are back. This notion was monumentally stupid as it depended on the group capturing a wight from the army, and Cersei agreed to the truce.
It was a huge chance to take as Cersei is power-hungry and unreliable. Furthermore, the mission beyond the wall ended with the death of Viserion and the Night King claiming his dragon.
1. LONG NIGHT BATTLE TACTICS
As with the options on this list, this may not be Jon’s failing, but the fault of the writers. Nevertheless, in canon, Jon had a massive influence on the plans that were implemented in the final confrontation at Winterfell. For some reason, Jon decided to place the army outside the stone walls of Winterfell, as opposed to using those walls to their advantage.
Jon placed the defenseless in the crypts of Winterfell. While this may have been wise if the battle was against a regular army, not an army that can raise the dead, the battle tactics of this battle indeed led to unnecessary deaths.
