Few characters go through as much as Jon Snow does within Game Of Thrones. From being a bastard in the Stark family to becoming King of the North, he stares death in the face, falls in love several times, watches loved ones die around him, but ultimately conquers evil.
Jon is the shows ultimate hero, a true salt of the earth type character who very much follows the same path and values of Ned Stark. Because he is put through so much over the course of the show, Jon Snow’s character begins to evolve.
He grows into a man and develops incredible skills both as simple traits and in terms of his detailed personality. Here are 10 ways that Jon Snow changes from the first season to the finale of Game Of Thrones.
Joins The Night’s Watch
One of the earliest and most obvious changes that Jon Snow goes through is when he is sworn in to join the Night’s Watch, becoming a brother who watches on the wall. He is sent there by Ned Stark and while it is normally a punishment for people, that isn’t really the case for Jon.
Here he gets to learn to be a man, he puts his impressive fighting skills to work and shows his leadership abilities. He also gets to develop his friendship with Sam at the wall, which ends up being one of the most important friendships of the show.
He Becomes A Leader
One of the biggest changes to Jon Snow’s personality is the fact that he embraces a leadership role and takes charge of situations, rather than being someone who follows. While he grew up always being second behind Robb Stark, when he gets to the Night’s Watch, that all changes.
It doesn’t take long for him to work his way to the top, and he doesn’t just lead his brothers in black either. Jon Snow goes on to lead entire armies, with Wildlings and other armies coming together against the army of the dead, proving just how strong he becomes.
Learns How To Play The Game
Everyone in the show is ‘playing the Game Of Thrones’ in their own individual way. While some are doing it by leading armies and fighting, others are doing it by spreading secrets and creating plots. It’s tough to play the game and it’s something that Jon Snow initially struggles with, mainly because his values are just too good.
However, as the show develops this is something that he learns to do incredibly well. Even though he doesn’t always make the right choices, Jon always pushes for what is best for other people and that’s why he’s such a great leader, with the relationship with the Wildlings being a perfect example.
Becomes A Skilled Fighter
While Jon Snow is clearly a gifted fighter at the beginning of the show, having taken the lessons at Winterfell as seriously as possible. He takes things to another level when he arrives at the Wall, and becomes one of the most powerful fighters in the entire series.
Snow then goes on to showcase his fighting abilities against some of the most formidable foes in the entire world of Westeros. From Wildling’s to White Walker’s, there is nobody that Jon Snow isn’t able to battle against, proving how well he develops.
Flies On A Dragon
Throughout Game Of Thrones, very few people are able to go near the dragons, let alone build a relationship with them. But that is where Jon Snow is unique, as his family heritage allows him to not only go up to the dragons, touching them, but also flying on the back of them!
It’s a huge change to Jon’s character as nobody expects to see him flying on the back of a dragon at any point in the series. It only helps to cement the fact that Jon Snow is one of the most exciting and powerful characters on the show.
Falls In Love Twice
At the start of the show when we see Jon Snow, he is very much a boy on his way to becoming a man. While he isn’t exactly a child, he still doesn’t know a lot about the world, and that is something that he learns along the way, with a lot of that being down to the two women he falls in love with.
First is Ygritte, who helps him ‘become a man,’ during a steamy scene inside a cave. She teaches him about the world and how things aren’t as perfect as he thinks, while Daenerys then teaches him even more about being a leader and how to take charge.
Watches His Lovers Die
While Jon might be lucky enough to fall in love two times on the show, he is also unfortunate enough to have both women die in his arms. The first to fall is Ygritte, who Jon becomes a man with. She is killed by Oli as they battle against each other, with Snow holding her as she passes away.
However, things become even tougher for him with his second partner as Jon is actually the person responsible for Daenerys’ death. Sensing how consumed by power she has become, Jon brings her to an end with a knife to the stomach.
King In The North
While Jon Snow ends up bending the knee to what would eventually become the Mad Queen, he did earn the title of King in the North during his time on the show. It’s a huge moment in the show as the Northern people proudly get behind Jon as their leader and the man they want on the throne.
Even though he pleads his allegiance elsewhere, it shows how far he progresses during the show. Going from someone who people dislike because of his background to being a true leader and a man people want as King.
He Dies
This is a pretty big change for anyone to deal with, and for most people would be the final change as well, but Jon Snow is able to be resurrected thanks to the powers of the Red Woman. However, Jon Snow does technically die during Game Of Thrones.
He is betrayed by his brothers in the Night’s Watch, particularly young Oli, who Jon had always looked out for. He is stabbed multiple times by his fellow brothers, which completely goes against the code of the Night’s Watch and provided one of the most shocking moments in the history of the show.
He Learns About His Family
The biggest change that Jon Snow goes through during Game Of Thrones is that he finally gets closure on who he is as a person. After years of being called a bastard and not knowing who his own mother is, he is finally told by Sam and Bran that his mother is actually Lyanna Stark, with his father being Rhaegar Targaryen.
It’s one of the biggest reveals of the entire series and it is certainly something that changes Jon and the way he looks at things. It also puts him in line to genuinely sit on the Iron Throne, a decision he ends up not taking up.
