While the much feared episode ninth of Game of Thrones season 5 approached, there was a survival list forming in the head of most fans. According to this hypothetical list, the characters who emerge out of season nine would be Arya, Daenerys, Tyrion, Brienne, Jamie, Sansa and Jon Snow. However, fans kept remembering Kit Harrington’s (who plays Jon Snow) ominous sayings regarding Episode 10th being the biggest ever.
Shortly after that, Lady Selys committed suicide, Brienne sentenced Stannis to death and Sam left Castle Black. While Brienne finally avenged Renly’s murder, Myrcella died in her father’s arms and Arya Stark lost her vision.
At the same time, Cersei’s prolonged walk of shame gave rise to an inexplicable feeling of pity even in the hearts of those fans who despised her. We should have been warned that the worst was yet to come, especially in a bombastic episode like this.
When Olly struck the fatal blow on Jon Snow’s chest, GOT fans understood that no amount of spoilers could have prepared them for the sense of emptiness that came after that. Jon Snow was special among all the various characters in Game of Thrones.
Since the last five seasons, Jon Snow had risen from being a simple bastard under Ned’s care to being the Lord Commander. Similar to his late father, he had an inherent sense of integrity which was missing in most Game of Thrones characters.
The character had his finest moments with not much gap in between either. GOT heads still remember his first visit with the dire wolf pup he rescued, Ghost. He held on to his dignity even when his father’s wife cursed him. When he stood up for the weak Sam Tarly, it melted the hearts of a lot of fans. In fact, Snow fans even took pride in the fact that he put an arrow through Mance’s heart in order to soothe the pain of being burnt alive.
A sense of warmth was added to this bloody series with the rise of a romantic affair between Jon Snow and Ygritte. When he made love to Ygritte in that candle-lit cave, a lot of rejoiced in the glow of his smile.
However, when Jon died alone in the hands of his brother, Game of Thrones took away something really valuable from us, something we loved a lot.