"Game of Thrones"
was never shy of killing off its characters, but the season 5 finale
may have just delivered the biggest death on the show so far. Jon Snow, a beloved character on the series, was betrayed and slaughtered by his men at the Night's Watch, with his protege Olly delivering the fatal stab.
Speaking about the shocking death, Kit Harington who played the bastard son of Ned Stark says he "knew it was coming." He tells Entertainment Weekly, "I didn't read [George R.R. Martin's novel] 'A Dance with Dragons'. But I read the other books and I had heard this is what happens. So I had an inkling it should be this season."
"I loved it," he says of the scene. "I loved how they brought Olly in to be the person who kills me. I love how the storyline with Thorne was wrapped up. I think it was really well crafted by [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss]. It felt like the right way for it to happen."
Still, he understands how Jon Snow would've felt about being betrayed by his men. "I had wanted it to be a beautiful death, a release," he tells New York Daily News. "But they way it unfolded, it was a huge betrayal and a gruesome death. It was an abrupt and brutal finish with no absolutely no peace for Jon in the end."
"He dies sad," the actor adds, "understanding that the last person to stab him is Olly, his steward. Jon had taken him under his wing and mentored the boy, but he forgets that this boy's family has been murdered by wildlings. There's a real loneliness at the end for Jon Snow."
Harington realizes Jon Snow had made "a huge amount of fault." He goes on detailing his character's mistakes, "He hasn't paid attention to the people around him. He's only looked at the big picture this season. His major fault is a bit like Ned's in that when trying to do the right thing he wasn't observing the people around him. He had blinders on."
"All he could really see is this impending doom by the White Walkers and doing things for the greater good, and what he was missing was Olly and [Ser Alliser] Thorne and some of the men around him. He wasn't seeing their discontent and dealing with the smaller issues. And because of that, he's served justice. Olly puts the last dagger in him. In that moment i think he realizes that he didn't look after his kin, this young man, and let him down."
"He makes the humanitarian choice," says Harington. "And just like his father, the moral choice gets him killed." Showrunner David Benioff says a similar thing about the consequence faced by Jon Snow, "On this show it always seems that when you have someone who tries to do the right thing, they get punished for it."
Harington says it's "heartbreaking" that Jon Snow "never finds out who his mother is," but "we have to go by what 'Thrones' does. And 'Thrones' treats drama as real life. And people die and don't accomplish what we think they're meant to in real life."
The actor goes on confirming that his character is dead. "I'm quite dead," he says. "It's over for Jon Snow - at the very least, he gets to join his family and kin and leave this terrible world behind." He adds, "If anything in the future is not like that, then I don't know about it - it's only in David and Dan and George's heads. But I've been told I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm not coming back next season. So that's all I can tell you, really."
While his character is gone from the show, Harington says there are others who viewers can root for. "Follow Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) or Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) or Brianne (Gwendoline Christie)," he suggests. "There are certain good people left in there. Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) to an extent, although that's a very gray area."
As for what makes his character lovable, he explains, "What I loved about Jon is that he really wasn't that much of a gray character. There was ignorance and stupidity, and naivet e , definitely. But a bad soul? No. And I think that's why people liked him. He was always trying to do the right thing - he really was one of the last bastions of goodness left in Westeros."
Speaking about the shocking death, Kit Harington who played the bastard son of Ned Stark says he "knew it was coming." He tells Entertainment Weekly, "I didn't read [George R.R. Martin's novel] 'A Dance with Dragons'. But I read the other books and I had heard this is what happens. So I had an inkling it should be this season."
"I loved it," he says of the scene. "I loved how they brought Olly in to be the person who kills me. I love how the storyline with Thorne was wrapped up. I think it was really well crafted by [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss]. It felt like the right way for it to happen."
Still, he understands how Jon Snow would've felt about being betrayed by his men. "I had wanted it to be a beautiful death, a release," he tells New York Daily News. "But they way it unfolded, it was a huge betrayal and a gruesome death. It was an abrupt and brutal finish with no absolutely no peace for Jon in the end."
"He dies sad," the actor adds, "understanding that the last person to stab him is Olly, his steward. Jon had taken him under his wing and mentored the boy, but he forgets that this boy's family has been murdered by wildlings. There's a real loneliness at the end for Jon Snow."
Harington realizes Jon Snow had made "a huge amount of fault." He goes on detailing his character's mistakes, "He hasn't paid attention to the people around him. He's only looked at the big picture this season. His major fault is a bit like Ned's in that when trying to do the right thing he wasn't observing the people around him. He had blinders on."
"All he could really see is this impending doom by the White Walkers and doing things for the greater good, and what he was missing was Olly and [Ser Alliser] Thorne and some of the men around him. He wasn't seeing their discontent and dealing with the smaller issues. And because of that, he's served justice. Olly puts the last dagger in him. In that moment i think he realizes that he didn't look after his kin, this young man, and let him down."
"He makes the humanitarian choice," says Harington. "And just like his father, the moral choice gets him killed." Showrunner David Benioff says a similar thing about the consequence faced by Jon Snow, "On this show it always seems that when you have someone who tries to do the right thing, they get punished for it."
Harington says it's "heartbreaking" that Jon Snow "never finds out who his mother is," but "we have to go by what 'Thrones' does. And 'Thrones' treats drama as real life. And people die and don't accomplish what we think they're meant to in real life."
The actor goes on confirming that his character is dead. "I'm quite dead," he says. "It's over for Jon Snow - at the very least, he gets to join his family and kin and leave this terrible world behind." He adds, "If anything in the future is not like that, then I don't know about it - it's only in David and Dan and George's heads. But I've been told I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm not coming back next season. So that's all I can tell you, really."
While his character is gone from the show, Harington says there are others who viewers can root for. "Follow Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) or Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) or Brianne (Gwendoline Christie)," he suggests. "There are certain good people left in there. Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) to an extent, although that's a very gray area."
As for what makes his character lovable, he explains, "What I loved about Jon is that he really wasn't that much of a gray character. There was ignorance and stupidity, and naivet e , definitely. But a bad soul? No. And I think that's why people liked him. He was always trying to do the right thing - he really was one of the last bastions of goodness left in Westeros."
