Game of Thrones Best Jon Snow Scenes (From S1 - S6)

Updated:

22 Feb 2023

From the very first episode of the series, many people started calling Jon Snow their favorite character. This is because in a world of dubious morals and selfish characters, he sticks out as being one of the only characters that is a traditional hero. He has a strong sense of honor and justice and always strives to do the right thing in any situation He really takes after Ned.

This makes him a character that many people may aspire to be like. He always thinks of others and never turns towards the easy way out if it's the wrong thing to do. And, if that weren’t enough, he is also a complete badass. No one can really fight quite like him, and his skill with a sword is unmatched. This is actually quite a point of contention between him and Alistair Thorne, who lambasts Jon for being so skilled with a blade due to his formal training with Winterfell’s Master at Arms which others did not have.

Like 90% of the characters in the show, Jon Snow was almost completely ruined by the writers in the last 2 seasons, with all his characterization and destiny being thrown in the dirt just to ‘subvert expectations’. So, in this list of most badass Jon Snow moments, we will just look at all the amazing moments that he had from seasons 1-6 as he still mattered to the overall story and wasn’t ruined then.

1. Jon and Ghost (Season 1, Episode 1)

This is one of the very first scenes of the entire show, one that has Ned, Robb, Jon, Bran and Theon all coming across a dead direwolf mother with a litter of 6, now abandoned puppies. What initially only looks like a tragic scene between a mother and her pups is layered with subtext and allegories for how much of the future in the show will play out.

The most important, however, is when we see a discarded sixth pup that appears to be very different from its siblings. Since each of the pups represents the Stark children, so too does the ice white pup represent the bastard Jon. Though he initially only appears to be the runt of the litter, there is more than meets the eye here as well.

The fur is ice white, almost platinum. The eyes are blood red, or some would say that they are red like fire. Since we know that ghost represents Jon within the context of the Stark family, so too can he be seen to represent Jon’s true heritage as a Targaryen, with ghosts' very different features being those that would represent Targaryens quite well.

The Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Isq9hl7Tz8

2. Farewell Winterfell (Season 1, Episode 2)

This may seem like an out of pocket pick for many people, but the fact of the matter is that despite Jon being a bastard, his relationships with his siblings (particularly Robb) were beautiful. This is best seen when he gifts Arya with her iconic sword Needle and with his goodbye with Robb. His banter with Arya is just the same as any loving brother would do to their younger sister.

His goodbye with Robb is even more powerful. Throughout the first season, Jon keeps saying how much better Robb was than him at everything and was so loved by everyone. Jon should’ve realistically hated him out of jealousy, but instead loved him so much. They were brothers and best friends through and through and would have always been together, sharing an unbreakable bond. This goodbye really cemented all these characters as who they were in this world and what they all meant to each other. Even his last goodbye to Ned is tragic but very beautiful in its own way.

The scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHbOsTYyb04

3. Maester Aemon’s Identity (Season 1, Episode 9)

To many, this scene may be one that can be seen as only focusing on Maester Aemon and who he is. However, this is a great moment of growth for Jon and really shows him what to do and what he needs to do in order to become the man he needs to be. It tells him of the life that awaits him in the Watch.

The entire thing is that Jon has just now come here from Winterfell and is struggling to let go of his past, the way all members of the Watch are supposed to do. So, he sits down with Maester Aemon who reveals himself to be a lost and forgotten Targaryen and tells Jon that he must kill the boy that he was in order to become the man he needs to be.

The Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pozI5n6A_Io

4. The Cave (Season 2, Episode 6)

The cave scene is one of the most important scenes overall when it comes to Jon Snow as a character. The scene consists of Jon and Ygritte eventually wandering into a cave at night for warmth and ends up with them making love. This is the first time that Jon comes to see all Wildlings as actually people rather than violent brutes.

It also is the scene where Jon first questions his loyalty to the Watch as he goes against his vows and falls in love with a woman. The reason this is such an amazing thing for him is that it starts an internal battle within Jon, with him being torn between duty and love. Eventually, being Ned Stark's son, he chooses his loyalty to the Watch, but remembers Ygritte and the cave for the rest of the story.

The Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pu58mBDXbY

5. ‘Killing’ Qhorin Halfhand (Season 2, Episode 10)

The recent frequency of the wildling attacks that happened closer than ever to the Wall had made all of the members of the Watch grow concerned. Due to this, Jon had been entrusted to the party of legendary ranger, Qhorin Halfhand, in order to help find out the reason for the growth in the daring of the Wildlings. This had to be achieved at all means.

Eventually, the 2 get trapped by a raiding party of Wildlings, due to which they both must fight to the death. What makes this scene tragic is that it is a fight not done in malice, rather Qhorin knew that they needed to gain the trust of the Wildlings in order to be allowed access into their camps.

Knowing that the Wildlings would never believe that Qhorin would suddenly have a change of heart, he pretends to want to kill Jon for becoming a traitor, ultimately causing Jon to kill him instead. This is a pivotal moment for Jon as it shows him the lengths that he would need to go to in order to become a true member of the Watch and to save everyone. Their plan succeeds and Jon is allowed into the Wildling camps to figure out what’s going on.

The Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcEL9CARIQA

6. Defending Castle Black (Season 4, Episode 9)

This was the scene where Jon cemented himself as the most suitable member of the Watch to become the Lord Commander. The lead up to the event saw Jon infiltrate the Wildling camp and gain their trust in order to know what their plan is, and upon finding out they planned to attack the wall, he made a break for it in order to warn his brothers.

In the absence of Lord Commander Mormont, Alliser Thorne was given command of Castle Black as the acting Lord Commander who wanted to kill Jon for all his time with the Wildlings, but is instead forced to heed Jon’s warning and defend the wall. This leads to one of the best moments in the whole season, where the Night’s Watch has to defend Castle Black from the invading Wildling forces.

Jon is made the de facto leader and acts as the Lord Commander, setting up strategic positions and leading all the maneuvers that they use to eventually defeat the Wildlings, also going one on one with the leader of the Thenns; Styr. This cemented Jon as the perfect candidate for Lord Commander and showed us an incredible battle scene full of ups and downs.

The Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koNEg6Iag9g

7. Death of Ygritte (Season 4, Episode 9)

Jumping straight from the last point, the battle for Castle Black ends in tragedy for our hero Jon Snow. His Wildling lover, Ygritte, gets struck in the back by an arrow and sadly dies in Jon’s arm. This entire scene is made into a real tear-jerker because of stellar acting by both actors, exceptional mood and lighting, great writing and beautiful music.

The lead up to this moment throughout the previous seasons is impeccable, as we slowly see Jon actually falling in love with Ygritte. He even breaks his vows with her, which is very hard to do because of Jon’s inherent and strict code of honor, so for him to do this is so very unlike him. This scene is the culmination of all the build up and romance of the relationship between them and really hit us all right in the feels.

The Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD2ctfw1y2I

8. Election to Lord Commander (Season 5, Episode 2)

After the Battle of the Wall, Jon really proved his leadership qualities and made himself known to be the most fit candidate for Lord Commander. However, this was not a duty that he wanted. He did what he had to do and succeeded in that, but the role to be in charge of the Nights’ Watch was never part of his ambitions as he never craved power.

However, most of his brothers on the wall felt that there was never anyone more deserving of the role as Jon was the one who led them to victory. The eventual decision came down to a tie between Jon and Ser Alliser Thorne, but Maester Aemon cast down his own vote for Jon, making Jon the 998th Lord Commander of the Nights’ Watch to a rousing crowd of his supporters, as well as being the youngest ever to hold this title.

The Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SVR0leyOBY

9. Beheading Janos Slynt (Season 5, Episode 3)

If there was an award for the most miserable character in Game of Thrones, it would most likely go to the slimy weasel, Janos Slynt. He was a slimy traitor who had been appointed as the head of the city watch and was one of the people responsible for the death of Ned. For this, he gets sent to the wall where he is constantly at odds with Lord Commander Jon Snow and always refuses his orders and belittles him constantly.

After Jon tells him to go to a ruined Nights Watch castle, he refuses and openly mocks the Lord Commander. This leads to Jon executing Janos. This is a vital character moment for Jon as he has to show his strength, willingness and power as a Lord Commander and as a leader to his people. Janos even begs for his life, a plea which Jon ignores and beheads him.

This is especially important because this is when Stannis is stationed at Castle Black with his army, so Jon also has to prove his worth to Stannis, to make sure that he is fit to lead his men.

The Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCreYytA9f4

10. Kills a White Walker (Season 5, Episode 8)

This was the moment that Jon really cemented himself as being a next level warrior. This came in a part of the show that the White Walkers really started to become a serious threat that would destroy anything and everything, making all other petty squabbles useless as this was the only issue worth taking seriously. So, Jon made his way to Hardhome to recruit Wildlings.

Hardhome, however, ended up being attacked by the Others. In this time, Jon managed to fight a White Walker alone. He had several close calls as his Valyrian Steel met with the Walkers ice sword. Eventually though, Jon was able to outmatch his monstrous opponent and, in an awesome display of swordsmanship, he was able to destroy the Walker.

Not only did this scene cement Jon as an amazing warrior, but also showed Valyrian Steel to be one of the very few ways to counter and kill the Walkers.

The Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOsZLkyZAy0

11. Hardhome (Season 5, Episode 8)

The whole scene of Hardhome, despite Jon’s victory over a White Walker, is still chalked up as a massive loss for the heroes. Not only do they not take with them the massive armies of the Wildlings that they went there in the first place to recruit, they end up actually losing them to the White Walkers. The entire silent scene of the Night King raising the dead at the end still sends chills down everyone's spines.

What makes this scene especially incredible is that, at this point in the story, Jon is still (to the knowledge of the viewer) the second coming of Azor Ahai, the mythical hero destined to defeat the Night King. So, Jon and the Night King having that intense staredown at the end of the episode makes so much more sense now.

The Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpSu11n2OKw

12. Resurrection (Season 6, Episode 2)

To be fair, pretty much everyone saw this resurrection coming. However, the reason that it is at the very bottom of the list, despite it being really great in the show, was that it eventually still led to nothing. Season 8 really did suck, didn’t it? Anyway, this was a moment in the show that, while many did see it coming, was a great surprise.

Season 5 ended on an incredible cliffhanger, with Jon being betrayed and stabbed by his own brothers of the Nights’ Watch for taking in the Wildlings. This was a massive shock for viewers and cemented the Game of Thrones series as having crazy twists and turns and not being like your average fantasy story. Just when we thought things were going a little well for our heroes, something like this happens seemingly out of nowhere.

Jon’s resurrection in the closing moments of episode 2 of season 6 finally made us think that there is a bigger problem that will come eventually which is why Jon was brought back.

The Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJtryMJroNA

13. Resignation (Season 6, Episode 3)

After the brutal betrayal of Jon at the end of season 5, Jon eventually comes back to life. Upon coming back to life, he is faced with all those who betrayed him as the Lord Commander and there, he has to come to the brutal realization of what he must do. What stings for him the most is the fact that his steward Olly is one of the mutineers.

Jon accepts his role as the Lord Commander and kills those responsible for mutineering and hangs the guilty. This, however, is his final act as Lord Commander. Upon realizing that although he will always do the right thing and think of the greater good, there will always be those that will disagree with him wholeheartedly and will go to any lengths if what they believe is being challenged. He resigns from the Watch when he realizes that there is no winning for him.

The Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD030hb-96k

14. Battle of the Bastards (Season 6, Episode 9)

What do you get when you build up a hero from season 1 and put him against one of the most despicable villains in TV who you’ve also been building up for years at this point? You get one of the best battle scenes ever put to a screen. The entire fight is amazing and one of the most nerve wracking and tense moments ever, with you never really knowing which side is eventually going to come out on top.

The ending of the battle is seen by many as being a tad nonsensical and one that comes out of nowhere but I truly feel as if this doesn’t really take away from the overall battle itself. It's tense, chaotic, brutal, claustrophobic, and just a perfectly filmed, insane thrill ride from start to finish. It all ends in a super cathartic chase where Jon finally catches up to Ramsay and beats him bloody and retakes Winterfell for the Stark family.

The Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz4SBfBtXs0

15. The Last Targaryen (Season 6, Episode 10)

This one reveal is easily one of the greatest scenes in the history of television. This scene was the answer to one of the leading theories that not only fans of the show had, but one that even the readers of the books had been speculating at for years. It tied together everything about Jon and Ned and just so many other plot points.

It cemented Jon as the personification of the song of ice and fire, the one to bring peace to the world and defeat the White Walkers. He was the last Targaryen, born from the union of Rhaegar and Lyanna and was also the rightful king of all of Westeros, the one who would unite all the realms to defeat the Night King.

The whole lead up to the reveal was also incredible, with the music swelling slowly and Ned promising his sister Lyanna to protect her son, Aegon. The very fact that absolutely nothing came of this scene and Jon’s reveal in the grand scheme of things due to the terrible writing of seasons 7 and 8, it really takes nothing away from how incredible this scene is itself.

The Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdrqUyUT95I