The Jon Snow Scene In Game Of Thrones That Went Too Far

Raised as Ned Stark's (Sean Bean) illegitimate son, Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) was always the underdog. His lack of official standing — as well as Catelyn Stark's (Michelle Fairley) treatment of him — led him to join the Night's Watch. And while that future appeared bleak, it seemed that Jon was always meant for something more. Commander Mormont (James Cosmo) made Jon his steward and was intent on mentoring the young man. Jon also went on to have a stint as the King In the North. Some even wondered if he was the contemporary form of the legendary figure Azor Ahai.

Jon certainly was not perfect, but he was raised with ideals and honor that he, at the very least, attempted to uphold. Even though he made mistakes, he always tried to do the right thing. That is what made it so tragic when Jon made, according to some fans, one of the worst decisions in the show's tenure.

Jon finally appeared to be nearing his destiny in Season 7. After becoming King In the North, he was ready to defend the realm against the Night King. But in "Game of Thrones," things are never as easy as they seem. The only way Jon could feasibly win was the use of Daenerys Targaryen's (Emilia Clarke) dragons. For this, Dany demanded one thing: fealty.

Giving up his title after everything the North had been through was controversial. Many fans discussed the moment he bent the knee to a foreign queen on popular Reddit threads. "Their King in The North has been away from Winterfell for weeks but now he will come back to just convince them all to obey a girl whose father was overthrown for having burnt their liege lord in the first place," stated u/dangsinhthanh. 

Some fans saw this as a bad political decision on Jon's part. "What Jon did is, in my mind, treasonous," wrote u/chitowngirl12. "The circumstances surrounding it are stupid. He didn't do it because she was threatening to burn down the North or because that was the only way to get her to commit to his cause." Clearly, there are those who think Jon's decision was based on emotion, rather than tactics. Either way, he clearly took things too far, as it caused him to lose the faith of his people. 

Though the living ultimately won the war against the dead in the "Game of Thrones" series finale, many see Jon's decision to bend the knee as a blunder.