‘Game of Thrones’ 101: The Story of Jon Snow, from Timid Bastard to Resurrected Leader (Photos)

Jon Snow is back. But as we learned from Beric Dondarrion way back in season 2, resurrection does have its cost. Death may have changed Jon Snow, so let’s look back on the man he was so we can more easily compare that to the man he is.

Jon Snow carries the Snow surname because he’s a bastard of the North. Ned Stark claimed Jon when he was a baby, bringing him back from Robert’s Rebellion and raising him alongside his legitimate sons and daughters. Neither Jon nor the rest of the family — aside from Ned — knows who his mother is

When the Starks discover a little of direwolve pups whose mother has been killed, each of the Stark children — including Jon Snow — adopts one. Jon names his Ghost, because it’s an albino.

When Ned Stark travels south with King Robert to take on the role of Hand of the King in season 1, Jon makes the decision to carve out his own place in the world. He travels north, to the Wall, to become a member of the Night’s Watch like his uncle Benjen. But Benjen disappears beyond the Wall quickly after Jon arrives, and he is on his own.

When Ned Stark travels south with King Robert to take on the role of Hand of the King in season 1, Jon makes the decision to carve out his own place in the world. He travels north, to the Wall, to become a member of the Night’s Watch like his uncle Benjen. But Benjen disappears beyond the Wall quickly after Jon arrives, and he is on his own.

In training as a new Black Brother, Jon kicks everybody else’s ass because he had received the same training as the other Stark children in Winterfell. He becomes BFFs with Sam, the really nice fat guy who can’t fight at all.

Jon hoped to become a Ranger like his uncle, but is instead named a steward — the housekeepers of the Night’s Watch. But it turns out that Lord Commander Mormont had a hand in this, and made Jon his personal steward, apparently to groom him to become Lord Commander someday. Upon saving Mormont from an undead wight, Mormont gives Jon a Valyrian steel sword called Longclaw.

When news of Ned Stark’s death reaches Castle Black, Jon Snow tries to abandon his post to fight the Lannisters with his brother Robb. His pals Sam, Pypar and Green catches up to him and convinces him to come back and fight the good fight in the Far North.

Mormont calls for a Great Ranging beyond the Wall to find Benjen and figure out what the deal was with that wight. Jon goes with, and he visits Craster’s Keep for the first time. Craster is an old man with a horde of daughter-wives, and Jon discovers than anytime they bear a son it’s sacrificed to the White Walkers for some unknown purpose.

Jon travels with Qhorin Half-Hand’s group from there. They ambush a group of wildlings and defeat them, but Jon is unable to make himself kill the last one, a young woman. She gets the better of him and Jon gets separated from the group chasing her down. He eventually does capture her, and they attempt to catch up to Quorin’s group. The young woman is, of course, Ygritte.

Ygritte maneuvers Jon into a wildling ambush. He’s taken captive, and discovers that Quorin is also a prisoner after the rest of his men were killed by Wildlings. Quorin convinces Jon to kill him so as to infiltrate the wildlings — Quorin is a legendary nemesis for them. Jon does so and is brought before Mance Rayder, the King Beyond The Wall.

Jon tells Mance he wants out of the Brotherhood because he was disgusted that Mormont allowed Craster to sacrifice his baby sons to the White Walkers, a threat Jon knows is greater than that of the wildlings. Jon says he wants “to fight for the side who fights for the living.” Mance accepts this.

Jon marches with the army of Free Folk south. He and a group of wildlings, including Ygritte and Tormund Giantsbane, are tasked with climbing the Wall and making a light distracting attack on Castle Black from the south while the army approaches directly from the north. Jon exaggerates how many men remain at Castle Black but is otherwise truthful in what he tells them about the Watch. 

Before they set out, Jon and Ygritte have sex, and Jon is totally in love with her. They climb the Wall, and the two almost fall but Jon saves them even while one of the wildlings attempts to cut the rope holding them up so they don’t drag everyone else down. Jon and Ygritte’s bond tightens.

The wildling group raids a homestead for supplies, and Tormund decides the old man who lives there needs to be killed so he won’t alert Castle Black. He orders Jon to do the honors, as a test of loyalty, but Jon won’t. The wildlings turn on him, and he runs away.

Ygritte catches up to him and is ready to kill him, but Jon again confesses his love for her. But her heart is hardened, and she shoots him three times as he rides away. Jon barely survives as his horse carries him to Castle Black.

Jon rests up and his wounds heal, and he’s questioned by the remaining Night’s Watch leadership about everything he got into beyond the Wall. acting-Lord Commander Thorne wants Jon’s head, but thanks to maester Aemon cooler heads prevail. 

Jon meets Olly, an orphan boy who takes the Black because wildlings south of the Wall murdered everyone else in his village. Jon and Thorne have a rare moment of unity when they agree that such attacks are meant to draw the Brothers out of Castle Black to make it easier for the wildling army to capture it from the north.

Grenn and Edd return from beyond the Wall, alone, and report that many rangers mutinied against Lord Commander Mormont at Craster’s Keep and that Mormont himself was killed. Jon takes a group of volunteers north to “take care of” them so the wildlings won’t find out about the mutiny and know Castle Black is weaker than previously thought. Thorne tasks a Brother named Locke with “taking care of” Jon while they’re up there. They successfully defeat the mutineers, and Locke is killed by a Bran-possessed Hodor before getting the chance to murder Jon. When they return to Castle Black, Jon suggests they seal the tunnel beneath the wall, but Thorne is too pissed at him to take any of his advice.

The wildling army approaches from the north, while wildling raiders attack Castle Black form the south. A huge battle ensues, and young Olly kills Ygritte as she hesitates to fire on Jon. The Night’s Watch successfully defends Castle Black but it seems to only be a temporary victory with the army still coming.

Jon goes beyond the Wall to negotiate with Mance Rayder. Stannis Baratheon’s army, which moved beyond the Wall through a tunnel at one of the other castles, ambushes the wildling army. Mance, knowing they’re outmatched, orders the wildlings to surrender, and the threat is ended. Mance refuses to bow to Stannis, so Stannis has him burned alive. Jon fires an arrow into his heart to prevent a protracted and painful death — earning him the respect of the remaining wildling leadership and the ire of his Black Brothers.

The Red Woman, Melisandre, attempts to seduce Jon to take advantage of his king’s blood, but Jon refuses. Stannis also tries to convince Jon to join his forces, with the promise that he’ll be legitimized as a Stark and be given the title Warden of the North as Ned was for Robert. Jon also refuses this. 

Jon is elected the new Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch after Sam puts his name forth. Jon wins by a single vote. Thorne is not happy, and there is much dissent in the ranks. Jon orders Janos Slynt to take some men to the castle called Greyguard to perform repairs, but Slynt refuses as he sees this task as a slight. Jon executes Slynt for refusing the order.

Jon decides to allow the wildlings to settle south of the Wall, to prevent them from being added to the White Walkers’ army of undead. This further alienates him from the dissident Black Brothers. Jon travels north to Hardhome to help evacuate Free Folk from that village. White Walkers attack while he’s there, and Jon discovers that his sword Longclaw can kill them — because Valyrian steel contains obsidian, aka “dragonglass.” Jon barely escapes, and many wildling villagers are converted to undead soldiers.

After those wildlings who evacuated are marched through Castle Black, the dissident Brothers have had enough. Olly tells Jon that his uncle Benjen has miraculously returned, but it’s just a ruse — the dissidents take turns stabbing Jon.

Jon Snow lies dead. For a time, at least. Melisandre uses a Lord of Light resurrection ritual to bring Jon back. How his death has changed him remains to be seen.

After returning to the land of the living, Jon hangs the Night’s Watch traitors who killed him, including Alister Thorne and young Olly. As they die, Jon storms off, announcing that his time with the Night’s Watch is done, his vows fulfilled now that he’s died.

His half-sister Sansa comes to Castle Black with Brienne of Tarth, and they, along with Davos Seaworth and Melisandre, hatch a plan to retake Winterfell from the Boltons. Their wildling army is outmanned, and so they attempt to call the Stark banners, with little success. 

Sansa and Jon bring what forces they do have south toward Winterfell for the showdown known as the Battle of the Bastards, as Jon leads his forces against fellow bastard Ramsay Bolton’s armies.

Thanks to the timely intervention of the Knights of the Vale, Jon’s side wins the battle and Ramsay is killed by his own dogs. During an assembly of Northern Houses after the battle, Jon is declared King in the North