Jon Snow

"Bastards can rise high in the world, like your half-brother Jon Snow. Born the bastard of Winterfell, now the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. You didn't know? Yes, he's done very well for himself"

- Ramsay Bolton about Jon Snow

Jon Snow is the supposed bastard son of Lord Eddard Stark, making him the half brother of the King in the North Robb Stark. Jon is a member of the Night's Watch, a centuries old organization that gaurds the seven kingdoms of Westeros, from any threat that comes from outside the great wall protecting them. Jon is a central character of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels written by George RR Martin as well as the HBO series adapted from the books, Game of Thrones.

He is portrayed by Kit Harrington.

A Game of Thrones
In the first book in the A song of Ice and Fire series, Jon Snow appears at the execution of a Night's Watch deserter, introduced as the bastard son of Eddard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. When returning back to Winterfell with his father and brothers he has a riding race with his half brother Robb Stark. During the race they find a dead direwolf and her pups. Eddard is unwilling to allow the Stark children to adopt the five pups, but Jon points out that there are five, three males and two females, one for each of Eddard's legitimate children. Asked if he doesn't want a pup for himself, Jon simply responds that he is not a Stark. As the pair leave for Winterfell, Jon hears a strange sound in the woods and returns with an albino direwolf pup, which he names Ghost.

As the royal family visit Winterfell, Jon expresses his wish to join the Night's Watch himself, after his uncle, Benjen Stark, suggests that the Watch could use a man like him. This is due to the fact that the past social status is forgotten when a black brother swears his vow to the Watch and even a bastard can rise high. When Eddard is appointed Hand of the King and leaves Winterfell with his daughters, Sansa and Arya, Jon has no choice but to actually join the Night's Watch, as Eddard's wife, Lady Catelyn Tully, would not tolerate a bastard. He says his last goodbyes, first to a comatose Bran, then to Robb and half-sister Arya, giving her a Braavosi-type sword as present. Before heading for the Wall, Jon says goodbye to Eddard, who vows to tell Jon who his mother was next time they meet. On his way to Castle Black, Jon is accompanied by Tyrion Lannister, Queen Cersei Baratheon's brother, with whom he develops a friendship due to their similar status as nobleman outcasts. He also takes Ghost with him.

At first, Jon is reluctant to make friends between the black brothers due to realizing that the Night's Watch is no longer a brotherhood of noble warriors, but rather a fallen ancient order filled with rapists and murderers and due to his superior attitude towards the other recruits, which earns him the enmity of many black brothers and particularly of the Maester-at-arms, Ser Alliser Thorne. He is bullied by other recruits, such as Grenn and Pypar, for humiliating them.

Tyrion helps Jon see that he is no better than the recruits, but has enjoyed a better social status than them. Jon accepts Tyrion as a friend and asks him to find a way to help his newly crippled half-brother Bran before the dwarf leaves the Wall. Jon offers to train some of his new brothers and Pypar and Grenn accept. He also befriends the fat and bookish coward Samwell Tarly, the former heir to Horn Hill, when he arrives at Castle Black and convinces the other recruits to protect him from the cruelty of Thorne, who angrily tells Jon that going easy on Sam won't help him, and will risk getting him killed during the next winter.

After completing his training, Jon becomes a Sworn Brother of the Night's Watch, having sworn his vows before a heart three, due to his faith in the Old Gods of the Forest and his Stark heritage. He is assigned to the stewards rather than the rangers and is taken as personal squire of Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, who, sawing Snow's potential, offers to groom him for rule. Later, Ghost finds the corpses of two rangers assigned to Benjen, Othor and Ser Jafer Flowers.

Learning of Eddard's imprisonment, Thorne taunts Snow for being a traitor's bastard, to which an angered Jon throws a knife in attempt to attack him, but is stopped by his friends. Caught by Lord Commander Mormont, he is restricted to his quarters as the Old Bear laments putting to much trust in Jon. Later, Othor's corpse becomes a wight and attacks Mormont. Jon saves the Lord Commander's life by burning the wight, and his hand in proccess, and earns a pardon for his earlier misdemeanor. Mormont also gives Jon the Valyrian steel ancestrasword of House Mormont, Longclaw - given that his own son Jorah fled into exile and left it behind. Jon tries to refuse, but ends up taking Longclaw and lamenting himself about his desire to have the ancestral Valyrian steel sword of House Stark, Ice.

Jon flirts with the idea of abandoning the Watch to join Robb's army when it marches against the Lannisters, but Maester Aemon reveals his true identity as Prince Aemon Targaryen, a forgotten uncle of the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen, and tells him how he decided to upheld his vows for the Watch despite the ruin of House Targaryen at the end of Robert's Rebellion.

When news of Eddard's execution reaches Castle Black, Jon attempts to desert the Night's Watch in order to join Robb's army and seek vengeance for their father's death. However, Sam, Pyp and Grenn intercept and convince Jon to stay. Later, Jon is confronted by Lord Commander Mormont, who tells him that makes no matter who sits on the Iron Throne as long as the undead army of Others is marching beyond the Wall. Later, Jon is taken to the Great Ranging ordered by Mormont, who attempts to find more information about this new threat.

A Clash of Kings
Mormont leads a party of rangers beyond the Wall to investigate the disappearance of Jon's uncle, Benjen, with intent to learn more information about the King-beyond-the-Wall, Mance Rayder and the new threat posed by the Others.

Having earned the trust of Qhorin Halfhand, Jon is taken in Qhorin' scouting party. On the journey, he is caught in a fight between the scouting party and a group of wildings. Snow slews the wilding skinchanger Orell and attempts to kill a hooded warrior, until he discovers that the wilding is a girl named Ygritte and instead takes her captive. Jon is instructed to execute her, but he is reluctant to do it since she is a girl. Ygritte initially scolds him for not killing her. Upon learning his identity as Lord Eddard's bastard, she tells him the a story of how the Starks and the wildings are bound by blood: the then King-beyond-the-Wall Bael the Bard had slept with Lord Brandon Stark's daughter and their bastard became the new Lord Stark since Brandon didn't have any sons. Ygritte tries to seduce Jon into running away with her and join the Free Folk, but Snow lets her escape.

Later, Qhorin expresses his knowledge about Jon sparing Ygritte and Snow tells him that she said that Mance Rayder would accept him if he deserts. Qhorin instructs Jon to infiltrate the wildings and learn their plans if they are caught, then return to Castle Black. Jon and Qhorin are subsequently captured by the wildings. Though seen as a coward by the wildings for his yielding, Ygritte speaks for him, assuring they will spare his life. Jon pretends to disavow the Night's Watch, and the wildlings force him to fight Qhorin to death to earn their trust. With Qhorin's silent consent, Jon kills him with the aid of Ghost.

A Storm of Swords
Jon has gained the trust of the wildings by killing Qhorin and marches with their host. He meets with Mance Rayder, the King-beyond-the-Wall and is able to convince him that his desertion is sincere. Jon learns that Mance plans to invade the Seven Kingdoms and march south to escape the Others, crushing the Night's Watch in process if necessary. Jon fels in love with Ygritte and finds himself torn between her and his Night's Watch vows. However, after Ygritte convinces Mance that the two have a sexual relationship in order to save Jon, Snow eventually reluctantly has sex with Ygritte. Jon is assigned to Styr's mission to scale the Wall and attack Castle Black by unawares. After climbing the Wall, he escapes the wildings at Queenscrown - unaware that this is due to the efforts of his half-brother Bran, who is hiding in a castle nearby. While heading for Castle Black, however, he takes an arrow in his leg.

Jon reaches Castle Black barely conscious and informs Maester Aemon and Donal Noye about the upcoming attack. He is eventually informed, to his disbilief, that his half-brothers, Bran and Rickon, died at the hands of Theon Greyjoy after the Fall of Winterfell. After recuperating, Jon helps Donal Noye in defending Castle Black against Styr's raiders. All the raiders are killed, including Ygritte, who dies in a grief-stricken Jon's arms. After Noye's death, at the advice of Maester Aemon, Snow takes command of the Night's Watch defenses. Using his natural leadership abilities, Jon is able to held the Wall against Mance Rayder's host and leads the Night's Watch to victory in the battle. However, with the arrival of Thorne and Janos Slynt, Jon is arrested and led to the Ice Cells for desertion and killing Qhorin Halfhand, as Thorne and Slynt had that information from a captured Rattleshirt. However, after Maester Aemon vouches for him, Thorne and Slynt have no option but to free him, realizing his popularity at Castle Black. Thorne and Slynt instruct Snow to go beyond the Wall and negociate peace with Mance Rayder, but secretly appoints him to kill the King-beyond-the-Wall.

Jon submits. During the negociations, Mance infroms Snow that he has the Horn of Winter, which he claims will cause the Wall to collapse and reveals that the only reason the wildings attacked the Wall was to escape the others, not to conquer. Rayder offers Snow the Horn of the Winter if the Night's Watch exchange it for their pass through the Wall, but informs Jon that the wildings will never kneel to the lords and laws of the Realm. Their negociations are eventually interrupted by the arrival of "King" Stannis Baratheon and his army. The wildings are defeated after a short battle and the Free Folk leaders are imprisoned.

Taking shelter at Castle Black, Stannis offers to legitimize Jon, giving him a Stark name and appointing him Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North if he kneels to him. Jon is overwhelmed by feelings of guilt, as he always wanted to become Lord of Winterfell and was gealous of Robb for his trueborn status. Eventually realizing that the godswood will be burned due to Stannis' alliegeance to R'hllor, Jon turns down the offer, as Winterfell belongs to the Old Gods of the Forest. Nominated by Sam, Jon Snow is eventually elected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. His earliest act as Lord Commander serve to frustrate the plots of Melisandre by sending Mance's newborn son away and switching the child with Gilly's baby.

Separatly, Robb, in his capacity as King in the North, issues a decree, legitimizing Jon, demanding the Night's Watch to release him, and names him his heir-by-will, in belief that Bran, Rickon and Arya are all dead and not wanting Winterfell and the North to fall into the hands of House Lannister after Tyrion's forced marriage to Sansa Stark. Robb's decree is issued and signed by all the Northern lords, however, the Red Wedding takes place shortly after and Jon remains unaware of it.

A Feast for Crows
Jon sends Sam away from Castle Black, with Maester Aemon, Gilly and Mance' son, giving Sam a particular mission to go to the Citadel in Oldtown and study to became a maester. Outraged by the election of a surviving son of Ned Stark as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Queen Regent Cersei Lannister plots to have Snow killed, but is imprisoned before this plans can come into fruition.

A Dance with Dragons
Jon slowly grows into his position as leader. He successfully negociates the peaceful surrender of the remainings of Mance Rayder's armies and allows the wildings to settle down in the small populated regions of the North and to join the Night's Watch. He finds himself in the hard mission to mentain the Watch's political neutrality due to Stannis' war for the Iron Throne while having to deal with the general adversity of the black brothers towards the idea of allowing their ancient enemies through the Wall and the upcoming threat of the Others. The situation evolving darkly when learning that his half-sister Arya is married to Ramsay Bolton, unaware that the bride is actually Jeyne Poole pretending to be Arya Stark, who is training to be No One in Braavos.

When Jon orders Slynt to garrison one of the abandoned castles along the Wall, Janos refuses. Jon publicly points out that the punishment for refusing a direct command is death, yet gives Janos three chances to follow orders (it was more chances than Janos gave his father when he betrayed Ned two years prior). After Slynt refuses once more, refusing the idea that Jon can command him or the Night's Watch, Jon orders him to be executed for his insubordination. However, he then recalls the laws of the First Men and beheads Slynt himself, using Longclaw to carry out the sentence and exacting small justice for Ned. This increases Stannis' respect for Jon and cements his new position.

Jon is able to strike a frail alliance between the Night's Watch and the wildings by treating with Tormund. He settles the wildlings on the Gift and gives the warriors the opportunity to guard the Wall by garrisoning unoccupied castles against the Others. As the wildings are moved into the gift, Mance Rayder is given to the flames by Melisandre. However, later Melisandre reveals that Mance is still alive, disguised as Rattleshirt, who was burned at the stake in Rayder's place. Jon instructs Mance to rescue "Arya" from the Boltons.

Melisandre later tells Jon a vision of a girl in a dying horse making her way to Castle Black, convinced that she must be Arya escaping from the Boltons, and another vision of him surrounded by the daggers in the night, but he pais no mind to the latter warning.

Personality
Due to being raised by Ned Stark in Winterfell, Jon Snow has a strong sense of honor and duty, and he is also mature and perceptive beyond his age. However, despite being more mature than any Stark children, he also posses a childish arrogance, due to being a more skilled swordsman than his other Sworn Brothers of the Night's Watch, making him acting "like a lording" sometimes. This attitude attracted him the nickname "Lord Snow". In time, he grows less arrogant and more open towards people, showing a compassionate side for fellow outcasts, such as Samwell Tarly, Grenn or Pyp.

His bastard status somehow made Jon more of a loner, solemn and somber, with a great desire to push himself beyond his baseborn condition. Jon thought that the best way for a bastard in his position to gain honor and respect was to join the Night's Watch, emulating his uncle Benjen, because past social status is ignored after joining the Watch. His sense of duty is shown as strong when Jon grews remorseful of breaking his celibacy vows with Ygritte, as seen in Jon's thoughts in the novels.

Jon is also fairly shy around women, as shown during his first encounter of Ygritte, and as revealed to Sam, he was a virgin at the time he joined the Night's Watch. Snow did not try to have sex with women of wary that he could father a bastard child: having lived his life as a bastard, he felt that it wasn't a life another child should have to go through. However, it is revealed that, for love, Jon could even break his vows of celibacy, as he did with Ygritte, but after she dies, her memory will stop Jon from sexual encounters with other women, as shown when he turned down Melissandre. Love, however, will not stop Jon from doing his duty, as he leaves Ygritte to return to Castle Black and warn his sworn brothers of Mance Rayder's planned invasion of the Seven Kingdoms.

Having a preconceived idea about the wildings in the past, Jon grews more fond of the wildings after his time among them, to the point that in both novels and series, he makes peace with the Free Folk after the Battle of Castle Black. In the novels, Jon allows the wildings to join the Night's Watch or take shelter at Castle Black, while in the TV series, he fights among them against the White Walkers at Hardhome.

Powers

 * Skinchanging: The ability to inhabit the body of an animal and control its actions by opening the "third eye". Much like his half-brother, Bran, Jon Snow is a strong skinchanger, but un like Bran, he is untrained and unaware of his true potential. Jon's ability manifested itself few times, most notably during his ranging with Qhorin, when he slips into his direwolf, Ghost, and spies on a wildling horde nearby and wakes up screaming when Ghost is attacked by an eagle. Jon acknowledges his skinchanging abilities during his time with the wildlings, but remains ignorant and refuses Melisandre when she offers her assistance.

Abilities

 * Skilled swordsman: Jon is a skilled swordsman, having been trained by Ser Rodrik Cassle, Winterfell's Maester-at-arms, and was able to excel in sword fight. His skills are seen in both novels and TV series alike. Jon is able to whitsand Qhorin, one of the best swordsmen of the Watch, and ultimately defeat him. During the Battle of Castle Black, Jon also shows his great skills, able to overpower and kill many Thenns. In the TV series, during the Massacre at Hardhome, Jon, using his Valyrian steel sword, Longclaw, is able to stand up against a White Walker and ultimately kill him.
 * Expert Hand-To-Hand Combatant: In the TV series, Jon is highly skilled in unarmed combat. This is shown during the Battle of Castle Black, as he is able to kill Styr despite being overpowered by him, using his fists.
 * Archery skills: Jon has middling archery skills, shown mainly during the wildling attack of Castle Black, when he loose arrows to their army. In TV series, when Mance Rayder is sentenced to death by burning alive, Jon shoots him with an arrow, killing Mance before the flames can consume him.

Trivia

 * While in the TV series, Jon died in the finale of Season 5 and was ressurected by Melisandre in the second episode of Season 6, his fate is uncertain in the novels, as George R.R. Martin has neither confirmed nor infirmed Snow's presence in the upcoming novel, The Winds of Winter.
 * Jon Snow is the first main charecter in Game of Thrones to be ressurected (not as a Wright).
 * In Game of Thrones, Jon Snow is the second charachter to kill a White Walker, after Samwell Tarly.
 * Jon's plot before his stabbing varies depending on version. While in the novels, Snow receives a letter from Ramsay Bolton threatening him to storm Castle Black and enlists the help of the wildings in going to Winterfell to kill Ramsay himself, in the TV series, Jon dies after he rescues the wildings from Hardhome and grants them safe passage into the Seven Kingdoms.
 * However, in Game of Thrones, Jon receives the letter from Ramsay after his resurrection and after reuniting with his half-sister Sansa, Ramsay's TV show bride. Just like in the books, Jon decides to fight back against the Boltons.
 * While in the novels, Jon possess a strong supernatural power of skinchaging, in the TV series, this abilities are rarely if ever mentioned. In the books, Snow is able to inhabit his direwolf, Ghost, and has wolf dreams, but he is untrained and unaware of his true potential. He is one of the three wargs in the novels, among his half-siblings Bran and Arya Stark, while in the TV show, only Bran's warging abilities are shown.