More so than any other character in Game of Thrones, Jon Snow has the most impressive on-screen feats in the entire series. By the time Jon becomes King in the North at the end of Season 6, he’s been trained by Rodrik Cassel at Winterfell, Alliser Thorne at Castle Black, lived among the Wildlings for roughly a year, fought Wights, killed a White Walker, and survived two of the harshest battles in Westeros history. Jon Snow’s reputation isn’t just Game of Thrones trying to hype up its main character – every battle he participates in makes it clear why Jon is considered one of the greatest living swordsmen in history.
Jon Snow doesn’t start out great, though. He has an advantage over his fellow Brothers of the Night’s Watch by being castle trained, but it takes time for him to develop the impressive skills he shows off at Hardhome and in the Battle of the Bastards. Jon is constantly putting his life on the line and learning from his mistakes in battle, making him Game of Thrones’ greatest swordsman – but not all his fights are as amazing as his showing in the Battle of the Bastards.
7 Jon Snow vs Viserion is Jon's Last, and Most Disappointing, Fight in the Series
Season 8 is far and away Jon Snow's worst season in Game of Thrones. After spending Season 5 through 7 more or less functioning as the series' main character, Jon takes a backseat role to Daenerys, Tyrion, and Arya as he quietly skulks in the corner of scenes, either declaring he doesn't "want it" or saying nothing at all. In an attempt to subvert expectations, Jon never fights the Night King in Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 3, The Long Night.
Instead, Jon ends the episode desperately trying and failing to get past Viserion. Even though Jon Snow has a Valyrian Steel sword that can kill the undead Viserion in one-hit, he cannot cut the difference between them and only survives Viserion's flames because Rhaegal damaged the dragon's neck earlier in the episode. Ultimately, Jon accepts his death by screaming at Viserion before Arya kills the Night King just in time, saving her brother from an undignified death where he accomplished nothing.
6 Jon Snow vs Orell is More Emotional Than Exciting
One of Mance Rayder's Wargs, Orell is immediately suspicious of Jon Snow when he defects from the Night's Watch to join the Wildlings in Season 3 of Game of Thrones. Orell is mainly motivated by jealousy, as he's clearly in love with Ygritte, but he's also right about Jon Snow – the "former" Brother of the Watch is anything but, and is just biding his time before he can get to Castle Black.
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Jon Snow's battle with Orell is fairly short as Jon kills him relatively quickly, but it shows just what Wargs can do. As he dies, Orell wargs into his Eagle, who then attacks Jon. The real highlight of the battle is Summer and Shaggydog helping Jon fight off the Wildlings, and Jon's tearful confrontation with Ygritte as she pelts him with arrows as he tries to escape, not so much Jon's duel with Orell.
5 Jon Snow vs Karl Tanner Teaches Jon to Fight Dirty
Karl Tanner is a show-only character invented for Game of Thrones, who is loosely based on Dirk and Clubfoot Karl from the A Song of Ice and Fire books. Karl effectively functions as the leader of the mutineers in Seasons 3 and 4 of Game of Thrones. After killing Lord Commander Mormont and taking over Craster's Keep, Karl Tanner fashions a goblet out of Mormont's skull and enslaves Craster's wives. In a mission that's equal parts revenge and a means to make sure the Wildlings don't get information out of the defected Brothers, Jon leads a small group beyond the Wall to kill the mutineers.
Jon Snow's fight with Karl Tanner is fantastically choreographed, but really stands out for teaching Jon a valuable lesson: he needs to fight dirty. The Legend of Gin Alley comes extremely close to killing Jon when he spits in his eyes during their duel, temporarily blinding Jon. Jon Snow is only saved by one of Craster's wives coming in and killing Karl herself. After this fight, Jon starts fighting far more aggressively and treating his duels less like honorable sword fights with rules and more like the life or death battles they truly are.
4 Jon Snow vs Qhorin Halfhand Was Jon's First Life or Death Duel
Qhorin Halfhand is one of the most memorable characters in Game of Thrones, giving Jon Snow his mission to infiltrate the Wildlings and instilling him a deep pride and honor for the Night's Watch that Jon would carry until his death at the end of Season 5. After Jon Snow and Qhorin are captured by the Wildlings beyond the Wall, the Halfhand realizes that the only way to save the Night's Watch is to make the Wildlings believe that Jon is really defecting.
By goading Jon Snow into a life or death fight, Qhorin forces Jon to kill him. While the Halfhand does not want to kill Jon, Qhorin does not hold back by any means and pushes Jon to truly fight for his life. In the end, Jon kills Qhorin with Longclaw, earning his place among the Wildlings. In the books, Qhorin Halfhand is a much more defined and developed character, but his scenes in Game of Thrones Season 2 were replaced with new scenes to help flesh out Jon and Ygritte's relationship earlier than in the books.
3 Jon Snow vs Styr, the Magnar of Thenn is the Highlight of the Battle at Castle Black
Season 4, Episode 9, The Watchers on the Wall, is one of the best battle episodes in Game of Thrones. As the Wildlings break into Castle Black, Jon Snow and the rest of the Night's Watch are forced to fight them off on their own turf. The battle is chaotic as everyone is forced to fight through an onslaught of Wildlings. The highlight of the battle is Jon Snow's duel with Styr, the Magnar of Thenn.
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Their duel is frantic and brutal as Jon and Styr trade blows that nearly cost each other their lives. Styr comes very close to killing Jon when he smashes the bastard's face into an anvil, but Jon does what Karl Tanner did to him several episodes ago. By spitting his blood in Styr's eye, Jon distracts him long enough to smash a hammer into the Magnar of Thenn's head, killing him on the spot.
2 Jon Snow vs Ramsay Bolton is as Violent as it is Cathartic
Game of Thrones Season 6, Episode 9, The Battle of the Bastards, is widely considered to be the best battle, if not episode, in the series, and it's not hard to see why. After multiple seasons of depressing plot twists and the Starks going through pure hell, Jon Snow finally reclaims Winterfell in a wonderfully shot episode that fully illustrates just how violent and luck-based pitch battles are. Jon Snow cutting his way through Bolton soldiers is an amazing sight, but it's his one-sided beatdown of Ramsay Bolton that takes the cake.
Ramsay is Game of Thrones' most detestable villain, so to watch Jon Snow fight his way back into Winterfell and nearly beat Ramsay to death with his bare hands is nothing short of incredible. It's cathartic watching the heroes earn a genuine win after so long. The only reason Ramsay lives is because Jon decides to give Sansa final say on how Ramsay should die. In the end, Ramsay dies screaming as his hounds feed on his pathetic corpse.
1 Jon Snow vs The White Walker is the Greatest Sword Fight in Game of Thrones History
Season 5, Episode 8, Hardhome, was the episode that changed everything for Game of Thrones. In the books, Jon Snow merely reads about Hardhome in a letter – in the show, Jon Snow goes to Hardhome and sees firsthand what the White Walkers are capable of. In a matter of minutes, the Wildling settlement is overrun by Wights and the dead come to life in a truly terrifying display of power – the likes of which the Night King would never pull off successfully again.
Everything comes to a head when Jon Snow comes face to face with a White Walker. Utterly outmatched, Jon tries his hardest to survive, but is forced to trade blows with the Other. Much to his surprise, Jon Snow's Valyrian Steel sword Longclaw does not shatter in the duel. Instead, Jon Snow kills the White Walker with a single blow in a duel that's as fast as it is tense and memorable.
- Release Date
- 2011 - 2019-00-00
- Showrunner
- David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
- Directors
- David Nutter, Alan Taylor, D.B. Weiss, David Benioff
Cast
-
Kit HaringtonJon Snow -
Isaac Hempstead WrightBrandon Bran Stark
WHERE TO WATCH
- Writers
- D.B. Weiss, George R.R. Martin, David Benioff
- Franchise(s)
- Game of Thrones
- Creator(s)
- David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
