Throughout the eight seasons of Game of Thrones, we’ve often seen how history moves in spirals, with the fates of characters intertwining in such a way that the past inevitably echoes in the future. But who could have imagined that the tragic conclusion of the show — the killing of Daenerys Targaryen by Jon Snow — was foretold from the very beginning?
A dialogue between Ned Stark and Jaime Lannister in episode 3 of season 1 now takes on an entirely different meaning. Back then, in King’s Landing, Jaime — self-assured and provocative — says to Ned Stark a line whose significance would only be revealed years later:
“Tell me, if I stabbed the Mad King is the belly instead of the back, would you admire me more?”
Ned, who despises Jaime for his actions, doesn’t answer. To him, Lannister is not a knight, but a traitor, a murderer, unworthy of honor. But eight years later, his adopted son, Jon Snow, will do exactly the same thing Jaime did — kill the ruler he was sworn to protect. Only Jon doesn’t strike Daenerys in the back — his blade finds her heart.
The irony of fate: the man raised by Ned Stark, the one who most desperately tried to live by his principles, finds himself in the same role as Jaime Lannister. And if back then, Ned didn’t even give Jaime a chance to justify himself, what would he have said to Jon?
Unlike Jaime, Jon truly loved his queen. But love didn’t stop him from making the choice he believed to be the only right one. Like Jaime, he killed the one he had sworn to serve, in order to save Westeros. But did he do it for justice? Or because he saw no other way?
