After watching the series finale of Game of Thrones, I spent a great deal of time contemplating what Jon Snow’s ultimate fate was after he went Beyond the Wall with the remaining wildlings. Personally, I don’t think he stayed with the Night’s Watch or the Wall. There are too many painful memories for Jon at the Night’s Watch such as Jeor Mormont’s death, Benjen Stark’s death, Ygritte’s death, and Jon’s murder at the hands of his own men. Even though Jon Snow is a man of honor who tries to uphold his oaths whenever he can, he already broke his oath of fealty to Daenerys Targaryen so I think he would have a more flexible and open mind when it comes to oathbreaking.
Besides, with the White Walkers permanently defeated, the Wall breached, and the wildlings no longer seen as an enemy, the Night’s Watch will be rendered obsolete and will no longer exist for much longer. Their “oath” will now be viewed as loose guidelines.
Instead, he stayed with the wildlings to become the new King Beyond the Wall. After everything he did for them and after witnessing everything he did, the wildings won’t accept anyone else to be their king. There are less than three thousand surviving wildlings and due to my medieval research I know for a fact that great kingdoms have started with far less.
The wildlings revered Jon as their savior when he saved them from the White Walkers at Hardhome. They worshipped him as a god when he died and rose from the dead. They respected him as a warrior and leader after fighting alongside him in the Battle of the Bastards. Now they idolize him as a king when they saw him ride a dragon. Due to all these factors, Jon seen as a legendary figure to the wildlings for generations to come. They will sing songs and tell tales about him for a thousand years.
This would be similar to how legendary figures such as Bran the Builder, Lann the Clever, and Garth Greenhand were revered by the First Men during the Age of Heroes. Normally, wildlings only name leaders based on strength and character instead of by blood and inheritance. However, future generations of wildlings will name Jon Snow’s descendants Kings and Queens Beyond the Wall because of their ancestor’s legendary status. This is similar to how the First Men eventually swore fealty to House Stark over the centuries. Thus, Jon Snow would found the wildlings’ first dynasty of rulers.
With this in mind, the Targaryen Dynasty will survive as Kings Beyond the Wall instead of Kings of the Iron Throne. Jon’s descendants would have a mixture between Stark and Targaryen features. Some will have the Stark features of black hair, dark eyes, and long faces. Some will have the beauty of Old Valyria with silver-gold hair and violet eyes. Because of their superstitious nature, the wildlings could see Jon’s Targaryen-looking descendants as divine.
With Bran Stark ruling the south and Sansa Stark ruling the North, they may change some of the punishments so that exile beyond the Wall will become more common. Since the Wall is breached, it will no longer serve as a viable penal colony like it used to. So in the future convicts would be banished Beyond the Wall. If they do not like the elected monarchs of the south or the Stark monarchs of the North, there would be another monarchy and kingdom who would have them. As the all-seeing and all-knowing three-eyed raven, Bran would subtly help Jon Snow build his kingdom Beyond the Wall. He would know that since the day he was born Jon Snow was destined to lead and rule and therefore cannot escape his fate as a king. The Iron Throne may no longer exist, but Bran would know that there are still people who need Jon to lead and rule them.
Because of their interactions at Winterfell, the wildlings may undergo several societal changes. They claim that they need room to roam, but that might change after they experienced the comforts of living in a castle. Frankly, a castle would be warmer and safer than the cold wilderness. Like the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons, the first wildling castles may be wooden motte-and-bailey fortresses. They may rebuild Hardhome into a more fortified walled city with its own castle and make it the capital of their new kingdom. Thanks to the breach in the Wall, a new trade route can be established that would link the lands Beyond the Wall to the Seven Kingdoms. Due to this, the economy of Jon Snow’s new kingdom may revolve around trade instead gold. Tormmund Giantsbane showed an interest in the concept of knighthood when Brienne of Tarth was knighted so the wildlings may adopt knighthood into their new kingdom.
Finally, with the White Walkers permanently defeated, the surviving giants and Children of the Forest will come out of hiding. We do not know for sure if the White Walkers truly hunted them into extinction. If there are survivors and they come out of hiding, Jon Snow’s new kingdom Beyond the Wall may resemble what the North looked like before the Andal Invasion when giants and the Children of the Forest were everywhere.
Most fascinating of all would be the climate of the Kingdom Beyond the Wall. For over eight thousand years, the White Walkers threw the seasons out of balance. Seasons would last years instead of months. Now that the White Walkers are permanently defeated, the seasons will stabilize after the land Beyond the Wall experiences a spring that will last for a very long time in order to compensate for being frozen for millennia. This means more game to hunt and more fertile land for crops. Wildlings are not know for being farmers, but as trade grows through the breach in the Wall they may learn to develop their own agriculture.
Overall, I think Jon Snow, his bloodline, and the wildlings have a bright future ahead of them after so much hardship. Considering the circumstances, this would be the ending to Jon Snow’s story I would accept. The blood of the dragon will live on Beyond the Wall.
Grady P Brown - Author 