Curtain Call: Kit Harington

It’s been a long four years since A Dance With Dragons arrived in bookstores and we learned the grisly fate of Jon Snow. For many A Song of Ice and Fire fans, those years have been filled with theorizing and denial. After all, this was high fantasy, and one thing we know about high fantasy is that the one true hero never dies.

Many fans maintained this belief even after reading about, and then seeing onscreen, Ned Stark’s head getting chopped off, even after reading and watching the slaughterhouse of the Red Wedding. Somehow, our minds keep reverting back—Ned was never the One True Hero. Robb was never going to ride a dragon or wield a flaming sword. Jon Snow, though…Jon Snow was it—the Bastard of Winterfell,” our secret Targaryen, the guy who put the ‘J’ in R+L=J. When you have secret parentage, and your destiny is glimpsed in the flames by a Red Priestess who doesn’t understand what she sees but in nevertheless drawn to you, you know you’re important. It didn’t seem to matter how many times the actors, the writers, and the showrunners repeated the mantra, “No one is safe.” When they said that, we took it the same way Cersei took it when the High Sparrow told her that all sinners were equal before the gods. “All are equal, except for myself and Tommen,” thought Cersei. “No one is safe, except for Dany and Jon Snow,” thought the recappers.

Oh, I’m sorry, did you think this was Dragonriders of Pern? Did you mistake this for a Weiss and Hickman joint? Did you expect Robert Jordan? This is George R.R. Martin, kids, and every time you ask when that next books is coming out, he kills another Stark. Even if this particular Stark refused the name, due to reasons of “honor.” Especially if that Stark did something silly and noble, due to reasons of honor. Please be advised—Jon Snow is dead, and this is the Curtain Call for Christopher “Kit” Harington.

Kit Harington is one of those actors who is known, in industry parlance, as “one lucky bastard.” He graduated from drama school in 2008. Within a year, he was cast as “Jon Snow” in a test pilot for a BBC/HBO co-production under the working title of Game of Thrones. Said show, as you might be aware, went on to become a monster hit, and as the rest of the Stark family was whittled away down south in the War of Five Kings, his star rose.

Harington’s portrayal of Snow has been one of the anchors of the production since the very first season. Starting off as a young, impulsive boy who wanted to be a ranger of the Night’s Watch, Harington’s impatience and short-sighted response to being named the Lord Commander’s personal steward was a reminder of both his faults and his potential as a leader. But impulsiveness and immaturity will only get you so far in the eyes of viewers.

Harington got a chance to expand his character in Season 3, when his romance with the wildling Ygritte (Rose Leslie) became the focal point of Jon Snow’s journey. In a series where there are few couples to cheer for, Jon and Ygritte’s star-crossed relationship was sweet and poignant, in no small part because it was doomed. Their moment on top of the Wall at the end of Season 3’s “The Climb” remains the most romantic moment the show has managed. It helps, of course, that Harington is extremely handsome, not in the British Triple T sense (Tall, Thin and Tortured. See also: Sherlock), but in the Triple D sense (Dark, Daring and slightly Dangerous. See also: Poldark.)

Harington may have won the hearts of viewers (and probably broke a few when Ygritte died in Jon Snow’s arms), but the faults that made Snow an impulsive young man were still there. Not even being elected the 998th Commander of the Night’s Watch toward the beginning of Season 5 could smooth them out. Throughout the season, Harington used his newfound authority to walk a path only he could see, and one he was unable to explain to others. His choice to bring the wildlings back to Castle Black was the right one, and while some Night’s Watchmen may have agreed with him, as long as Harington played the character as a terrible communicator, Jon’s fate was always sealed.

Impulsive to the end, Jon Snow ran headlong into a trap when told there was news of his Uncle Benjen, despite logic dictating that such a thing was impossible. His mouth may have never formed the words “Et tu Olly?” but his eyes spoke volumes. One irony of his death is that Jon Snow kicked off Season 5 by mercy-killing a character played by Ciarán Hinds, who once played Julius Ceasar on Rome, another expensive HBO production. Ceasar was famously assassinated by his own lieutenants much in way Jon was in the fifth season finale. In both cases, their fates were sealed years before filming began.

Since being cast on Game of Thrones, Harington has attempted to parlay his heartthrob status into movie roles, with mixed success. His first starring role was in the disaster flick Pompeii, which was also a disaster at the box office. More recently, he appeared in Testament of Youth as one of the beautiful yet doomed boys who volunteered to be a solider during World War I. That movie found more success.

Harington recently headlined the spy thriller Spooks: The Greater Good, and it can be assumed that he’ll continue to get work. However, he may have a deal of work ahead of him if he wants to avoid typecasting. Fellow Game of Thrones cast member Charles Dance spent decades trying to shake his Triple T reputation after he catapulted to fame in The Jewel in the Crown, and it may take a long and illustrious career for Harington to shake his Triple D reputation as the brooding Jon Snow. Until then, let us hope that another champion will rise, and perhaps survive long enough to lift a Valyrian steel sword and fight the battle against the hordes of Others when the Long Night finally comes.

For an alternate take on Jon Snow’s apparent death, check out David Harris’ theories on why Jon Snow will be back.

• Published on 06/22/2015 at 4:00 PM CDT
• Last updated on 06/23/2015 at 1:22 PM CDT