Jon SnowYou all crowned me your King. I never wanted it. I never asked for it. But I accepted it because the North is my home! It's part of me, and I will never stop fighting for it, no matter the odds! But the odds are against us. None of you have seen the Army of the Dead. None of you. We can never hope to defeat them alone. We need allies. Powerful allies. I know it's a risk, but I know I have to take it.
Then send an emmissary! Don't go yourself!
Jon Snow
Daenerys is a Queen. Only a King can convince her to help us. It has to be me.
You're abandoning your people! You're abandoning your home.
Jon Snow
I'm leaving both in good hands.
Jon Snow
Yours. You're my sister, you're the only Stark in Winterfell. Until I return, the North is yours.
And Sansa? I hear she's alive and well.
Jon Snow
She is.
Does she miss me, terribly? [Jon scowls at him] A sham marriage... and unconsummated.
Jon Snow
I didn't ask.
Well, it was. Wasn't. Anyway, she's much smarter than she lets on.
Jon Snow
She's starting to let on.
Good. At some point, I want to hear how a Night's Watch recruit became King in the North.
Jon Snow
As long as you tell me how a Lannister became Hand to Daenerys Targaryen.
A long and bloody tale. To be honest, I was drunk for most of it.
Jon Snow
My bannermen think I'm a fool for coming here.
Of course they do. If I was your Hand, I would've advised against it. General rule of thumb: Stark men don't fare well when they travel South.
Jon Snow
True... but I'm not a Stark.
[Suddenly Drogon swoops right over their heads, roaring; Jon, Davos and the Northmen drop to the ground, staring up at him]
[helps Jon back to his feet] I'd say you get used to them... but, you never really do. Come. Their mother is waiting for you.
[Jon and Daenerys explore a cave beneath Dragonstone. By torchlight, he shows her a series of cave paintings]
Jon Snow
The Children of the Forest made these.
Jon Snow
A very long time ago.
They were right here, standing right where we're standing, before there were Targaryens or Starks or Lannisters. Maybe even before there were men.
Jon Snow
No. They were here together. The Children and the First Men.
Doing what? Fighting each other?
Jon Snow
[shows her a cave painting depicting humans and White Walkers] They fought together, against their common enemy, despite their differences, despite their suspicions...together. We need to do the same if we're going to survive, 'cause the enemy is real. It's always been real.
And you say you can't defeat them without my armies and my dragons?
Jon Snow
No, I don't think I can.
I will fight for you. I will fight for the North...when you bend the knee.
Jon Snow
My people won't accept a southern ruler, not after everything they've suffered.
They will if their King does. They chose you to lead them, they chose you to protect them. Isn't their survival more important than your pride?
[Daenerys has learned of the fall of Highgarden and the death of Olenna Tyrell from Tyrion and Varys]
You'll want to discuss this amongst yourselves. Perhaps...
You will stay! All my allies are gone. They've been taken from me while I've been sitting here on this island.
You still have the largest army.
Who won't be able to eat because Cersei has taken all the food from the Reach!
Call Grey Worm and the Unsullied back. We still have enough ships to ferry the Dothraki to the mainland. Commit to the blockade of King's Landing. We still have a plan, it's the right plan.
The right plan? Your strategy has lost us Dorne, the Iron Islands and the Reach!
If I have underestimated our enemies...
Our enemies? Your family, you mean. Perhaps you don't want to hurt them after all. [Daenerys sees her dragons flying over the sea] Enough with the clever plans. I have three large dragons. I am going to fly them to the Red Keep.
My enemies are in the Red Keep! What kind of queen am I if I'm not willing to risk my life to fight them?
[Daenerys turns to Jon]
What do you think I should do?
Jon Snow
I would never presume to...
I'm at war. I'm losing. What do you think I should do?
Jon Snow
I never thought that dragons would exist again. No one did. The people who follow you know that you made something impossible happen. Maybe that helps them believe that you can make other impossible things happen. Build a different world from the shit one they've always known. But if you use them to melt castles and burn cities, you're not different...you're just more of the same.
What do you think of her?
Jon Snow
Who?
I believe you know of whom I speak.
Jon Snow
I think she has a good heart.
A good heart? [teasing] I've noticed you staring at her good heart.
Jon Snow
There's no time for that. I saw the Night King, Davos; I stared into his eyes. How many men do we have in the North to fight him? Ten thousand? Less?
Jon
What?
Speaking of good hearts, Missandei of Naath! [Missandei turns to greet them]
King Snow, isn't it? No, that doesn't sound right; King Jon?
Jon Snow
It doesn't matter.
Forgive me, but may I ask a question?
Jon Snow
Of course.
Your name is Jon Snow, but your father's name was Ned Stark?
Jon Snow
I'm a bastard. My mother and father weren't married.
Is the custom different in Naath?
We don't have marriage in Naath, so the concept of a bastard doesn't exist.
That sounds...liberating.
Jon Snow
Why did you leave your homeland?
I was stolen away by slavers.
Jon Snow
I'm sorry.
If I may, how did a slave girl come to advise Daenerys Targaryen?
She bought me from my master and set me free.
That was good of her. Of course, you're serving her now, aren't you?
I serve my Queen because I want to serve my Queen, because I believe in her.
Jon Snow
So if you wanted to sail home to Naath tomorrow?
Then she would give me a ship and wish me good fortune.
Jon Snow
And you believe that?
I know it. All of us who came with her from Essos, we believe in her. She's not our Queen because she's the daughter of some King we never knew: she's the Queen we chose.
[to Jon] Will you forgive me if I switch sides?
Jon Snow
I thought Arya was dead. I thought Bran was dead.
I'm happy for you. You don't look happy.
Jon Snow
Bran saw the Night King and his army marching towards Eastwatch. If they make it past the Wall...
The Wall has kept them out for thousands of years, presumably.
Jon Snow
I need to go home.
You said you don't have enough men.
Jon Snow
We'll fight with the men we have, unless you'll join us.
And give the country to Cersei? As soon as I march away, she marches in.
Perhaps not. Cersei thinks the army of the dead is nothing but a story, made up by wet nurses to frighten children. What if we prove her wrong?
Jon Snow
I don't think she'll come see the dead at my invitation!
So bring the dead to her.
I thought that was what we were trying to avoid.
We don't have to bring the whole army; only one soldier.
Jon Snow
The first wight I ever saw was brought back into Castle Black from beyond the Wall.
Bring one of these things down to King's Landing and show her the truth.
Anything you bring back will be useless unless Cersei grants us an audience and is somehow convinced not to murder us the moment we set foot in the capital!
The only person she listens to is Jaime. He might listen to me.
And how would you get into King's Landing? [everyone looks at Davos]
I can smuggle you in, but if the Gold Cloaks were to recognise you, I'm warning you, I'm not a fighter.
Well, it'll all be for nothing if we don't have one of these dead men.
Fair point. How do you propose to find one?
With the Queen's permission, I'll go north and take one. [Daenerys looks round at him] You asked me to find a cure so I could serve you. Allow me to serve you.
Jon Snow
The Free Folk'll help us. They know the real north better than anyone.
They won't follow Ser Jorah.
Jon Snow
They won't have to.
You can't lead a raid beyond the Wall! You're not in the Night's Watch anymore; you're King in the North!
Jon Snow
I'm the only one here who's fought them. I'm the only one here who knows them.
I haven't given you permission to leave.
Jon Snow
With respect, Your Grace, I don't need your permission: I am a King! Now I came here, knowing that you could have your men behead me or your dragons burn me alive. I put my trust in you, a stranger, because I knew it was the best chance for my people—for all our people. Now I'm asking you to trust in a stranger, because it's our best chance.
Jon Snow
You all right?
Beautiful, eh? I can breathe again. Down south, the air smells like pig shit.
Jon Snow
You've never been down south.
Jon Snow
That's the North.
[Tormund scoffs]
How d'you live up here? How d'you keep your balls from freezing off?
Got to keep moving, that's the secret. Walking's good, fighting's better, fucking's best.
Jon Snow
There's not a living woman within a hundred miles of here.
[smirks] We have to make do with what we've got. [Gendry walks away] This one's maybe not so smart.
Jon Snow
Davos says he's a strong fighter.
Good. That's more important than being smart. Smart people don't come up here, looking for the dead. So, you met this Dragon Queen, huh? And?
Jon Snow
And she'll only fight beside us if I bend the knee.
You spent too much time with the Free Folk; now, you don't like kneeling. Mance Rayder was a great man, a proud man. The King-Beyond-the-Wall, who never bent the knee. How many of his people died for his pride?
[Thoros of Myr has frozen to death overnight]
[Thoros doesn't respond, and Beric sadly places a cloak over Thoros's face]
They say it's one of the better ways to go.
[Takes Thoros's flask and drinks]
Lord of Light, show us the Way. Come to us in our darkness, and lead your servant into the light.
Jon Snow
We have to burn his body.
[Grabs the flask from Sandor and pours the liquor over the body]
We'll all be close behind him, unless the Lord of Light is kind enough to send us a bit of fire.
[Beric ignites his sword, then burns Thoros's body]
Lord of Light, come to us in our darkness. For the night is dark, and full of terrors.
[to Jon] We'll all freeze, soon. When you killed the White Walker... almost all the dead that followed it fell. Why?
Jon Snow
Maybe he was the one who turned them.
We can go for the Walkers; maybe we'll stand a chance.
Jon Snow
No. [Indicating their captured wight] We need to take that thing back with us. There's a raven flying for Dragonstone now. Daenerys is our only chance.
No. There's another. [points his sword at the Night King] Kill him. He turned them all.
Jon Snow
You don't understand.
The Lord brought you back, and he brought me back. No one else, just us. Did he do it to watch us freeze to death?
Careful, Beric. You lost your priest. This is your last life.
I've been waiting for the end for a long time. Maybe the Lord brought me here to find it.
Every lord I've ever met's been a cunt. Don't see why the Lord of Light should be any different.
[Jon faces Daenerys for the first time since the loss of her dragon Viserion.]
Jon Snow
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I wish I could take it back. I wish we'd never gone.
I don't. If we hadn't gone, I wouldn't have seen. You have to see it to know. Now I know. [tearful] The dragons are my children. They're the only children I'll ever have, do you understand? We are going to destroy the Night King and his army...and we'll do it together. You have my word.
Jon Snow
Thank you, Dany.
Dany? [chuckles] Who was the last person who called me that? I'm not sure. Was it my brother? Not the company you want to keep.
Jon Snow
Alright, not Dany. How about "My Queen"? I'd, uh, bend the knee, but-
What about those who swore allegiance to you?
Jon Snow
They'll all come to see you for what you are.
Jon Snow
You do.
[Daenerys squeezes his hand for a few moments, then lets go]
We are a group of people who do not like each other, as this demonstration has shown. We have suffered at each other's hands. We've lost people we love at each other's hands. If all we wanted was more of the same, there would be no need for this gathering. We are entirely capable of waging war with each other without meeting face to face.
So instead we should settle our differences and live together in harmony for the rest of our days?
We all know that will never happen.
Jon Snow
This isn't about living in harmony; it's just about living. The same thing is coming for all of us; a general you can't negotiate with, an army that doesn't leave corpses behind on the battlefield. Lord Tyrion tells me a million people live in this city...they're about to become a million more soldiers in the army of the dead.
I imagine for most of them, that would be an improvement.
Jon Snow
This is serious! I wouldn't be here if it weren't.
I don't think it's serious at all. I think it's another bad joke. If my brother Jaime has informed me correctly, you're asking for a truce?
"That's all?" Pull back my armies and stand down while you go on your monster hunt? Or while you solidify and expand your position? Hard to know which it is with my armies pulled back until you return and march on my capital with four times the men!
Your capital will be safe until the Northern threat is dealt with. You have my word.
The word of a would-be usurper!
There is no conversation that will erase the last fifty years. We have something to show you.
[A wight is released from a crate and it charges forward. Sandor Clegane pulls it back before it can reach Cersei, and when it turns to attack him, he severs its legs and one of its arms. Jon sets the arm alight]
Jon Snow
We can destroy them by burning them, and we can destroy them with dragonglass. [Jon draws a dragonglass dagger and stabs the wight in the heart, killing it] If we don't win this fight, then that is the fate of every person in the world! There is only one war that matters. The Great War...and it is here!
[inspecting the dead wight] Can they swim?
Jon Snow
No.
Good. I'm taking the Iron Fleet back to the Iron Islands.
What are you talking about?
I've been around the world. I've seen everything, things you couldn't imagine, and this... this is the only thing I've ever seen that terrifies me. [steps towards Daenerys] I'm going back to my island. You should go back to yours. When winter's over, we'll be the only ones left alive. [leaves]
He's right to be afraid. And a coward to run. If those things come for us, there will be no kingdoms to rule. Everything we suffered will have been for nothing. Everything we lost will have been for nothing. The crown accepts your truce. Until the dead are defeated, they are the true enemy.
[Jon and Davos sigh, visibly relieved]
In return, the King in the North will extend this truce. He will remain in the North, where he belongs. He will not take up arms against the Lannisters, he will not choose sides.
Just the King in the North? Not me?
[chuckles] I would never ask it of you. You would never agree to it, and if you did, I would trust you even less than I do now. I ask it only of Ned Stark's son. I know Ned Stark's son will be true to his word.
[A moment of silence, as Jon looks between Davos and Daenerys, then back to Cersei]
Jon Snow
I am true to my word... or I try to be. That is why I cannot give you what you ask. I cannot serve two queens. And I have already pledged myself to Queen Daenerys of House Targaryen.
[Daenerys, Davos and Tyrion look dismayed]
Then there is nothing left to discuss. [stands] The dead will come north first, enjoy dealing with them. We will deal with whatever is left of you. [leaves with Jaime, Qyburn and her Queensguard]
It's been good to see you. I imagine the next time will be across a battlefield.
We both saw what just happened. We both saw that... thing!
Yes, and I'm not looking forward to seeing more of them. But I'm loyal to the queen, and you're loyal to Sansa and her dolt brother.
[hits him on the arm] Oh, fuck loyalty!
[incredulous] "Fuck loyalty"?
This goes beyond houses and honour and oaths! Talk to the queen.
[Jaime turns to Cersei, who looks unmoved and leaves]
[He follows her out, leaving Brienne speechless]
[At the Dragonpit]
Jon Snow
No one's less happy about this than I am.
I know. I respect what you did. Wish you hadn't done it, but I respect it. This place was the beginning of the end for my family. Zaldrīzes buzdari iksos daor. "A dragon is not a slave". They were terrifying, extraordinary. They filled people with wonder and awe, and we locked them in here. They wasted away. They grew small. And we grew small, as well. We weren't extraordinary without them. We were just like everyone else.
Jon Snow
You're not like everyone else. And your family hasn't seen its end. You're still here.
Jon Snow
Who told you that?
The witch who murdered my husband.
Jon Snow
Has it occurred to you she might not've been a reliable source of information?
You were right, from the beginning. If I'd trusted you, everything would've been different.
Jon Snow
So, what now?
I can't forget what I saw, North of the Wall. And I can't pretend that Cersei won't take back half the country the moment I march North.
Jon Snow
It appears that Tyrion's assessment was correct. We're fucked.
[Jon is visiting the Heart Tree in the Winterfell Godswood]
You used to be taller. [Jon spins around]
Jon Snow
How'd you sneak up on me?
How did you survive a knife through the heart?
Jon Snow
I didn't. [They both grin, run to each other and hug. Jon nods at the sword in her belt] You still have it.
Jon Snow
Have you ever used it?
Once or twice. [sheaths it, Jon draws Longclaw and hands it to her] Valyrian steel.
Jon Snow
Jealous?
[smirks] Too heavy for me.
Jon Snow
[sheaths Longclaw] Where were you before? I could've used your help with Sansa.
She doesn't like your Queen, does she?
Jon Snow
Sansa thinks she's smarter than everyone-
She's the smartest person I've ever met.
Jon Snow
Oh, you're defending her? [chuckles] You?
I'm defending our family. So is she.
Jon Snow
I'm her family, too.
[Arya embraces him]
Jon Snow
What are you doing in Winterfell? Or did you read every book in the Citadel already? [pause, sees Sam's expression] What's wrong? Gilly? Is she alright?
Jon Snow
Little Sam?
Jon Snow
Know what?
Daenerys. She executed my father and brother. They were her prisoners. [pause] She didn't tell you.
Jon Snow
I'm so sorry. But we need to end this war.
Jon Snow
I've executed men who've disobeyed me-
You've also spared men. Thousands of Wildlings, when they refused to kneel!
Jon Snow
I wasn't a King.
But you were. You've always been.
Jon Snow
I gave up my crown, Sam. [starts to leave] I bent the knee, I'm not King in the North anymore.
I'm not talking about the King in the North, I'm talking about the King of the bloody Seven Kingdoms! [Jon turns back] Bran and I worked it out. I had a High Septon's diary, and Bran had... whatever Bran has.
Jon Snow
What're you talking about?
Your mother... was Lyanna Stark. And your father... your real father... was Rhaegar Targaryen. You've never been a bastard. You're Aegon Targaryen, true heir to the Iron Throne. [Jon starts toward him] I'm sorry. I know it's a lot to take in-
Jon Snow
[angrily] My father was the most honorable man I ever met. You're saying he lied to me, all my life?!
[shakes his head] Your father- well, Ned Stark- he promised your mother he'd always protect you. And he did, Robert would have murdered you if he knew. You're the true King. Aegon Targaryen, Sixth of his Name, Protector of the Realm, all of it.
Jon Snow
Daenerys is our Queen-
Jon Snow
That's treason.
It's the truth. You gave up your crown, to save your people. Would she do the same?
When I was a child, my brother would tell me a bedtime story about the man who murdered our father. Who stabbed him in the back and cut his throat. Who sat down on the Iron Throne and watched as his blood poured onto the floor. He told me other stories as well. About all the things we would do to that man, once we took back the Seven Kingdoms and had him in our grasp. Your sister pledged to send her army north.
I don't see an army. I see one man with one hand. It appears your sister lied to me.
She lied to me as well. She never had any intention of sending her army north. She has Euron Greyjoy's fleet and 20,000 fresh troops. The Golden Company from Essos. Bought and paid for. Even if we defeat the dead, she'll have more than enough to destroy the survivors.
I promised to fight for the living. I intend to keep that promise.
Your Grace, I know my brother...
Like you knew your sister?
He came here alone, knowing full well how he'd be received. Why would he do that, if he weren't telling the truth?
Perhaps he trusts his little brother to defend him. Right up to the moment he slits my throat.
You're right, we can't trust him. He attacked my father in the streets, he tried to destroy my House and my family the same as he did yours.
Do you want me to apologize? I won't. We were at war! Everything I did, I did for my House and my family. I'd do it all again!
"The things we do for love."
So why have you abandoned your House and your family now?
Because this goes beyond loyalty. This is about survival.
You don't know me well, Your Grace, but I know Ser Jaime. He is a man of honor. I was his captor once, but when we were both taken prisoner and the men holding us tried to force themselves on me, Ser Jaime defended me. And lost his hand because of it. [addressing Sansa] Without him, my lady, you would not be alive. He armed me, armoured me and sent me to find you and bring you home, because he'd sworn an oath to your mother.
You would fight beside him?
I trust you with my life. If you trust him with yours, we should let him stay.
What does the Warden of the North say about it?
Jon Snow
We need every man we can get.
Game of Thrones · 356 quotes
