These days, much of the focus may now be on the newer series but for longtime fans, the Emmy-winning is never far from their minds. Based on a novel by George R.R. Martin, started strong, introducing fans to several talents who rose to stardom in no time.

Among these, of course, is Kit Harington who famously played in the series until the very end. Years after the finale (which ), the actor is . That said, looking back on where he left Jon, the actor also believes that the King of the North wouldn’t be in a good place at the moment.

Kit Harington Understands Why Jon Snow Killed Daenerys Targaryen

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Ever since aired its final episode, there have been all sorts of reactions. And even to this day, fans find it hard to accept that Jon would decide to kill Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen towards the end. For Harington, however, .

“It's that horrible conflict in a relationship: ‘Do I stay or do I go?’ We've all been through it at some point … except this one involves a knife,” the actor said.

“What it really comes down to, the real crux of it, is the decision is made when she puts it between her and his family. Jon essentially sees it as Daenerys or Sansa and Arya, and that makes his mind up for him.

He chooses blood over, well, his other blood. But he chooses the people he has grown up with, the people his roots are with, the North. That's where his loyalties lie in the end. That's when he puts the knife in.”

And despite fans objecting to the way the show ended, Harington felt like Jon Snow’s story arc ended the way it should.

“Seeing him go beyond the Wall back to something true, something honest, something pure with these people he was always told he belongs with — the Free Folk — it felt to me like he was finally free,” he explained.

“Instead of being chained and sent to the Wall, it felt like he was set free.

It was a really sweet ending. As much as he had done a horrible thing, as much as he had felt that pain, the actual ending for him was finally being released.”

When Game Of Thrones Ended, He Didn’t Really Get To Say Goodbye To Jon Snow

With Harington’s character appearing on the show all the way up to the finale, one might assume that the actor had more time to say goodbye to his character compared to those who were killed off as the season went on. But as it turns out, after he shot his final scene.

“The weirdest bit was when we came off set and they started taking the costume off and it felt like being skinned,” Harington recalled.

“It felt like they were unceremoniously, for the last time, ripping off this character. I was still blubbering my tears. The costume girls were like, ‘F*****, come on, get it together.’ I’m being very actorly and crying. I remember going, ‘Wait, wait, wait!’ And they wouldn’t. They just ripped. I was like, ‘I need to say goodbye.’ But it was too late. He was gone.”

Kit Harington Says Jon Snow Is ‘Not Okay’ After Game Of Thrones Finale

Even years after he worked on the finale, Harington remains in touch with the character he played for eight seasons. And when looks back on how things ended for Jon Snow on the show, the actor knows that

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“He's gotta go back up to the place with all this history and live out his life thinking about how he killed Dany, and live out his life thinking about Ygritte [Rose Leslie] dying in his arms, and live out his life thinking about how he hung Olly [Brenock O'Connor], and live out his life thinking about all of this trauma, and that… That’s interesting,” Harrington said.

“So I think where we leave him at the end of the show, there's always this feeling of like… I think we wanted some kind of little smile that things are okay. He's not okay.”

By now, Jon Snow would also be most likely contemplating his fate.

“I think if you asked him, he would've felt he got off lightly,” Harington said.

“At the end of the show when we find him in that cell, he's preparing to be beheaded, and he wants to be. He's done. The fact he goes to the Wall is the greatest gift and also the greatest curse.”

Meanwhile, Harington’s upcoming spinoff may show what’s next for Jon after the events of the finale. Although, for now, the actor is staying mum on the topic. As for Martin, he’s refusing to say much too.

“Yes, there is a Jon Snow show in development,” the author confirmed in his blog in June 2021.

Martin also later added, “Yes, it was Kit Harrington who brought the idea to us. I cannot tell you the names of the writers/ showrunners, since that has not been cleared for release yet… but Kit brought them in too, his own team, and they are terrific.”

Other than this, fans will just have to wait for further details.