Game Of Thrones: 9 Most Powerful Enemies Jon Could Face In The Snow Sequel

2022-09-03 02:14:52 By : Ms. ANNIE HU

What dangers might lurk in the hearts of men and the Lands of Always Winter in the Jon Snow sequel?

With House of the Dragon airing, Game of Thrones fans have some new Westerosi stories to explore, including the Jon Snow series in development. And while House of the Dragon is a prequel mainly focused on the Targaryens and the Dance of the Dragons, the Jon Snow sequel looks to be taking place right on the heels of Game of Thrones, chronologically speaking.

With his titular sequel set soon after the end of Game of Thrones, Jon Snow will likely run across characters and enemies both new and familiar. Assuming he stays in the North with the Night’s Watch and his buddy Tormund Giantsbane for a while, most of his opponents would rise from that region. With the announced sequel still in early development, there are a few dangers that still lurk in the hearts of men and the Lands of Always Winter, who are promising enemies Jon could face.

The King-Beyond-The-Wall, first given to the character Mance Rayder (Ciaràn Hinds) in the TV series, is the title bestowed upon a wildling leader with the guts and cat-herding abilities to bring all the wildling tribes under his leadership.

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The wildling-born but Night’s Watch-raised character proved what a charismatic leader can do with the wildlings. But with his death, the title of the King (or Queen)-Beyond-the-Wall is still anyone to take. Though Jon could be a great candidate for the job, a more ruthless leader may claim the title due to tribes trying to recoup after the White Walkers' attacks. Hence, it may cause conflict between tribes, and battered and depopulated wildlings might be vulnerable to a silver-tongued prophet promising glory and possibly seek revenge against Jon if they have unresolved matters.

The Lord of Bones, also called "Rattleshirt,” was a notorious and mysterious figure in Game of Thrones. Feared by all wildlings, he wore a suit of bone armor and a skull helmet and was infamous for his savage raiding tactics.

A far more physically powerful figure in the TV series as opposed to A Song of Ice and Fire, the Game of Thrones Lord of Bones constituted his own fanatic fringe, known to be cruel, untrustworthy, and murderous. Like the King-Beyond-The-Wall, the Lord of Bones has a legendary title that a manipulative successor could work to his/her advantage. Blend the bone-armored mystery with a cunning power-seeker, throw in a dash of black magic, and a wildling army might flock to this dark death-warrior.

As a First Ranger of the Night’s Watch, Benjen Stark was last seen beyond the Wall, riding into a horde of wights and whirling his flaming morningstar to cover Jon Snow’s escape. The wights overwhelmed Benjen, apparently killing him. The loss of his beloved uncle was just another heartbreaking moment for Jon Snow in Game of Thrones.

It’s easy to imagine Benjen may have survived through some magical means since he was already half-dead; a White Walker had stabbed him in the gut and then the Children of the Forest embedded a piece of dragonglass in his chest to stall his transformation into one of the Night King’s minions. If some powerful, evil force raised the half-wight, half-man Benjen once again and fully blackened his heart, he’d provide a terrifying nemesis for Jon. It would also be heartbreaking since Jon was close to his uncle, and having to fight him would devastate him.

Fans of the A Song of Ice and Fire books and Game of Thrones are familiar with George R.R. Martin’s characters mentioning giant ice spiders creeping about the frozen wastes of the North. The creatures are part of the oldest Westerosi myth and their origins - real animals or mysterious entities made of ice - are unknown.

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Many Game of Thrones fans had hoped the HBO series might deliver some giant CGI Ice Spiders since Old Nan relates that the Others used them during the Long Night. With the Jon Snow sequel set in the North (at least for starters), the monstrous frosty arachnids could make big problems for Jon and company, especially if they are under the control of a powerful entity like the Night King.

As a legendary ironborn King (House Greyjoy traces its lineage to him), The Grey King was blessed by The Drowned God and battled the Storm God for a thousand years. He slew the sea dragon Nagga and used its bones - turned to stone by the Drowned God - to construct his Great Hall.

Though not a product of the North, the Grey King (or a pretender/descendant) provides a creepy, legendary character that could easily come into conflict with Jon Snow. When he “died,” the Grey King descended into the depths to sit at the right hand of The Drowned God, so his return is possible. As piratical and greedy as the ironborn are, led by a Euron-style leader with children who are half mermaid/mermen, the forces of the Grey King could potentially cause big headaches for Jon.

As the ancient, mysterious, non-human race who originally inhabited Westeros, the legendary Children Of The Forest are sworn to the Old Gods, tend to the sacred Weirwood trees, and generate “greenseers” with great magical powers, making them among the most powerful magic-users in Game of Thrones.

Though potentially wiped out by the end of Game of Thrones, it’d be easy for another group of the long-lived Children to have survived elsewhere in the sweeping forests. And if this group is bent on revenge against humans or enchanted by an evil force, they could wreak immense destruction. In earlier times, their greenseer sorcerers battled the First Men by shattering the Arm of Dorne, flooding the Neck, and turning a human prisoner into the Night King. Jon would be hard-pressed to defeat this kind of nemesis.

Having been crowned the King of the Seven Kingdoms at the end of Game of Thrones, Bran the Broken is a transformed character. No longer the adventurous Stark boy, he is now the stoic and emotionless Three-Eyed Raven. A unique character arc and its unique result has made fan-made-memes a perfect way to sum up Bran in Game of Thrones.

Bran’s hubris led to the first Three-Eyed Raven's death when Bran ignored his warnings and inadvertently revealed their location to the Night King. Cool as he is, the flawed Bran may be insufficiently trained and could be misled or seduced by evil powers he’s ill-equipped to handle. If Bran goes bad, he’ll be insanely dangerous with his considerable magical ability and the Westerosi armies at his command. Jon wouldn’t have it and probably not the independent Queen-in-the-North Sansa Stark, either.

The Night’s Queen (or the “Corpse Queen”) is the stuff of Westerosi legends; she’s believed to have been a White Walker female who became the paramour of the 13th Commander of the Night’s Watch 8,000 years before the events in Game of Thrones.

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Naming himself the Night King, the Commander brought his ghastly lover to the Nightfort, and together they ruled the Black Brothers through sorcery for 13 years, committing many atrocities to appease the Others. Though both were destroyed, the idea of a White Walker Night Queen, perhaps the Night King's vengeful mate, raising another army in the Lands of Always Winter would prove a nightmare for Jon Snow.

While actress Emilia Clarke has openly expressed no desire to return to her role as Daenerys Targaryen, this possibility of evil resurrection is too good to pass on. Taken up by Drogon and flown away immediately after her death at the hands of Jon Snow, it’s possible that the bereft dragon might have delivered her body to some Red Priestesses or others with similar powers in Essos.

Having supplied the most heroic and villainous characters in A Song of Ice and Fire, House Targaryen is never a bad place to plumb for larger-than-life personalities. Viewers would be ecstatic if the Daenerys Targaryen character made a return in the Snow sequel. Another actress could play Daenerys if the character has been so transfigured by the twisted magics of her resurrection to be unrecognizable, or somehow merged into another body. No matter how she’s reconstructed, the reappearance of an enraged, murderous, unstable Targaryen Queen aboard an angry dragon would scare everybody, including Jon Snow.

NEXT: 10 Game Of Thrones Characters Who Contributed Most To Cersei's Downfall

An English literature major, Richard Preston wrote for film and TV before choosing a life of poverty writing historical fiction, science fiction and fantasy novels. He's currently working on the 4th book of his steampunk adventure series, "The Chronicles of the Pneumatic Zeppelin." He saw Star Wars in the theater 36 times the summer it was released. You can keep up to date with his activities on his Substack Newsletter at richardellisprestonjr.substack.com