A time for Wolves

Jon wakes to a pounding at his door. The cabin is dark, the only light from the banked fire. Jon was warm beneath his covers, but when he sits up, chilled air slips beneath, making him shiver. The pounding comes again, and Jon swings his legs out of bed, his stockinged feet meeting the cold hardwood. He barely feels it, all his attention on the door, and who could possibly be seeking him out in the dead of the night. Or what, his mind whispers, but he shakes that out. Jon is not a superstitious man,

for the @jonsa-halloween event day 1: witch

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Jonsa Halloween 2023 - Day 01 - Resurrection

Jonsa Halloween event: Day 1 - Resurrection - Bonfire - Witch

In both scenes we see Jon talking to a beautiful woman where she asks him something and, instead of answering, he just looks at her. And then, before Jon can answer, they get interrupted. A moment that easily can be framed as romantic and yet that’s not what we’re given with the supposed epic romance that is J0nerys.

Yes, Jon looks at D/ny for quite a long while, but there’s no real softness in his features. And while his brows are tugged upward, which could mean sincerity, they’re also tugged together. And combined with the tightness of his mouth, the downward curve of it, the flare of his nostrils, and the lack of tenderness in his eyes, we know sincerity is not what Kit’s trying to convey. And when Jon hears someone approaching, he immediately breaks eye contact and looks at them instead as though he’s relieved to end this tête-à-tête.

Compare that to the Jonsa scene in s07e01 where they talk about Jon needing to be smarter and that he should listen to Sansa.

As we see in this gif, Maester Wolkan is actually approaching before the closeup of Jon wordlessly looking at Sansa. We see Wolkan’s robes behind her when she says, “Would that be so terrible?” and we see that he’s already very close.

And even though Jon should’ve noticed–not just because we can literally hear Wolkan coming but also because he is in Jon’s field of vision–Jon gazes at her for several long seconds, oblivious to their audience. Because Jon is gazing. His mouth is soft, his eyes are soft–even longing–and he draws a Sigh of Yearning so heavy we see his body moving. That’s the look of a man who’s mesmerized. He’s drinking her in.

It’s mutual too. And intimate.

Shot from both Jon and Sansa’s PoVs, the camera is close to their faces. We get a good look at their micro expressions, and even though we both see and hear Wolkan, they’re still so captivated by one another, neither realizes someone is approaching. It’s not until the camera cuts back to Sansa that Jon leans his head to the side and looks at Wolkan, which prompts Sansa into turning around (and she still has to tear her eyes off Jon). It shows us that neither is eager to end their intimate moment. It shows us both forgot about the rest of the world for a spell.

In the J0nerys scene, however, it’s only D/ny who doesn’t notice someone’s coming. Look at the first gif again. She’s 100% focused on Jon. He hears the Dothraki the moment we do and he breaks eye contact right away, while she still looks at him. And yet the camera doesn’t do much to acknowledge this. Because we see it from D/ny’s PoV, the focus is on Jon. That’s where the audience’s eye is drawn, so unless we decide to look at D/ny, we don’t realize she keeps looking at him. It’s not intimate. The camera is a bit farther from them, and it doesn’t linger in the moment. Instead it cuts to a tender scene between D/ny and ser Jorah that provides us with a stark contrast to the impersonal j0nerys scene where D/ny repeatedly tried to get Jon to open up to her and failed. Jon’s even frowning at her when she interacts with ser Jorah, which tells us he’s not actually jealous but wondering why the hell she’s so tight with a slave trader about whom Jon most likely has heard rather unflattering stories.

There’s a reason why D/ny doesn’t think Jon is in love with her: he doesn’t act like it. And s07e05 shows this very well. First in this scene and then, later, when they say goodbye on the beach and he cringes when she tries to flirt and then can’t get away fast enough.

This show knows how to do romance. They know how to create intimate moments. And if j0nerys actually were real, that scene on the cliffs would’ve been an excellent opportunity to create some intimacy. Something that is needed to make his “knee-bending” sincere instead of out of the blue. 

I just rewatched 7x02 today and noticed j/nerys goodbye scene is a complete contrast with Missandei and Grey Worm’s goodbye scene. In the Missworm scene, Missandei, somewhat formally, says “I wish you good fortune” and the scene goes like this:

—-

MISSANDEI: You leave tomorrow. Were you going to say goodbye?

GREY WORM: I will see you when I return.

MISSANDEI: But you don’t know when that will be.

GREYWORM: No one knows.

MISSANDEI: I wish you good fortune.

MISSANDEI turns and starts to walk out of the room.

GREY WORM: Missandei –

MISSANDEI stops and turns back towards GREY WORM.

GREY WORM: It is hard for me to say goodbye to you.

MISSANDEI: Why?

GREY WORM: You know why.

MISSANDEI: I don’t.

GREY WORM: You are my weakness.

—-

This is such a huge contrast to the j/d scene that comes a couple of episodes later and goes like this:

—-

JON: If I don’t return at least you won’t have to deal with the King in the North anymore.

DAENERYS smiles.

DAENERYS: But I’ve grown used to him.

JON: I wish you good fortune in the wars to come, Your Grace.

——

And…that’s it. There’s nothing more.

The leaked outline from 2017 actually specified Jon doesn’t turn back, it’s not an accident.

Both men are leaving to go on a mission, both are leaving their “loves” behind, but only one continues the conversation beyond “good fortunes”.

He doesn’t turn back like Missandei does (but Jorah does), he doesn’t confess she’s his weakness like Grey Worm does, or anything at all really. He just delivers a historically ominous line and ups and leaves. This looks like a purposeful contrast being highlighted, if you ask me.

It certainly doesn’t help that Jon looked back at Sansa even when she wasn’t in his line of vision and that paralleled the season 6 Jaime/Brienne scene and both scenes were directed by the same director. Overall, there is a lot more intimacy in Jon and Sansa’s conversations down to just framing from the very first moment they meet.