#jonerysparallels

Number 1: The Protectors

What would you expect of two outcasts who are determined to righting great wrongs and defending those who can’t defend themselves. The natural inclination of Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow is to protect others. They can’t help it; it’s a part of who they are. Where most would turn a blind eye at the injustices that the world has been perpetrating for centuries our young heroes look these injustices in the eye and say, no more.

For Dany the need to protect is born out of being defenseless her whole life. Bullied and abused by her brother, there was no one to run to for protection; the person who should have been protecting her was the one who was hurting her. The moment she was able to gain agency she used it to defend others. First, she defended Doreah from her brother’s abuse, then she tried to protect the Lhazareen women during the sack of their village by the Dothraki. When Drogo died she made herself responsible for the small khalasar that followed her into the Red Waste and when she reached Slaver’s Bay she made it her mission to protect the slaves she freed in her abolitionist crusade. She even stayed in Slaver’s Bay in order to keep her people safe from bondage. She then made many of the newly liberated slaves part of her council. She saw what they could contribute and the fact that they had been slaves made no difference Dany. Dany remembered well what it felt like to be defenseless and ignored and she does not want others to feel the same.

As for Jon, as a bastard he was always destined to be an outsider and as such he learned to bond with other outsiders like him. While at Winterfell it was his little sister who he was the closest with, he understood her where others couldn’t or wouldn’t and nurtured her need for adventure. When he arrived at Castle Black, after some initial struggles, he found himself defending and helping the weaker recruits. His best friend Sam while having a brilliant mind was a pitiful fighter and Jon soon found himself in the role of his protector. While with the Wildlings he learned to see them as people and not as the savaged he had been told they were. He made Satin, a former whore, his steward and gave roles to the Wildlings who arrived in Castle Black. Being an outsider Jon can appreciate people for what they can offer and not just for their status in society. Jon understands that if the realm is to be saved all must work together.