Games of Thrones - Kit Harington Interview

1. Can you set the scene for your character at the beginning of season three?

When we last saw him he was in a bit of a predicament. He'd killed Qhorin Halfhand and he was hoping that would prove to the Wildling camp that he is one of them. So now he's essentially a spy within the camp. He's got the loyalty of Ygritte, who is quite a strong voice within the Wildlings so he's got that going for him, but essentially we don't know what's going to happen to him. He gets taken off to meet Mance Rayder and we don't know whether Mance is going to accept him, or believe him, so he's walking into a situation where he feels there is a 30% chance he might live but a 70% chance he might die. So not really a safe place! He's further away from home than he's ever been, and he is way, way out of his comfort zone...

2. What does he see as his mission?

At the beginning, his mind is set – he's got to make up for what he did wrong because he feels it's his fault the other members of the Night's Watch were killed, including Qhorin Halfhand. He didn't kill Ygritte. He got everyone in trouble and left them all in the deep end, so he has to make good by collecting as much information as he can and getting back to the Wall to relay his findings to the Lord Commander - if he's there. That's his mission.

3. Does he waver from his loyalty to the Night's Watch?

He remains loyal at the start but throughout this series you'll see that the lines start to blur for him. He realises the Wildlings aren't the evil group of people that he's always been told they were and in a lot of ways, it might be easier for him to succumb and become one of them. Will he give in and betray the Night's Watch? You'll have to wait and see!

4. Jon Snow feels like a character always searching for acceptance…

Yes. In the first season we see that his house becomes the Night's Watch; he finally finds his place. He's never really been a Stark - as much as he was close to his father, brothers and sisters he was never really one of them. He always needed a place to belong and the Night's Watch became that, but even there he's called 'The Bastard' and 'Lord Snow'. He doesn't have an easy time. So I think he could be forgiven for wanting to go off and join the Wildlings: to be free to disobey his vows, sleep with women, have a family and create his own life beyond the Wall. It's not an easy decision. If you're a young man like he is, the Night's Watch is a pretty bleak place to be really.

Source: Full Interview @ MyFanbase