Jonerys

Jonerys is the het/familyship ship between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen from the Game of Thrones fandom.

Canon
Jon and Daenerys were lovers and allies that came together out of mutual interest, Daenerys’ desire to claim the Iron Throne, and Jon’s desire to defeat the White Walkers. Initially, the two had a difficult time seeing eye-to-eye, but slowly they were won over by a sense of mutual respect and a bit of mediating by Tyrion Lannister. Soon, they fell in love and became lovers. Unbeknown to them initially, they are of the same blood and are aunt and nephew.

The two found difficulty in creating an alliance. They both held impasses with one another, in particular, Jon being the King in the North which threatened Daenerys’ power, and his refusal to swear fealty to her which Daenerys considered to be an act of open rebellion against her. Jon, himself, questioned Daenerys’ legitimacy to the throne since her father was successfully overthrown. Daenerys also found Jon’s claims of an army of the dead laughable and only indulged him due to Tyrion’s insistence that Jon is a rational and honest person. Furthermore, the past crimes of Daenerys’ father, the Mad King, also created a rift between the two, as Jon made clear he had no obligation as a member of House Stark towards House Targaryen because of what her father did to his uncle and grandfather. Something that Daenerys sincerely apologised for.

Due to their failure to create an alliance Jon was made a political prisoner of Daenerys until he “bends the knee” to her. Although a ‘prisoner’ he was treated as an honoured guest by her, but he was irritated about his predicament and vented to Tyrion over the matter. Eventually, the two began to bond over the loss of their family members, having both lost their brothers. Tyrion also played a role in convincing Daenerys to allow Jon to mine the dragon glass underneath the island as it is deadly to the White Walkers. In return, Jon must ally with her against Cersei. The two’s relationship developed further as Jon tells her the story of the Children of the Forest when he finds markings in the cave that holds the dragon glass. Daenerys seems to be moved by this tale but still wishes for Jon to bend the knee and pleads with him if his pride is more important than his people’s lives. By this point, it appears that Daenerys had gained a degree of trust in Jon, as after receiving disappointing reports regarding Castely Rock and Highgarden, she asks for his advice.

Their relationship continued to develop when Jon successfully petted Drogon, one of Daenary’s dragons, something that was unthinkable to her as the dragons are hostile to anyone else, especially unfamiliar people. She reveals to Jon how much she cherishes her dragons, seeing them as her children. When she hears the news that Jon’s siblings, Arya and Bran, are alive she is very happy for him. By this point, Daenerys was more sympathetic for Jon’s cause and felt a desire to aid him but the fear of Cersei gaining an advantage stops her from joining him. When Jon proposed that he lead a group to capture one of the White Walkers, to prove their existence to Cersei, Daenerys becomes notably unnerved by this idea, as she did not want him to go, and stated that she has not given him the right to leave yet, but his insistence causes her to relent. She sees him off and admits to him that she has grown used to his presence. In a conversation with Tyrion, she vents to him about her frustration that Jon is playing the hero and doubts the claim from Tyrion that Jon has fallen for her, and even if he had, he is “too little” for her.

Daenerys’ fondness for Jon had developed to such a point that she willingly abandoned her plans to face Cersei and rode her dragons beyond the wall in order to aid him after receiving word that he and his group were trapped. This in spite of Tyrion’s objections. She was clearly reluctant to flee without him, but Jon insisted that she leaves as the Night King readied another spear that had killed one of Daenerys' dragons moments earlier. Jon continued to fight off the Wights and Daenerys flew away without him, visibly upset. On the wall, Daenerys waited with hope that he had survived and would return. Eventually he does so and she is overjoyed, she then sat by Jon’s bedside and waited for him to wake up. Her admiration for Jon grew further when she noticed a great scar on his chest and recalled the words of Jon’s hand, Ser Davos, that Jon had taken a dagger to the heart in order to unite his people. When Jon woke up he apologised to her for her loss, as he understood Daenerys’ deep love for her dragons, and regretted his decision to capture a White Walker, knowing what it cost her. It is here that the two agree to an alliance as Daenerys vows to defeat the Night King and his army by Jon’s side, and Jon swears fealty to her, happily calling her “my queen”. Jon had admitted to her how much he admires and respects her for what she has done and Daenerys is overcome with emotion at his words. The two held hands for a moment and gazed in each other’s eyes. It is here where they both seem to fall in love.

From then on, both Jon and Daenerys shared a fond relationship of mutual respect and admiration. They talked about sensitive subjects, such as Daenerys alleged infertility, and playfully banter about the difficult situation they find themselves in. Both of them rejected the advice of their advisors for Daenerys to fly to the North, as oppose to traveling with Jon where she risks being assassinated by a disgruntled northerner, as they both wish to arrive together. Later on, now that the two were in love, Jon visited Daenerys' cabin whilst they sailed towards the North and, without a word, she allows him to enter and they passionately make love to each other. From then on they became lovers. Their relationship started off strong and Daenerys even allowed Jon to ride one of her dragons over Winterfell before she then passionately kissed him after they landed. It would be the revelation that Jon is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen, Daenerys' late older brother, and Lisanna Stark, sister to Ned Stark, that causes difficulty in their relationship.

Daenerys' love for Jon was unconditional and absolute. Despite struggling to win acceptance with his “sisters”, and his best friend, Samwell Tarly, she still desired to have him by her side. She defended her love for Jon to Sansa and highlighted that she put on hold her plans to claim the Iron Throne, and sacrificed one of her dragons, because of her love for him. Even at the revelation that he is technically the true heir to the Iron Throne she believed his sincerity that he did not want it, nor would he take it from her. She did not once contemplate killing him, even as her mental state declined and her lust for blood increased. Instead she desired for him to keep it a secret so she could have both him and the throne, even begging him to do so, having not begged for anything in her life. Even when Jon revealed the secret of his birth to his “sisters”, who are actually his cousins, she still wished to have him by her side. This was made most obvious when she successfully claimed the Iron Throne and in her delusion, imagined a world that she has conquered with Jon next to her. Despite the close relationship she had with Jorah Mourmont, she told Jon that she could never love Jorah the same way that she loved him. She was not at all fazed that they were aunt and nephew, as incestuous relations were acceptable in the Targaryen family. One of the key reasons her mental state declined was because of Jon’s inability to make love to her anymore, as not only had she lost the person she was in love with, but the acceptance of the north as well.

Jon’s love for Daenerys was very strong as well. He constantly fought off the people around him who tried to have him become king, instead of Daenerys, and made clear to everyone that she is his queen. Although, the idea that she might be too power hungry eats away at him, despite genuinely loving her and seeing her as his queen before anything else. The revelation of his close family ties with her and the fact that he is the rightful heir to the throne made his relationship with Daenerys difficult for him. He struggled to make love to her and at one point could not even make eye contact. Despite this, Jon wished to be by her side on every step of her journey to reclaim the Iron Throne as he absolutely believed the good in her, and ultimately still loved Daenerys, despite their close blood ties. This led to him becoming completely heartbroken when the fears and warnings, that people around him had said to him, turned out to be true after she massacred the citizens of King’s Landing. Jon soon after became disillusioned with Daenerys and met her in the throne room in the Red Keep. He becomes distressed at how far her mental state has fallen and her belief that violence and fear is the way to rule. He attempts to convince her there is a better way but she does not listen. Distraught, he embraced and kissed her one last time, calling her his queen, before he stabs and kills her whilst in tears.

Fanon
The pairing of Jon and Daenerys was extremely popular well before the two had even met. Many fans had anticipated the two would eventually meet as both their respective journeys, that saw them rise to power, made it inevitable. Furthermore, the overall name of the series “A Song of Ice and Fire” can be interpreted in multiple ways, one of them being that Jon Snow, a member of the Stark Family that have an affinity for ice, and Daenerys Targaryen, a member of the Targaryen family, who have an affinity for fire.

Many fans had also predicted that Jon and Daenerys were aunt and nephew well before the revelation itself. Which naturally drew a connection between the two main characters despite having not met yet in the novels and did not meet until season 7.

Season 8 of Game of Thrones was infamously criticised by a majority of fans, and numerous critics. One of the focal points was the conclusion of Daenerys’ character arc, with her relationship with Jon being one of the key points. Many fans felt her mental deterioration, that ended with her demise at Jon’s hands, was rushed and thus lacked legitimacy. Some fans also found Jon constantly referring to Daenerys as “my queen” excessive and a far cry from the show’s established standards for dialogue.

Furthermore, many fans were saddened and disappointed with Daenerys outcome. With some having hoped and predicated that she would successfully rule Westeros with Jon by her side, particularly as king and queen. The popularity of the ship is very strong, even from a romantic perspective, as many fans were endeared to both characters. However, many also criticised it upon the revelation that they are both close relatives.

Fandom
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Trivia

 * Due to the series getting ahead of the novels, the nature of Jon and Daenerys relationship is still debatable, as the true canon source material by George R. R. Martin has yet to have the characters meet. This means that their relationship may differ from what the tv series has established.
 * Whilst filming season 1, George R. R. Martin had revealed to a director that the series really comes down to Jon and Daenerys.
 * Neither Daenerys, nor Jon, contemplated the idea of marriage. Yet, a number of their advisors discussed the idea and hoped it would resolve the issue of Jon being the true heir to the throne.