GoT S6E4: Who's Jon Snow? A Guess.

From the start of Game of Thrones it's stated that Jon Snow is the bastard son of Ned Stark. While that's the official line for most of the series, there are hints that Jon is someone else. The notion of who came together for me with a seemingly unrelated scene in S6E4. In a flashback to ~20 years ago we see Ned Stark and a handful of his bannermen fight two legendary kingsguard at a remote keep on the edge of nowhere.



( Spoilers up through S6E4 )

Spoiler policy: My guess in this blog is just that— a guess, based on information revealed up through S6E4. Please do not comment with answers revealed later in the story.

Update: that was fast! Jon's identity is revealed (to us viewers) six episodes later, in S6E10.

GoT S6E9: Battle of the Bastards. 5 Things.

"Battle of the Bastards" is the title of Game of Thrones season 6 episode 9. The long episode features not one but two huge battles. In one Danaerys Targaryen and her allies in Meereen fight off a naval invasion and school the foreign leaders coordinating the attack. In the second forces loyal to Jon Snow and Sansa Stark, including 2000 Wildlings, attack the armies of Ramsay Bolton to recapture Winterfell from him. The latter is a lengthier, more involved, and grittier story arc. Much of the camera work follows Jon fighting at ground level. By contrast, the naval battle was mostly distance shots and mostly CGI.



Here are my thoughts about the Battle of the Bastards, organized as Five Things:

( Thoughts about the battle (S6E9 spoilers) )