#Jon’s story goes in the reverse of mance’s

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

Ulmer of the Kingswood jammed his spear into the ground, unslung his bow, and slipped a black arrow from his quiver. Sweet Donnel Hill threw back his hood to do the same. Garth Greyfeather and Bearded Ben nocked shafts, bent their bows, loosed.

One arrow took Mance Rayder in the chest, one in the gut, one in the throat. The fourth struck one of the cage’s wooden bars, and quivered for an instant before catching fire. A woman’s sobs echoed off the Wall as the wildling king slid bonelessly to the floor of his cage, wreathed in fire. “And now his Watch is done,” Jon murmured softly. Mance Rayder had been a man of the Night’s Watch once, before he changed his black cloak for one slashed with bright red silk.

- Jon III, ADWD

… away, he meant to say. When Wick Whittlestick slashed at his throat, the word turned into a grunt. Jon twisted from the knife, just enough so it barely grazed his skin. He cut me. When he put his hand to the side of his neck, blood welled between his fingers. “Why?”

Then Bowen Marsh stood there before him, tears running down his cheeks. “For the Watch.” He punched Jon in the belly. When he pulled his hand away, the dagger stayed where he had buried it.

Jon fell to his knees. He found the dagger’s hilt and wrenched it free. In the cold night air the wound was smoking. “Ghost,” he whispered. Pain washed over him. Stick them with the pointy end. When the third dagger took him between the shoulder blades, he gave a grunt and fell face-first into the snow. He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold …

- Jon XIII, ADWD

Hmmmm 🤔

[esther-dot]

Hi Esther! Coming back to give some explanations!

To be king of a people within an existing kingdom is not Martin's invention. It is historical fact, as in the time of the great immigration in Europe different peoples (coalitions of tribes) were moving with their kings into the Roman empire.

However, in our analysis of Martin's book setup we tend to forget that the Gifts (both of them) do not belong to the kingdom, but to the Watch, which is why they declined as the Watch declined. I think that in the context of Jon being hailed as king of the FF Bran and Sansa will reaffirm the donation of the Gifts to the Watch, thus giving Jon a huge territory to rule over as a third kingdom. And I think that you are right, Jon will be in a unique position, to be able to act as mediator between the Northerners and their queen, and the FF, who are still wild. At the end of everything, it will still be very difficult for the Northerners to forget everything that has happened before, the raids and the abductions and the killings. Therefore, to accept the FF below the Wall will have to be done only if there is someone whom the Northernes will be able to trust. That person will be Jon.

Jon as king of the FF is very heavily foreshadowed. One piece of foreshadowing that points to the three rulers is, imo, their seeing the world from the highest position they can find. Jon repeatedly looks down from the Wall; Sansa from the highest tower in KL; and Bran from the tower of WF. (which is why I think that Aegon, looking down from the top of a warehouse is not the real thing). Daenerys as a ruler also receives the same handling by the author, looking down from the pyramid of Meereen. I dare say, this observation goes well with my three sword theory (yes, I am that anon, lol).

Need I point out that Mance wears Targaryen colors when he first meets Jon? Or that Jon thinks to himself "my kingdom... a blasted ruin" looking around in CB? Or that there is a castle at the Wall called Snow gate (renamed Queens gate), where the road leads from Queenscrown? And there is the Symeon Star-eyes story, which I expect to be repeated in a reversed mirror: Symeon falls madly in love with his corpse wife coming from the North and he establishes a rule of terror. Jon will fall in love with Sansa, flesh and blood, coming from the South, and their rule will be one of prosperity and peace.

I think that, in our anxiousness to see this character finally getting rewarded for his voluntary, repeated self-sacrifice on page, we expected to see him as king either of KL or WF, completely forgetting the FF. But neither ending works, because they are both sweet, and because too many objections can be raised based on the book structure and narrative. It is impossible to accomodate all loose ends with Jon as king in either positions. A small example (but others have been pointed out, some of them by you): why would the Northerners accept Jon as their king if he has dragged them to the KL genocide? Isn't that immoral? (the same question of course is 10x more relevant in the South) Isn't the overall message of the book completely f^^ed with such an ending? And what about the author's commentary on female rulership as in the stories of Catelyn, Cersei, Daenerys, Sansa? Can women not exist in positions of power without a man? Do they exist only for promoting male interests? If Jon becomes KitN he has indeed usurped Sansa's rights, which is inconsistent with everything Jon says and does since his first chapter.

Perhaps it is only me, but I think that Jon at the Wall, recognized as a ruler of the FF is consistent with his own story. It is truly bittersweet, it is rewarding, and leaves lots of space for hope, of peace, justice, growth, prosperity, even love in a manner that does no harm to anyone else. I'll be very surprised if Martin chooses something else for this character (and curious to see how he will come to it).

(continuation of this convo)

Thank you for coming back and talking about this more!

I think that, in our anxiousness to see this character finally getting rewarded for his voluntary, repeated self-sacrifice on page, we expected to see him as king either of KL or WF, completely forgetting the FF.

This is true of me. I was outraged by the show ending and thought Jon had no business being a leader of the FF, but there's a lot about how the way of life for the FF is ending, Ygritte has that song, "the Last of the Giants" and the sadness of losing what was permeates that storyline, so, permanently settling the Gift and everything that means for the FF does feel like a fait accompli.

That's also an interesting note about Mance. People have suggested he's actually Rhaegar because it's all so Targy, but I thought it was just R+L=J hints plus foreshadowing for Jon being moved by love for a woman in the future, Sansa, which fits with this:

And there is the Symeon Star-eyes story, which I expect to be repeated in a reversed mirror: Symeon falls madly in love with his corpse wife coming from the North and he establishes a rule of terror. Jon will fall in love with Sansa, flesh and blood, coming from the South, and their rule will be one of prosperity and peace.

Lovely!

Jon as king of the FF is very heavily foreshadowed. One piece of foreshadowing that points to the three rulers is, imo, their seeing the world from the highest position they can find. Jon repeatedly looks down from the Wall; Sansa from the highest tower in KL; and Bran from the tower of WF. (which is why I think that Aegon, looking down from the top of a warehouse is not the real thing). Daenerys as a ruler also receives the same handling by the author, looking down from the pyramid of Meereen.

This is interesting. I did think Aegon was real, not simply a red herring to distract us from R+L=J, but it's possible we will never know. Either way, I always thought Westeros would ultimately be under Stark rule, so Jon, Sansa, and Bran's foreshadowing works. I’m fascinated by the idea of each of the older Starks (Jon, Sansa, Bran) having a kingdom of their own to rebuild.

If Jon becomes KitN he has indeed usurped Sansa's rights, which is inconsistent with everything Jon says and does since his first chapter.

There’s dignity in your suggestion that’s very appealing to me. Rather than Jon's future being determined by family, and instead giving him the opportunity to build in his own name, on his own terms, that's a really positive outcome. I often think, but how would Jon feel about this? When considering possible future events, and so many things seem just, riddled with traps for him, things he'd never be able to overcome the shame of. That's the major barrier for me and the Jon KitN idea. If he accepts he'd feel awful for "usurping" Sansa (even if she supported him) and then post parentage reveal, he'd feel even worse.

However, in our analysis of Martin's book setup we tend to forget that the Gifts (both of them) do not belong to the kingdom, but to the Watch, which is why they declined as the Watch declined.

Yes! I mentioned that here once:

The fact that this is an old Stark grievance and Ned and Benjen had plans to deal with it is very promising. Rectifying that old wrong, making the land safe and purposeful again, that definitely seems like it would fit really well as part of the endgame.

I suppose I thought perhaps Jon would be Lord Commander and turn that over to Sansa, but if he instead, due to his relationship with the FF, oversees it, it allows him to carry out Ned's wishes himself.

Perhaps it is only me, but I think that Jon at the Wall, recognized as a ruler of the FF is consistent with his own story. It is truly bittersweet, it is rewarding, and leaves lots of space for hope, of peace, justice, growth, prosperity, even love in a manner that does no harm to anyone else.

So, in this ending, Jon and Sansa would never be able to offocial marry? How do you think carrying on the Stark line would be resolved?

[agentrouka-blog]

Loved your Arya Dany transition . Can you do a Jon Sansa transition considering their chapters also come many times one after the other ?

Hi anon!

Thank you so much!

Jonsa chapter transitions are a fun fun fun thing to look at. This has been done much better by other people.  I tried it myself a little. 

The obvious ones are in ACOK, where Jon flanks the chapter of Sansa’s flowering, and in ASOS, where it’s basically Jonsa Festival of Unsubtle Hints. 

Sansa I -> Jon I

Sansa I: She meets the Tyrells, goes bibbledy over Jon-like Loras, hears the song The Bear And The Maiden Fair with the honey in her hair, gets an offer of marriage and is asked “Are you fond of fools?” Fools in feathers, specifically. Final line: “But look, here comes my cheese”, (which is supposed to be served last as the servant points out), which is followed by... -> Jon I: Mr. Cheese walks with the free folk, is referred to as a crow flying free (feathers), meets Mance singing the Dornishman’s Wife, which is a song later amended to “Northman’s daughter”. We have another reference to Bael the Bard, which ties to Lyanna (Jon’s true parentage) and Sansa both. Love and cloaks and motivations for leaving the Watch are mentioned extensively, and then Jon lies his way into the confidence of an invading monarch. THIS is followed by… -> Dany I. 

Jon II -> Sansa II

Jon II: A tense confrontation with Mance is disrupted by Ygritte’s lie about her relationship with Jon and ends with his sexual entrapment. (I emphasize that I view this as sexual abuse.) -> Sansa II: ‘“A new gown?” she said, as wary as she was astonished.’ - This feeling basically mirror’s Jon’s emotions. This gown is the one she will wear to her surprise forced wedding to Tyrion, so Jon and Sansa are absolutely mirroring each other’s journey’s here, but more than that is also falls into Sansa’s gown-theme, which ties to her more general “marriage to a prince”, “the dragon’s heir”, “stained with fire and blood”, “I will make you a new one” theme, which hints at the idea that all the messed up or borrowed or treacherous dresses will eventually be replaced by a proper one for the real wedding. 

Even if Dontos was right, and it is Winterfell he wants and not me, he still may come to love me for myself. Sansa hugged herself tightly, wondering how long it would be before the gown was ready. She could scarcely wait to wear it. 

This chapter is followed by Arya III, who HAD promised to make Sansa a new dress at one point.  

Jon III -> Daenerys III -> Sansa III 

Jon III: Jon sends Ghost away the day before climbing the Wall, cave scene with Ygritte where he very very out of nowhere suddenly “loves” her, while still arguing about how he didn’t steal her and refuses to answer if he would sleep with his sister. Ygritte never wants to leave the cave. (Dany has her own cave with Drogon later, btw.) -> Daenerys III: She buys the Unsullied and has her first absolutely devastating and brutal act of warfare: Dracarys, dracarys, dracarys! -> Sansa III: Sansa’s gown is ready. Her forced wedding mirror’s Jon’s sexual entrapment and the cave scene. 

Dany’s dragon threat separates Jon and Sansa here. He feels shame and conflict in a duplicitous relationship, Sansa is entrapped by marriage vows to Tyrion who will be in Dany’s service. 

Sansa VI -> Jon IX

Sansa VI: She is shipped off to the Fingers by Bael-ish who reveals his Evil Masterminding and then marries her aunt, while Sansa is almost raped by a singer. Lysa offers that she marry her cousin, who likes stories about animals pretending to be something they are not. Sansa thinks “No one will ever marry me for love” and is told she must be obedient. “Yes, my son will have a humble and obedient wife.” -> Jon IX: Holds the Wall against the Wildling siege that mirrors Dany’s attack on Meereen (especially the turtles). Jon’s rest is interrupted by Janos Slynt and Aliser Thorne, who call him a turncloak. Jon remains calm (humble and obedient…) but gets violently angry and attacks Thorne when they besmirch Ned’s honor. Stark loyalty 180%. (The visuals here mirror Ned attacking Littlefinger and Show-Jon attacking Littlefinger, both of whom defended the honor of their loves.) 

Jon XII -> Sansa VII

Jon XII: He contemplates Stannis’ offer of Winterfell by revisiting his recent experiences, his bastard trauma, his dream of rebuilding his home. Ghost returns to him and Jon has his answer: who am I? A Snow. He goes off, is voted Lord Commander, celebrates with his friends. Then he has a king to face. -> Sansa VII: She rebuilds Winterfell from Snow, with snowflakes like lover’s kisses, and defends herself from Bael-ish, and fights a Little savage giant. Someone kills a murderous, jealous aunt to protect her. 

Jon makes a choice that is later revealed to be “Winterfell belongs to my sister Sansa”, and Sansa repays this by granting Jon an indelible place in their rebuilt home.

These are pretty popularly known chapter transitions.

One less looked is in AGOT:

Sansa IV -> Jon VII

Sansa IV: She is summoned by an evil queen, pleads her loyalty and her love, is accused of future treason, and ends up writing letters urging loyalty to the evil queen, in order to save Ned. -> Jon VII: Bodies are found that are not what they seem, after Jon has nightmares about the Winterfell crypts. Jon hears of the king’s death and Ned’s treason. He is especially worried for his sisters and attacks Thorne for besmirching Ned’s honor (again!), he badly burns his hand when fighting the wight. “Dark snakes” spill from the belly of the wight. (Dragons?) and Jon prays that the corpse burns. 

“Let it burn, he prayed as the cloth smothered the corpse, gods, please, please, let it burn.”

This is hard to parse, but if you consider reverse foreshadowing it might be that Sansa does write treasonous letters urging disloyalty to a certain evil queen in a way that pertains to Jon, while Jon is worried for his sisters, hoping dark snakes and fire don’t do their worst, after scary times with wights and violent confrontations with enemies. 

One I am reeeeaaaaally curious about is Sansa’s TWOW sample chapter.

Alayne I ends with a pretty anvilicious line:

He grinned. "I will hold you to that promise, my lady. Until that day, may I wear your favor in the tourney?"

"You may not. It is promised to... another." She was not sure who as yet, but she knew she would find someone.

Hypothetically and chronologically, if he didn’t have to split the books, this HAS to be followed by a ADWD Jon chapter, doesn’t it? But which one? I’m not totally up on my timeline work yet, but it might coincide with Alys’s wedding in ADWD, chronologically. Alayne, the bastard girl, dances and dances, Jon refuses Alys’ offer while watching a different barstard dance (Satin) and worries for his safety. 

And will GRRM follow this by a Jon chapter in TWOW? 

Anyway, this is really fun. I’m working on something alittle more coherent about the chapter transitions for Arya and Tyrion because I think that’s going to be A Thing. A violent thing.

[fortunatelylori]

I’m not sure if you are a book reader? Well I’m not (yet) and wanted to know is the tv series portrayal of jon close to book jon? And if sansa and jon are the first starks to see each other again do you think it will be the same or slightly different with a different jon? If that makes sense

Hey, nonnie!

I’m, by no means, a book expert so I don’t know if I’m the best person to answer this but since we’re here … :))))

Is show Jon close to book Jon? This a more controversial question than you realize because people tend to debate this quite a lot. It’s very well known that the tv show does whitewash all of the male characters, while simultaneously making the female characters darker. In some cases, this completely alters their personality and goals from the books. The prime example of this, in my mind, is Tyrion who in the books is walking a very dark path at moment, is filled with rage, violence and destructive instincts. He will probably collide with D*ny at some point in TWOW (just like he did in the TV show) but rather than be the voice of reason that show Tyrion is, complete with shock and horror at the Field of Fire 2.0, he’s probably far more likely to exacerbate and encourage D*ny’s lust for fire and blood, as they match his own. 

So if Tyrion is our base comparison, I would say that book Jon and show Jon are not all that different. Their differences lay in nuances rather than complete changes in personality. 

Book Jon is grayer than show Jon, much more pragmatic and political as well as a bit more ruthless when it comes to his actions and decisions. I’ll give you two examples of show vs. book so you get what I’m trying to say: 

1. Jon letting the Wildlings go past the wall and settle in the lands of the North - in the books, while Jon’s motivation is humanitarian to some degree it’s also pragmatic and political as he ends up convincing the Wildlings to supplement the Wall’s workforce and also offers them food and shelter in exchange for their labor. In the show, the pragmatism and political motivation isn’t quite front and center (show Jon does want the Wildlings to fight with the NW against the WW). He’s just painted as the hero trying to do the right thing. 

2. Gilly - by far the worst thing book Jon does is force Gilly to give up her baby and abandon him, while saddling her with Mance’s child instead. Jon does the baby swap because he fears Melisandre would end up burning Mance’s baby (the whole blood of the king thing). No matter his good intentions, Jon essentially traumatizes Gilly (on top of being raped by her own father, bearing a child out of that horrendous experience, she now has to leave her own baby, while taking care of another person’s child) and then goes on to lie to Sam about it (his best friend). This places book Jon in much grayer territory than show Jon but by the standards of ASOIAF it’s not a capital offence. 

Show Jon does display callousness at time, one instance having to do with Gilly as well (poor girl!). When Sam tries to get Jon to assist him in helping Gilly escape with her baby, Jon dismisses him and doesn’t want to hear about it. This is after the hard talk he got for Mormont about having to put up with monsters in order to survive, but he does want to turn a blind eye to Gilly’s situation. 

There’s also the matter of Ollie’s execution. To be clear, Jon as Lord Commander is within his right to execute Ollie and he’s tormented by it (per his convo with Sansa) but it’s still requires a degree of cold blood to execute a traumatized kid. 

So while there is a bit of grey in show Jon as well, he’s not as grey as book Jon but at the end of the day, both versions are as close as any of us will get to an actual hero out of this story. I personally don’t hate that they’ve made Jon a whiter version in the show. I do like that I don’t have to struggle with Jon’s treatment of Gilly while I watch the show.  

In regards to how Jon/Sansa might play out in the books when compared to the show … This is harder to accurately predict because of the the giant question mark that is Jon post-resurrection. We don’t really know at this time who Jon will be post resurrection, what will change, what will stay the same. Considering GRRM’s comments that being brought back from death should make you less, instead of more, we can assume trauma is very much to be expected. There’s this interesting meta by @rose-of-red-lake on the subject if you want to read more speculation about that. 

So taking that idea as the basis (Jon being traumatized, perhaps forgetful, more suspicious of outsiders, more linked to his wolf and pack etc.) I could see perhaps a reversal of the dynamic we got in the show. 

In the show, Jon is really the one out of the two that is most vulnerable and open. Sansa, partly because that’s how the writers chose to show LF’s influence on her (with the darkSansa storyline) and partly because of her marriage to Ramsay (which I’m fairly certain won’t happen in the books but if you believe the Grey Girl Theory  Sansa might run into Ramsay at some point), is much more closed off and has a harder time opening up to him (although she opens up to him more than to anyone else which speaks volumes).

In the books, I think it might be the other way around. Jon might end up being much more hardened than before, closed off and distant while book Sansa would be softer and more vulnerable (which is closer to how book Sansa is to begin with). 

Will that change their dynamic from the show a bit? I guess but it’s still nuances and not a completely different thing. I do think Jon and Sansa will be the first to reunite so that alone will create a very strong bond between the two where they rely on each other and become each other’s world, to some extent. Which is very much in line with what the show has given us. 

Thank you for the ask!

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

Something rubbed against his leg beneath the table. Jon saw red eyes staring up at him. “Hungry again?” he asked. There was still half a honeyed chicken in the center of the table. Jon reached out to tear off a leg, then had a better idea. He knifed the bird whole and let the carcass slide to the floor between his legs. Ghost ripped into it in savage silence. His brothers and sisters had not been permitted to bring their wolves to the banquet, but there were more curs than Jon could count at this end of the hall, and no one had said a word about his pup. He told himself he was fortunate in that too. His eyes stung. Jon rubbed at them savagely, cursing the smoke. He swallowed another gulp of wine and watched his direwolf devour the chicken. Dogs moved between the tables, trailing after the serving girls. One of them, a black mongrel bitch with long yellow eyes, caught a scent of the chicken. She stopped and edged under the bench to get a share. Jon watched the confrontation. The bitch growled low in her throat and moved closer. Ghost looked up, silent, and fixed the dog with those hot red eyes. The bitch snapped an angry challenge. She was three times the size of the direwolf pup. Ghost did not move. He stood over his prize and opened his mouth, baring his fangs. The bitch tensed, barked again, then thought better of this fight. She turned and slunk away, with one last defiant snap to save her pride. Ghost went back to his meal. Jon grinned and reached under the table to ruffle the shaggy white fur. The direwolf looked up at him, nipped gently at his hand, then went back to eating.

Jon I, AGOT

It's interesting that GRRM would dedicate several paragraphs to a seemingly unimportant exchange between a boy, his wolf, and an unfriendly third party. But there's just something about this passage that has continued to nag at me for years since I first read it because, considering how heavy handed GRRM was with the foreshadowing in AGOT, this feels important.

Jon is sitting at table full of squires - aka would be knights. We don't really know who they are or what families they belong to, but it's safe to assume that they come from a certain level of privilege; this is considering the fact that it cannot be financially easy to be a squire. And these boys already have a slew of tales detailing all their previous knightly exploits regarding "battle and bedding and the hunt" which suggests that they have some capital. So you have boys who will soon be men. And they will, presumably, become men of some power.

These lads eat their fill of the chicken until only half remains, which Jon then gives to Ghost. The direwolf's name is not so important here but what he represents is. Throughout the series, we're told that Ghost is reminiscent of the weirwood trees (because of his red eyes and white fur). He's stated to be of and from the Old Gods and since he's a personification of the weirwoods, he might as well be one of them. It's almost as if Jon is presenting whatever is left on the table to the Old Gods (Ghost). He lets them devour his offerings while he silently watches. And the motif of watching is so interesting here because it's kind of like Jon takes on a stewardship role - to watch over land/people/etc. He oversees Ghost eating the chicken, so he's overseeing whatever has been given to the Old Gods. This is not new imagery to his arc. As a brother of the Night's Watch and eventually its leader, we have several instances where he leads people to adopting the Old Gods in some fashion. In ADWD, several recruits swear their vows to the Old Gods while he watches on as their Lord Commander. The Old Gods are also primarily of the North and we're told that Jon has more of the north in him than his brothers; interesting that this also includes Bran. So perhaps whatever is being offered to the Old Gods relates to the North.

We must also note that Jon initially thinks to give only a small portion, a leg, before pivoting and providing the entire thing. It feels to me a bit like the process of carving up a kingdom or something similar. The lords (represented by the squires) take what they want and leave aside what they don't; or perhaps they have eaten to their fill and can take no more. Then when his time comes, Jon first considers a small piece of land/group of people before eventually absorbing all of whatever is left behind. The concept of carving up a kingdom rings harder considering that we have several callbacks to the ideals of kingship in this chapter. Robert, Jaime, Tyrion, and even Mance though we don't know it yet, all play into this. And then there's the aspect of Jon letting the chicken slip between his legs which evokes birth/fatherhood, a very curious choice when GRRM could've just had Jon place the chicken on the floor. So land/people are carved up and Jon then uses whatever is left to birth his own type of kingdom. And this kingdom is one for the Old Gods.

This also touches on something that has been quite prevalent throughout Jon's arc. It's the concept of accepting the "others" or "those left over" who live apart from the accepted social norms. Arya (a tomboy), Sam (a gender non-confirming boy), the Night's Watch (criminals, extra sons, and men who have no future left or place to go), and even the wildlings are all examples of this. And Jon takes on a leadership/paternal role to every single one of them. He looks after them as a leader would/should. Sometimes, in the case of Arya and the wildlings, he's equated to a king. He's a steward/shepherd/king. There's messianic undertones to this:

Come unto me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30).

If you're familiar with Judeo-Christian tradition, you'll know that Jesus is often personified as one who spent the majority his time among the outcasts. The idea is that he came to save them too and that anew kingdom (or new earth depending on your translation) would spring up after the end of the world where he would forever rule as king; which presents the idea of a final king after the earthly ones are done away with. Now GRRM isn't so heavy handed with Christian allusions as other authors out there, but he does have a Catholic background and Jon is so overtly a Jesus figure. And in Revelation, Jesus is king and god at the very end....

One last thing: the mention of the mongrel who challenges Jon has always been rather interesting but confusing to me. A mongrel doesn't really relate to one specific type of dog. But it's interesting that Jon notes several roaming about where he is. They follow the serving girls who carry the food to be offered. Mongrels are used to describe antagonist/villainous groups in ASOIAF. Sometimes, they're used to describe slavers in Essos. But what's interesting is that most of the time, they're used to describe Euron's Ironborn especially in Victorian's POV. So I don't think the mongrel who challenges Ghost is a supernatural threat of death (i.e., the Others) but rather a human one. They represent those who are called to the scene once the lords have finished playing their games. It almost feels like a feast for (carrion) crows....

But it doesn't really matter because this mongrel isn't much of a challenge for Ghost. Though the mongrel is much larger, the direwolf is able to fend her off very effortlessly. Given that "mongrel" is used to describe Ironborn raiders, could this exchange between Ghost and the mongrel point to reavers or sea raiders who rise and fail challenge Jon kingdom? There is a historical King Jon Stark who did this....

When sea raiders landed in the east, Jon drove them out and built a castle, the Wolf's Den, at the mouth of the White Knife, so as to be able to defend the mouth of the river.[1][2] His son, Rickard, followed him on the throne and annexed the Neck to the north.

ref.

So this might shed some light not only on Jon's already published arc, but also on what we can expect in the future. We have some foreshadowing through Jon's ADWD dream that he will not only rise with the dawn (thereby live through the Long Night), but will be in a position to lead people (wildings in that chapter) to a new peace after a hard fought war. Also remember that the wildlings, rather enthusiastically, swear oaths to him as if swearing oaths to their king. In this instance, the supernatural (a dream of the war for the dawn) is followed by the natural/human. So perhaps this particular passage (and Jon's dream) can be used to predict that Jon comes out on top, and quite effortlessly too, as a leader. And he becomes a leader who rules by association with the Old Gods; or rules a kingdom for them.

To end, I think it's of note that this passage immediately precedes Jon's conversation with Benjen where he voices his desire to go out on his own - the hero's call to action. This is the adventure that's going to kickstart his growth as a man, warrior and most importantly, a leader. So it looks like before we even began, GRRM telegraphed how it would all end in just three short paragraphs.