Jon Snow is a broken and beaten man in the Game of Thrones series finale and here’s why he decides to take the black, again.
For Jon Snow, Game of Thrones ends just as it began. One of the first storylines for Jon was heading to The Wall with Ned Stark so he could join the Night’s Watch and take the black.
At the time, we all believed Jon was Ned’s bastard and Catelyn Stark couldn’t find it in her heart to love him and make him feel like he was welcome in Winterfell. So on they went to the Wall where Jon proved himself as a capable warrior and eventual leader of the Night’s Watch,
Until some of his men betrayed him and stabbed him “for the Watch” after he let in the Wildings when the threat of the White Walkers was dire. Jon was resurrected by Melisandre and the Lord of the Light and after executing his killers, he left the Night’s Watch.
That’s been one of the loose ends the show never really talked about as it rushed toward the end. Viewers can assume it was because Jon died, so his tie to the Night’s Watch was fulfilled.
But after the events in the Game of Thrones series finale, where Jon kills Dany, he can barely stomach what he was forced to do for the good of the realm. This was Jon basically killing Dany for the good of others, even if it knows it’s going to kill him inside. Jon basically sacrificed his wishes for the good of the Seven Kingdoms, showing off the nobility of the man who raised him as his son.
Jon has no interest in being the King and sitting on a throne and ruling over the people. The place where he felt most comfortable and with people he could relate to the most was at the Wall with the members of the Night’s Watch.
King Bran sentences Jon to take the black, even though Sansa and Arya wanted him freed. Jon knows it doesn’t feel right. And I’m not sure what the purpose of taking the black will be now that the Wall has been destroyed and the threat of the Night King and White Walkers is gone. It can be a place for wayward youths and bastards from all over Westeros.
So this is where Jon shall live out the rest of his days. Here he will be able to lead in a way without the pomp and circumstance and weight of expectations and pressure that Jon doesn’t want. Hopefully, Jon can find some peace, but I fear he will be forever tormented by the things he’s seen and done.