Where Game of Thrones’ sequel series could take Jon Snow

Jon Snow’s character arc was arguably the second most disappointing in Game of Thrones season 8, just behind Daenerys Targaryan’s, with the White Wolf being surprisingly banished to the Night’s Watch and presumably living out his days beyond the wall. With the Night King defeated along with his army of White Walkers, the Night’s Watch doesn’t seem to have much of a purpose — nor a certain Grey Worm to stay and enforce Jon’s banishment in the first place. That being said, seeing Jon’s life in the “True North” with the Free Folk offers a refreshing blank slate of a premise — or at least the setup for one.

If nothing else, Jon Snow’s curtain call in season 8 is just open-ended enough to provide a fresh showrunner(s) and writing team with the springboard to start a new character arc. On top of just getting to see Jon and Tormund Giantsbane’s friendship on the small screen again, the vastness of the northern-most regions of Westeros could justify new adventures that eventually feed into a grander storyline and conflict.

Likewise, Jon was the only one in centuries to bother to see the Free Folk as they are, instead of exclusively as ravenous “Wildlings.” Spending those years seeing their humanity and trying to unite the bitter factions on the opposite sides of the Wall against a daunting, more important threat could use Jon trying to help reorganize them alongside Tormund in season 8’s aftermath as another great buildup story.

Just as ambiguous as Jon’s ending in Game of Thrones season 8 was Arya Stark’s. Maisie Williams’ character went on a bleak globetrotting journey following the Stark family’s cruel separation, and the final season sees Arya decide to leave again to explore literal uncharted territory. The cartographers of the world of Game of Thrones haven’t documented beyond Westeros and Essos, which makes for another easy blank canvas for a future creative team to paint themselves.

While it’s all speculation as of now, the original report of this possible sequel series could pave the way for the original shows’ survivors to make a comeback as well. The likes of Tyrion Lannister, Brienne of Tarth, Sansa, Bran, and Arya Stark could easily justify a place in a brand new dark fantasy epic after they survived Daenerys’ whiplash-inducing descent into an authoritarian overlord.

There’s plenty of Martin’s rich fantasy world that’s yet to be visualized, and the prospect of exploring land beyond both Westeros and Essos is a thrilling one, even if creatively risky. Arya’s growth into a swashbuckling adventurer could also be turned into a positive akin to Jon’s banishment to the Night’s Watch, as it naturally creates another branching storyline from a unique perspective.

Coming along with this new perspective are new sights that could explore both what’s west of Westeros and the places of Essos we’ve yet to see. So much is ripe for the picking out of Martin’s lore, and while HBO is undoubtedly workshopping other Thrones-related shows to expand the world, this Jon-led sequel could bring to life tantalizing places like the Shadow Lands of Asshai, where dragons were rumored to have originated.

Just as important, though, is that this sequel doesn’t force audiences to slog through another handful of seasons without Arya and the rest of the Starks interacting.

Her initial exploits across the seas could even be (one of) the POVs to introduce a new threat that compels Arya back home to Jon, Sansa, and Bran; and perhaps to a Westeros that Bran and co. are struggling to restructure to bring back that vintage brand of Thrones-flavored political intrigue.