Why does Jon Snow want to keep this secret from Daenerys?

Question

In S07E03 of HBO's Game of Thrones, Jon interrupts Ser Davos' speech, preventing him from telling Jon's 'return from death' story. Why does he do so?

Answer 1

Because that makes him and his followers sound like insane/superstitious people.

And he definitely doesn't want to come across as mad given the incredible nature of the task he is about.

Saying that he saw and fought White Walkers is insane enough but at least he can prove it, if Daenerys was to go to North with him.

The dagger in the heart however, He may choose to reveal it afterwards but as of now, he is trying to persuade Daenerys and Tyrion that White Walkers exist and he needs their help to stop them. If he tells that I was dead but then got magically resurrected, that would put an end to all these efforts as Daenerys would dismiss his request as ramblings of a mad man. Imagine some guy walking up to you and saying "Hey, Guess what? I got stabbed in the heart, died and then whoosh, Here I am". What would you make of his mental health?

Even if Melisandre adds her voice to him, Tyrion being the cynical man that he is would suspect foul-play and wonder if Melisandre coming to Dragonstone was indeed a coincidence or unrelated to Jon Snow's arrival¹. And Daenerys would be pre-disposed to listen to whatever Tyrion said. And if Tyrion decided that Jon was playing at something else here, that would end Jon's hopes of aid. Tyrion and Jon aren't BFFs. They briefly knew each other on a trip and have respect for each other but that's it.

Daenerys has picked up on that bit, I believe she will eventually ask Jon all about it.

---

_{1. Since clarification is required on this point, If I were an advisor to Daenerys, I'd have suspected that Jon may have sent Mel himself to persuade Daenerys summon him and then portray him as some sort of resurrected messiah and a good guy for some ulterior motives. Which makes Mel's visit completely planned and in fact one strand in a wider web of plans, which would be unknown to me. And whatever is unknown to you, you fear it.}

Answer 2

A few reasons:

1. He's already asking her to believe in a threat that most people think is superstitious nonsense. If he makes that claim and also says "Oh, yeah, I was killed and raised from the dead," then he runs the risk of not getting aid because he's dismissed as a total nut-job.

2. It undercuts his credibility as the man "those hard bastards all chose ... to be their leader because they believe in him"..... except those who so distrusted him that they committed mutiny and murder.

3. It undercuts his ability as a competent leader. You can't be less in control of a situation than having a bunch of people use you as a pin cushion. He put himself in a situation where they were able to do that. One might look at this as an indication that he does not have a firm grasp on what is going on under his command, which might lead one to not devote energy, resources or troops to his cause.

4. He is clearly uncomfortable with the whole thing. He definitely seems to be more fixated, mentally, on the being killed part than being brought back, in terms of time, energy and emotion he devotes to thinking about it. He specifically asked not to be brought back again, if he died in the Battle of the Bastards. He doesn't know why, if there was any reason, he was brought back. He seems to be someone who, excluded as a bastard (to a certain extent), wants to be accepted as a "regular" guy. He joined the Night's Watch, where they were all supposed to be brothers, equal in all ways, with everyone having a clean slate. He doesn't like being in charge ("I didn't ask for this" "I don't {like what I'm good at})". Being a zombie-King, so to speak, might tend to isolate someone from others and make them unlikely to want to interact...

For many reasons, it's not something he likes to discuss, in general ("I was brutally murdered. Yeah...."), and it seems like he sees it as potentially a strategic detriment to put it out there early.