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Why did Jon admit that he killed Daenerys in Game of Thrones S08E06? Why didn't he just tell that she flew away with her dragon? He could say that, escape from the Unsullied and then tell the truth. I understand that there was blood and a melted throne, but he could come up with something.

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    "She just flew away on her dragon!.... Oh that? Probably menstrual blood... best not to draw attention to it, I'll have it cleaned up"
    – Mikey Mouse
    May 22, 2019 at 7:40
  • Well, he could cut his leg or arm and pretend that it's his blood
    – Mzia
    May 23, 2019 at 13:53
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    Grey Worm: "So, you cut yourself on one of the blades on the throne by accident before the dragon melted it to slag and walked over here without leaving a blood trail, then bled in this small patch where it looks like someone bled so much it is almost like they got stabbed in the heart?" -"Jon, yes that is exactly what happened, oh she asked if she could borrow my dagger, so of course I gave it to her"
    – Mikey Mouse
    May 23, 2019 at 14:38
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    @MikeyMouse why would Grey Worm go to the throne room without getting called in? The blood would be dried in 2 hours. After that... well, the whole city just fell down. You see the roof of the building that's missing here? And you are wondering why there is blood there because the queen flew away? Ok.
    – grovkin
    May 23, 2019 at 14:40
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    Drogon did let out some pretty loud and pained cries, blow a whole bunch of fire out of the throne room, then fly past the still-on-fire crumbled walls with Daenerys' body in his claw. Soldiers on the ground may well have have spotted her and figured something was up due to her unconventional dragon-riding position.
    – Paul D. Waite
    May 23, 2019 at 21:25

5 Answers 5

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Jon Snow is a man of honor. It's part of his core personality.

His own personal care is less important for him than being honorable and doing the right thing for the people.

Running away after killing someone (no matter who or what the reasons are) is a very cowardly act, so it's against his very nature.

Also keep in mind he didn't try to run away from the dragon, but instead faced it and was fully prepared to be burned alive as a consequence of his actions.

Another point is the "right thing for the people" part. Suppose he would have fled and the people found out about what happened when he's away. The Unsullied would surely act against the people, and likely many people would die until peace is somehow restored.

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    +1, his actions are very in line with Ned's philosophy all the way back in season 1: the one who passes the sentence should swing the sword.
    – Upper_Case
    May 21, 2019 at 14:31
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    I think your last point about the power vacuum is important. Westerosi politics is already on very shaky ground after Dany's death, and it would be even moreso if it were instead Dany's mysterious disappearance - turmoil would ensue, since some would want to wait for her return and others would want to move on.
    – Nuclear Hoagie
    May 21, 2019 at 15:06
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    @grovkin And that solves... what, exactly? If she "flew away", she'd still be the queen. Everyone would be waiting for her return (or plotting against it).
    – Luaan
    May 22, 2019 at 6:30
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    Given the blood on the ground, I would say pretending she flew away is not a viable option. It is also a cowardly act. Jon would own up to what he did, not try to get away with it. And I agree with Shadow Wizard, it's also not related to what the OP asked.
    – user30594
    May 22, 2019 at 15:49
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    @grovkin well, all I can say at this point is that if you think something is missing, you can add it inside a new answer. You'll even get some rep from this. :)
    – Shadow The GPT Wizard
    May 23, 2019 at 14:33
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Because he is a man of honesty and it has been shown in his own words before (from season 7 finale):

"I'm not going to swear an oath I can't uphold. When enough people make false promises, words stop meaning anything. Then there are no more answers, only better and better lies."

And if you go by his arc he can lie and cheat easily to get away many times before but he will not he is an honest man.

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    Well, yes... But than why did he kill her with a backstab? Not literally, but he kissed her and she didn't know that he has a weapon... I understand that maybe, he couldn't kill her other way... But that's not very honorable anyway...
    – Mzia
    May 21, 2019 at 6:54
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    @Mitch sounds like this can be a separate question of its own. (And a good one.)
    – Shadow The GPT Wizard
    May 21, 2019 at 6:56
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    @Mitch - technically not a backstab, he stabbed her from the front in the heart, but yes, it was veiled with the kiss...
    – Cinderhaze
    May 21, 2019 at 15:06
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    @Mitch It's not like he wanted to kill her. He was still in love with her. The kiss was as genuine as the stab - and it was a quick death, with the one passing the sentence executing it. It may be one of the less honourable things Jon's done, but he didn't lie about it, didn't just send an assassin, and he was the one betrayed (along with essentially everyone else - the Northmen, the people of King's Landing etc.).
    – Luaan
    May 22, 2019 at 6:41
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In addition to the other answers, we should remember that Jon was not just in a relationship with Daenerys but was in love with her. He killed her despite his love for her, because of its importance to everyone's lives; but it was still absolutely heartbreaking for him not only to lose her but to be the cause of that loss. I would imagine someone in that situation to feel absolutely desolate, to the point of not caring what happens to him next—perhaps even with the feeling that he deserves to and/or wants to die.

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    Indeed, he was quite accepting of his impending doom through Drogon; he knew what he's done, he was ready to accept the punishment, but he still knew he had to do it even though he really didn't want to.
    – Luaan
    May 22, 2019 at 6:42
  • And he went ahead with his banishment despite there was absolutely no reason to since the Unsullied just left to be eaten by some butterflies.
    – chx
    May 23, 2019 at 9:28
  • @chx they wouldn't have left peacefully if he would have been pardoned, it's quite clear. There could be war between the thousands of Unsullied soldiers and the Army of the North, leading to thousands of dead people. And that's what Jon agreed to prevent in the cost of his freedom.
    – Shadow The GPT Wizard
    May 23, 2019 at 13:59
  • But after the Unsullied left? He could've stopped at say Winterfell and who'd be the wiser...
    – chx
    May 23, 2019 at 15:45
  • @chx Still the central characteristic - honor. He held on to his oaths for things far more important than his own personal gain. And there would be nothing other than his own personal gain to breaking that oath - not to mention that it's been pretty clearly implied he's quite happy to be coming back to Tormund :)
    – Luaan
    May 24, 2019 at 7:31
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In addition to this being precisely in-character for Jon, there is precedent for Daenerys leaving with Drogon. She did exactly that after the Sons of the Harpy attacked her in the fight pits of Meereen.

And what happened after is that everyone continued what they were doing until Dany returned. Her regime was upheld, awaiting her return. The same would have happened in this case.

So even if Jon had gotten away with it without being imprisoned; he would not have actually stopped the atrocities that were going on.

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    "So even if Jon had gotten away with it without being imprisoned; he would not have actually stopped the atrocities that were going on." - I didn't thought of that, but it does make sense!
    – Mzia
    May 22, 2019 at 5:53
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In addition to the other answers which I think are the primary reason (honour), consider that lying probably would have raised more questions anyway. It would be very odd of her to simply fly away without saying anything, and in time the suspicion would only grow.

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    It may have been odd for her to fly away without saying a word, but she did it before, in “The Dance of Dragons”, episode 9 of season 5. What she has done once she can plausibly do again, even if the circumstances are a little different.
    – Mike Scott
    May 21, 2019 at 15:51
  • @MikeScott exactly!!! That's why I thought of it... But I don't remember, whether Jon knew about that incident? If he didn't He couldn't have known that it'll work
    – Mzia
    May 22, 2019 at 5:51
  • @MikeScott in Dance of Dragons she wasn't in full control of Drogon. I think it would be a stretch at that point to suggest she had been transported against her will to some far off land.
    – user
    May 24, 2019 at 8:24

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