The 25 Best Power Players on Game of Thrones, Ranked

17. Jon Snow

Is it controversial to have Jon Snow this far down on a list of strategists? Maybe. It’s easy to want Jon to succeed. By this point, we’re all so invested in his journey that a lot of us are rooting for him to be the one to take the Iron Throne. We can ignore when he does stupid stuff because he’s just so darn likeable.

He certainly has his merits. Jon is very skilled at developing personal relationships, which proved key to his survival when he was serving under Ser Alliser Throne, who hated him, at Castle Black. While the son of a lord, Jon is a bastard, which means his prospects were limited. Even so, he rose to become Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch and King of the North, largely because he inspires loyalty. He was the first and still one of the only Westerosi leaders to recognize the gravity of the White Walker threat, and made a deal with the wildings to deal with it. That’s a whole lot to root for here.

Nevertheless, Jon hasn’t always chosen the wisest course of action to accomplish his lofty goals. He may have recognized the threat of the White Walkers, but he was unable to make his men in the Night’s Watch see his point of view, and they murdered him for it. His decision to remain an impartial Lord Commander, while noble and undoubtedly the right thing to do, cost him an alliance with Stannis Baratheon, one of the few other lords to believe in the White Walker threat. And also, he really shouldn’t have run out to try and save Rickon in the Battle of the Bastards. Come on, man.

Jon struggles to recognize problems within his ranks and to follow sound advice from supporters. He’s brilliant in theory, but more a mixed bag in execution.