Ygritte (Rose Leslie) quickly proved herself to be a standout character on Game of Thrones. She first appears in season 2, when she encounters Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) during his travels beyond the Wall. Jon and Ygritte become close during his infiltration of the Free Folk, and the two fall in love.
Ygritte's spunk, combined with her badass attitude and skills with a bow, cemented her as one of the series' strongest new characters during its second season. She returns in seasons 3 and 4, but unfortunately, due to her death during the Battle of Castle Black, her time in the series proved to be relatively short.
Despite her brief tenure on Game of Thrones, Ygritte undergoes a major character arc throughout her short screentime. One subtle moment in season 4 shows just how much she has learned from Jon, emphasizing how both of them influenced each other.
Jon and Ygritte say goodbye
While posing as a Night's Watch defector, Jon joins Ygritte and a few other wildlings, including Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) and Orell (Mackenzie Crook), on an expedition over the Wall. Shortly after their climb, they encounter a horse breeder, and Tormund instructs Jon to kill him in order to prove his loyalty. Jon refuses to kill an innocent, outing himself as an infiltrator. Tormund then orders his men to attack and kill Jon.
Ygritte is utterly heartbroken that the man she loved lied to her and betrayed her. After Jon fights his way through the wildlings, killing Orell, she tearfully shoots him full of arrows, making his journey back to Castle Black a painful one.
Notably, Ygritte also ends up killing the horse breeder when Jon refuses to. She doesn't hesitate to shoot and kill an innocent, and views Jon's failure to do so as a weakness. Although season 3 tends to highlight the more tender sides of Ygritte, this moment paints her as a stone cold killer.
Ygritte spares Gilly in Mole's Town
Later, Tormund's men lead an assault on Castle Black, beginning with the sacking of Mole's Town, a village near the Night's Watch's stronghold. The Free Folk massacre the innocent residents by the score, and the carnage is hard to watch.
Notably, Sam Tarly (John Bradley) sent his wildling friend Gilly (Hannah Murray) and her infant son Sam to hide out in Mole's Town. As such, Gilly is front and center for the massacre, and tries to escape in a remote corner of an inn. While ransacking the inn, Ygritte finds Gilly and Sam. Rather than killing them, she places her finger to her lips, instructing the two to stay quiet, and spares their lives.
Perhaps Ygritte takes pity on Gilly as a mother of a young baby, or perhaps she recognizes her as a fellow wildling. Either way, season 4 Ygritte shows mercy, a trait that season 3 Ygritte looked down upon. Ygritte has not seen Jon since his betrayal, but this small moment showcases how much of an effect their time together had on her. While it's easy to see just how much Ygritte impacted Jon, this small instance of mercy demonstrates how the inverse is true as well.
Jon's influence leads to Ygritte's death
Shortly thereafter, Ygritte and Jon reunite at the Battle of Castle Black. Ygritte has previously stated that she won't hesitate to kill Jon when she sees him on the battlefield, going so far as to threaten other Free Folk who might steal her kill. However, when they see each other once again, Ygritte hesitates to shoot him, overcome with emotion.
This brief moment of hesitation opens up a window for Olly (Brennock O'Connor) to shoot Ygritte. Given that Ygritte killed Olly's father, Guymon (Jem Wall), he is finally able to take his revenge. Ygritte then dies in Jon's arms, giving them one last moment as allies, friends, and lovers before her death.
The Ygritte from seasons 2 and 3 wouldn't have hesitated to shoot Jon. She's shot him before, during his escape to Castle Black, and her hatred of him has only grown more intense since that moment, based on her dialogue earlier in the episode about wanting to kill him herself. However, she still hesitates to let her arrow fly, leading to her own death. Maybe this hesitation is out of love for the man she thought she knew, the man who taught her to value mercy — the same mercy that spared Gilly from the grizzly fate that befell the rest of Mole's Town.
For more from the world of Westeros, make sure to catch House of the Dragon season 3, currently airing new episodes Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
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