Wait a second. Are we really saying that “Love is the bane of honor, the death of duty” was the RIGHT lesson to learn? After Jon found out that Ned-my-middle-name-is-“Honor”-Stark SACRIFICED HIS HONOR because he loved Lyanna so much that this is why Jon is ALIVE? Is that why Sansa had to armor herself against emotions and leave every one of her relationships behind in order to become a good queen and why they made a robotic, heartless raven king?
-
Honor…justice…duty…these things are MEANINGLESS except to preserve life, and what is the POINT of life if not love? Yes, it was the right choice for Jon to kill D*ny (not getting into how ridiculous and unnecessary this whole plotline was), but not because it was his duty — because he wanted to protect the other people he LOVES. Because as a feeling, compassionate, LOVING human, he shouldn’t be CAPABLE of loving someone who could callously commit genocide, so this shouldn’t even BE a question of choosing duty over love.
-
Also we’ve SEEN characters who weren’t capable of love (Ramsay, Joffrey, Roose, Tywin), and they were all terrible rulers who DIED because they couldn’t understand empathy or mercy. We’ve also seen characters who were capable of love but chose duty (Stannis, Dickon), and it was their DOWNFALL.
-
I just. Ned Stark did not sacrifice his honor and his marriage and his head for his remaining kids to wind up powerful and pragmatic but alone. The lone wolf is supposed to die while the PACK survives.
