Anti Pol!jon - Tumblr Posts
A bit of a laugh with a bigger side of intellectual dishonesty
![A Bit Of A Laugh With A Bigger Side Of Intellectual Dishonesty](https://64.media.tumblr.com/cc74f8bb6f3198868c7743e34e0c17b3/2ac87cfebc7b9fb1-3e/s500x750/382631dc0f36e4d033f035dde67652c2703a31a3.png)
Now who would have a problem with this?!
meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!
![A Bit Of A Laugh With A Bigger Side Of Intellectual Dishonesty](https://64.media.tumblr.com/c893ad12509c4cdf94a4b97e46b2d71f/2ac87cfebc7b9fb1-2f/s250x400/4b17614afca69e19e55ca4b1607232e7eb39923b.gif)
The thing about blatant lies, intellectual dishonesty, and deliberate misrepresentation for the most superficial of reasons with no respect for accuracy or the canon material (in this case, the show's scripts) is that they get to a place just under my throat and form this pressure where I just want to topple a dresser onto something loud and exceptionally glassware.
So with that said, let's look at some comments from the Jonsa community!
![A Bit Of A Laugh With A Bigger Side Of Intellectual Dishonesty](https://64.media.tumblr.com/c5356733dc720d571a772f22b84932ee/2ac87cfebc7b9fb1-f4/s500x750/45c69862ab78ede81d4e4f2a01689fb72bf483ae.png)
![A Bit Of A Laugh With A Bigger Side Of Intellectual Dishonesty](https://64.media.tumblr.com/d85269156b53d35d814b7e49439a14bd/2ac87cfebc7b9fb1-78/s500x750/0e9c9da1473a0737ba6921a1c5739f1144188920.png)
Oh great, now we know where this is going.
AND GUYS:
![A Bit Of A Laugh With A Bigger Side Of Intellectual Dishonesty](https://64.media.tumblr.com/8f598a1d9946c855ae3d0b8fc0a45877/2ac87cfebc7b9fb1-bf/s500x750/ca9610031577e7afaf9977e6ab2a450dedf67395.png)
![A Bit Of A Laugh With A Bigger Side Of Intellectual Dishonesty](https://64.media.tumblr.com/b7ec0472736e82114d821ebe160d2a08/2ac87cfebc7b9fb1-84/s500x750/fb9a78799c22307eee1e8c1958e97b78e6064bc8.png)
![A Bit Of A Laugh With A Bigger Side Of Intellectual Dishonesty](https://64.media.tumblr.com/1cdf1e43863bae9f056b10899f19e224/2ac87cfebc7b9fb1-14/s500x750/3ecf84d5c20555278c88fd90b8048ddd41ec6847.png)
And this next Jonsa is...
![A Bit Of A Laugh With A Bigger Side Of Intellectual Dishonesty](https://64.media.tumblr.com/034d3ba433c43720fb75be62cd44dbef/2ac87cfebc7b9fb1-41/s500x750/0710e6c165c69ae08ca87acf1a485db0524f10fb.png)
![A Bit Of A Laugh With A Bigger Side Of Intellectual Dishonesty](https://64.media.tumblr.com/fd688c67be92d27d1274ceeb68be2f74/2ac87cfebc7b9fb1-07/s500x750/67cf7149de677b201c098cfcb24ddee55c6f42fa.png)
![A Bit Of A Laugh With A Bigger Side Of Intellectual Dishonesty](https://64.media.tumblr.com/8324d28ae658d51c94c65a5955c4f21c/2ac87cfebc7b9fb1-7e/s500x750/507f02af8a9cce75bed872a5c8a93aad02e5b952.png)
![A Bit Of A Laugh With A Bigger Side Of Intellectual Dishonesty](https://64.media.tumblr.com/a0881116053009b67e8893aa4d7a9836/2ac87cfebc7b9fb1-f0/s500x750/74a2b7e3e744ba8c606f8311be2696781f5be40c.png)
Neither this Jonsa or these Jonsa posters can figure out why Jonerys fans and others would have a problem with this gifset that is deliberately misrepresenting the Jonerys ship or their favourite characters? Or why people would have a problem with Pol!Jon, a wholly misogynistic, sexist, prejudiced, backwards theory that makes no narrative or strategic sense? A theory that turns Dany into an evil bimbo and Jon into the new Littlefinger while Sansa stays perfectly perfect in every way? Neither view or direction was supported on the show, yet the latest Jonsa has the boldness to use the words 'canon' in connection with this gifset. "Canon moments" the gif maker is deliberately misrepresenting and presenting as one of Jon's false smiles -- as if Dany is Littlefinger or Ramsay to Jon. Oh, how Jonsas only wish... However! :) I can answer the latest Jonsa's questions -- which delightfully seem to be written as if they are already in defence of this Jonsa contextualization:
Why would Jon be so attached to an uncle and grandfather he never met? In contrast, Jon has met and gotten to know Dany (who is his paternal aunt btw) over the course of at least several months to about a year. Depending on how much time he's spent with Dany, Jon may know her better than Sansa given Jon and Sansa didn't know each other well until they reconnected in season 6.
Why would Jon smirk in defiance as the party who crucially needs help and needs help ASAP? Is the vanity of the North really that important? (And yeah, I will call it vanity because at this point, fucking independence <<<<<<<<< ice apocalypse)
Why would Jon be uncomfortable with Dany's affection? Canonically, he returned her affection -- in the 7x05 goodbye scene, Jon is trying to focus on his mission to destroy the Night King and he's pushing his feelings away (ie. "There's no time for [romance]"). In the 7x07 scene, Jon and Dany are having one of those rare rare rare happy moments on Game of Thrones while commiserating over their circumstances.
Why would Jon smile over being unable to get Dany to forget about Cersei rather than a shared gallows-humour joke between himself and Dany?
Additionally, why is Sansa allowed to be worried about Cersei in 7x01 and criticize Jon for being "too focused on the Night King", but Dany can't still be worried about Cersei even though Dany is the one who is in active war with Cersei?
Lastly, why can't Jonsas just keep their hands to themselves and to their ship?
This is why I hate Jonsas.
Most of the backlash towards Jonsa is because it’s a Sansa ship that elevates her politically and narratively. An Arya’s stan said that Sansa falling in love with a handsome young man would ruin her arc because her arc is most definitely not about agency. No no no, Sansa’s arc is about a pretty teenage girl learning to love ugly and much older men who terrified, belittled, or tried to rape her. Sansa is always depicted by the Jonsa fandom as a female characters having the choice, being on equal ground, in her relationship with Jon. She is not a frightened little girl forced to be the nurse/emotional punching bag of an abusive, misogynistic, and bigoted man wronged by everyone here, so it must definitely rub them in the wrong way. There’s also that fact that Jonsa is a Sansa ship that doesn’t punish and degrade her for the crime of being a CHILD who always liked really feminine things, tried to be all that a lady “should be”, had sweet unrealistic dreams, and couldn’t see how harsh the real world is because of how relatively sheltered she had been.
You're right in that Jonsa as a ship definitely considers Sansa Stark. I'd argue it considers only Sansa Stark.
However, that's not all it does.
My backlash against Jonsa is because:
Jonsa completely ignores the agency/tastes/preferences/and characterization of Jon Snow to put Sansa on "equal ground" in a romantic relationship with Jon. Jonsa rewrites Jon to be a totally different character, a support character for Sansa Stark: the central character of A Song of Sansa and Sansa.
Jonsa turns Jon Snow into a garbage human in deeply misogynistic ways and completely disregards his arc all in the interest of securing Sansa's safety/desires and elevating her character. Jon is turned in Sansa Stark's Prop Prince lapdog, using his penis to sexually abuse, use, manipulate, and dispose of -- you guessed it! Dany.
And speaking of, Dany is often turned into the favourite villainous punching bag by Jonsas to play as the Disney (often braindead) evil queen to the Jonsa princess Sansa and her bodyguard husband prince Jon Snow, essentially flattening ASOIAF into a cardboard cutout fanfic fairytale Jonsas try to push as actual ASOIAF speculation.
You talk of "a pretty teenage girl learning to love ugly and much older men who terrified, belittled, or tried to rape her" yet Jonsas have discounted a 13-year old Dany being sold to and raped by a 30-year old Drogo because Dany ended up falling in love with him. If that's not bad enough, Jonsas ship a late-40s to 50 year old Euron Greyjoy with a 16-year old Dany because ViLlAin rOmAnCe. The hypocrisy is giving me a bit of a headache, sorry.
Jonsa the ship certainly will punish Arya for not being feminine or classist enough -- she's blamed for Mycah's death because she was playing with a boy below her class. She's said to not qualify for being a Lady or Lady of Winterfell because she's not ladylike enough or not "class conscious" enough. She's eliminated from any romance arc or having children of her own because she's not conventionally feminine. Jonsas punish Dany for her Targaryen bloodline, claiming Dany is a "blood purist" when she was overjoyed to carry her half-Dothraki baby and dreamed of his birth; has a Tyroshi lover; married a Meereenese noble. Where are Dany's blood purist thoughts again? That Targaryens have "madness" in her blood.
Some alarming views on femininity.
There’s also that fact that Jonsa is a Sansa ship that doesn’t punish and degrade her for the crime of being a CHILD who always liked really feminine things, tried to be all that a lady “should be”, had sweet unrealistic dreams, and couldn’t see how harsh the real world is because of how relatively sheltered she had been.
Nice strawman. Nobody is disliking Sansa because she's feminine or because she was dreamy. There are other feminine, girly characters in this series who don't draw the ire Sansa does. Those who dislike Sansa dislike her because of some character traits she demonstrates. The bullying behaviours she demonstrated toward Arya, the lack of concern she demonstrated toward Arya, the classism with which she viewed the world (looking down on Jon for his bastardy, looking down on bastards and smallfolk in general, looking down on Mycah). Sansa does hold to Westerosi's prejudices, which can be hard to take at times. These are canonical traits Sansa has.
Sansa is also fairly superficial sometimes and doesn't demonstrate a great care or concern for the people (ie. planning a gigantic feast while the country starves) so it's frustrating when Sansa stans and Jonsas try to push Sansa as the ideal, caring queen and leader while bashing Dany, Jon, and others to prop Sansa up. Characters who have real leadership experience in a series where leadership is meant to be difficult and truly explored.
And just a reminder: Jon, Arya, Bran, and Rickon grew up in the same home Sansa did, just as sheltered. They've been facing how harsh the real world has been from day 1.
Hi, I’ve been reading your Dany and Jon asks and I am really curious why you think the political!jon/ucl theory goes against the themes of the books? Thanks!
“It was the cold,” Gared said with iron certainty. “I saw men freeze last winter, and the one before, when I was half a boy. Everyone talks about snows forty foot deep, and how the ice wind comes howling out of the north, but the real enemy is the cold.”
- Prologue, AGoT
The prologue’s there to frame the conflict of the entire series, and it’s outright stated that the cold is the enemy. (And at the end of the book, Dany proclaims that the fire is hers. Bookends.) The ultimate antagonist in this series is an inhuman, anti-human force against which all humanity should unite.
The idea that people should work together to face threats greater than themselves recurs across the series. Whether it’s Ned telling Arya that she and Sansa will need each other, Catelyn imploring the Baratheon brothers to work together, or Jon and Stannis making common cause at the Wall itself, the idea’s there. The White Walkers are a problem bigger than anyone, and people should work together. The idea that at the business end of the series one of the protagonists will callously manipulate another protagonist into helping sort out the final showdown is just bizarre to me. Especially when the other option is one protagonist convincing another protagonist to lend a hand and a few dragons, nothing but good faith between them. Even the show has started to bear in this direction from time to time.
I think this theory is also pretty OOC for even the show versions of Jon and Dany. The show’s got its issues with showing us one thing and telling us another, but that theory pretty well denies that Dany could ever want to save the world because the world’s worth saving, and ignores Jon’s distress over deceiving Ygritte.
Given the options between “offscreen, Jon decided to give up on a good faith alliance with Daenerys and instead seduce her into offering her assistance,” and “the Jon/Dany romance writing did not come off altogether as convincing as intended,” I know which I find more plausible.
not only is pol!jon extremely disgusting, it's also laughable to think that dany (out of ALL characters) would fall for a man's lies lmfao
![Not Only Is Pol!jon Extremely Disgusting, It's Also Laughable To Think That Dany (out Of ALL Characters)](https://64.media.tumblr.com/caa0e3637ed769ecb60087b466fe2a25/88cce6fe088164d4-94/s500x750/7881fafe8f8a430b1dd6bc73f13ff3cd4d568f99.jpg)
![Not Only Is Pol!jon Extremely Disgusting, It's Also Laughable To Think That Dany (out Of ALL Characters)](https://64.media.tumblr.com/410b5eaaf956d699428af7d5e8ee0f35/88cce6fe088164d4-f9/s500x750/f9866b333197c37f1b6e4e1d79b02d9474c0bc8a.jpg)
not only is pol!jon extremely disgusting, it's also laughable to think that dany (out of ALL characters) would fall for a man's lies lmfao
![Not Only Is Pol!jon Extremely Disgusting, It's Also Laughable To Think That Dany (out Of ALL Characters)](https://64.media.tumblr.com/caa0e3637ed769ecb60087b466fe2a25/88cce6fe088164d4-94/s500x750/7881fafe8f8a430b1dd6bc73f13ff3cd4d568f99.jpg)
![Not Only Is Pol!jon Extremely Disgusting, It's Also Laughable To Think That Dany (out Of ALL Characters)](https://64.media.tumblr.com/410b5eaaf956d699428af7d5e8ee0f35/88cce6fe088164d4-f9/s500x750/f9866b333197c37f1b6e4e1d79b02d9474c0bc8a.jpg)
This is quite something. Jonsas propose Cersei loved Sansa on the show but abhor the idea of Jon loving a certain woman who saved him so much that they morph him into an abusive sociopath who is secretly plotting Dany's downfall behind his sexual manipulations of her.
![This Is Quite Something. Jonsas Propose Cersei Loved Sansa On The Show But Abhor The Idea Of Jon Loving](https://64.media.tumblr.com/0e1f772da43ea9f2c28acadd19024ec6/aae3a3c548bfc4b9-18/s500x750/d1377188a837acff40788d3362c0f176d4aa8947.png)
Hm.
Pol!Jon: A Study in Nonsense
I was recently closing some of my old documents and came across an old draft of myself arguing with a Jonsa on YouTube or Reddit or somewhere in the wild out there about Pol!Jon. I've spent probably over five years now arguing against the Pol!Jon theory so there's a lot to talk about. Let's dive in!
But first, what is Pol!Jon? It has other names like UndercoverLover!Jon and is short for Political!Jon but basically, it's quite the misogynistic little theory that still breathes life into the hearts and minds of some Jonsas around here. It features Jon callously using Dany and sexually manipulating her while faking his love for her in order to gain access to her dragons and armies to fight the Others.
In this theory, Jon is a separatist who would never give up Sansa's precious independent North because in this theory, Jon's life revolves around Sansa and what Sansa wants. According to Jonsas, Jon lives everyday for Sansa and fought the Battle of the Bastards for Sansa (Rickon who?) He asks Melisandre not to bring him back if he falls because apparently, if he can't protect Sansa, he doesn't want to live at all (I thought it was because he was suicidal per canon and he didn't want to be brought back to life a second time). In this theory, Jon wants to fight the army of the dead to create a better world for Sansa. He must steal Dany's dragons for Sansa and ride Dany like a braindead flesh eating horse... for Sansa.
Now Dany. Oh boy. Of course, according to Jonsas, Dany is always a piece of work. Dany is a cruel, heartless firebug tyrant witch who loves2kill, eats blood sandwiches, drinks blood milk, and can easily be controlled and manipulated by sex (until she's not but that's also, somehow, "proof" of Pol!Jon-- oh, I'm sorry, Sacrificial!Jon now). After she bathes in virgin blood and feeds more babies to her rooms' fires to keep her toes toasty, Dany'll summon her nephew to have sex telepathically by thinking how she'd like to see him in private later.
But yeah, basically this is how they were characterized: Jon was a Stark Northern nationalist and Sansa groupie who was going to sexually exploit and nefariously use Dany, Dany was just a brainless dictator thirstbot who could be steered like a happy lil steamboat ⛵ with Jon's penis. The original theory had Jon faking his fealty to Dany and plotting with Sansa against Dany once they found out his true parentage (see, Jon would be telling Sansa his true parentage first and hiding it from Dany while making sweet sweet nephew love to her with his body to keep her sweet, docile, and placated -- oops). There was even to be a Dance of the Dragons 2.0 between Dany and Jon per Jonsa speculations when the ruse was up but alas, none of that happened, despite Jonsas acting like all their predictions happened :)
Now usually, a nice calm discussion with a Jonsa over Pol!Jon will start something like this...
Jonsa:
"You know, and I do not mean to be rude, but it never ceases to amuse me that whenever I’m in a discussion [about Pol!Jon] with a Dany fan … that is a fan who refuses to believe that Dany’s capable of doing what she did in the show, despite evidence to the contrary in the books … they always, always, get into justifying her by comparison. They’ll bring up Arya, Bran, Ned, Robb, and of course, their favorite, Sansa. Why? Did I mention Sansa? Did I say what I thought about her and Jon?"
So why bring up Sansa? Pol!Jon is central to Sansa when it comes to Jonsaland: Jon's "love" for Sansa triumphing over all else including Jonerys, the Northern crown for Sansa, "domination" for Sansa over evil rival Dany without Sansa having to lift a single finger or sully her moral character. That's all on bad guy Jonsa-Jon who is basically treated like a corruption toilet by Jonsas -- just have him do the atrocious actions for the love of Sansa and flush it all away afterward in their "happily ever after". See, if Jon does something evil/dark/bad for Sansa, that's perfect fine (even swoon worthy) in Jonsaland but if Dany looks at somebody the wrong way? Tyrant who deserves death. Another reason why Sansa is brought up is because it demonstrates an amazing example of Jonsa logical fallacies in action: Pol!Jonsers like to pretend Pol!Jon is the only way S7 & S8 Jon makes sense. This pretense goes hand in hand with pretending that D&D's... flawed... writing and bad plotting was limited to Jon, Dany, and their relationship and that their writing problems would be perfectly explained away by the totally sensical, unbiased, plot hole-free, absolutely non-shippery Jonsa-driven Pol!Jon theory :)
This pretends that Show!Smart!Sansa's actions make all kinds of sense, especially when it comes to a brother (Jon) that she's supposed to love: withholding potentially life-saving military info from Jon for no reason during the Battle of the Bastards when he's trying to save their brother and is facing the giant army of a psycho! Manipulating Jon into joining that war by using Rickon's life to pull Jon in before telling him to give up Rickon for dead the night before! Completely disregarding Jon's choices he makes about his parentage information and claim! Breaking her vow to Jon in the godswood seconds later to make Jon the central target in a claimant war from those who want Dany on the throne! TY Sansa!
It pretends that all the other non-Jon and Dany plots from season 5 were perfectly sound.
Do we have a Pol!Jon theory for when Jon puts Sansa in the crypts during the battle against the dead, knowing the Night King raises the dead? Maybe Jon's hoping he can finally get rid of Sansa's nagging with an, "Oops! I put her in the crypts and blanked out about the dead people! Stress, you know?" "What about all the other civilians?" "Tbf, Sam, did we really need them?" "Dark, dude." "Right? Death changes a man." Enjoy the Dark!Jon, Jonsas :)
In this post, I'll look over the origins of Pol!Jon, run through the outcomes of the theory, take a look at the different versions it ran through once Pol!Jon v1 didn't start coming to pass on the show, the self contradictions of the theory and between its various versions, and Jonsa response to canon :) Finally, I will look at the ramifications Pol!Jon would have to Jon's arc and its themes before closing out.
Origins
Despite later claims from Jonsas, Pol!Jon didn't come about based on observations from the show or that "something fishy was going on" between Jon and Dany (somehow always only observed by Jonsa fans). It came about nearly a year prior to Jon and Dany even sharing screen time -- Pol!Jon was born in reaction to leaks in November 2016 that revealed Jon and Dany would be hooking up. I remember first seeing it in December 2016.
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/ef23452b9f81661668f88b700c1eddd2/6effd3a9f5bc054f-9e/s500x750/5a505e793595aa8774550301727f58a1fcdee530.png)
After the massive meltdown died down a bit, Jonsas began cobbling a story together that they could live with: Jon sexually exploiting a rape victim and faking his love for her :)
Heartwarming how much Jonsas love Jon
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/02ac60256e6ac704f9a7198fc474f388/6effd3a9f5bc054f-30/s250x400/fc85bcc0da19723013119e5a7209228bee0ba241.gif)
And with this new story Jonsas push onto Jon, our newest little Northern Nationalist refuses to give up the North's precious independence for any reason, nevermind a crucial theme in Jon's arc being about unity. Jon's now got to depend on his mighty penis to steer that monster Dany in the right direction. A big job for a little fellow :(
And this was decided by the Jonsa community before even shooting for season 7 began.
Real woke and progressive, guys.
Now let's examine how this would play out! :)
The outcomes of Pol!Jon
Well, turns out Pol!Jon never really had an exit strategy because when you run the scenarios through:
a) Jon knowingly submits the North to somebody he believes is an unhinged, unstable tyrant who could go off at any time -- when he didn’t even have to -- hoping his dick is enough to control her and that she never catches on (ie. that Dany is a thirst bot controlled by the d) or;
b) the Dance of the Dragons v2 scenario: he reveals that he’s been using Dany and lying to her this whole time (which would be treason), handing Dany and her supporters a glittering reason on a silver platter to go to war against the North, upon which they’ll be completely decimated or;
c) he’s scheming to get rid of Dany and actually has planned on starting yet another civil war from the beginning with Dany’s armies and supporters… while his own forces are severely lacking (thus why he needs Dany per this same theory)… causing more death and destruction to the realm, including his own people.
d) need I list out the narrative and in-universe pitfalls of what would happen if Jon decided to frame another region for Dany's murder?
Not only would framing another region start yet another needless human war within Westeros (what Jonsas are supposedly against when it comes to Dany as queen), I highly doubt GRRM is going to reward the North with peace and prosperity for Jon's stunt here (and no, neither exiling or executing Jon is payment enough for the North's peace while hundreds of thousands suffer in a war Jon caused in exchange). Plus, what happens when they're found out? Oh wait, is the North special and they get away with it forever and ever?
Worse yet, Dany hasn't even done anything at this point but save Westeros from total annihilation. And Jon is plotting against her? Why? Even more mind boggling, this is the same speculation Jonsas have for the books too. So Dany plays a crucial part in saving the world from one of Jon's darkest nightmares coming true and he's plotting her assassination...?
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/e54ea3404f3fa3b48ea0ece9623f70dd/6effd3a9f5bc054f-95/s400x600/7546feb3f819768bb20834433a6a5084314d3ed4.gif)
And no, don't give me that dAnY iS a TyRaNt aNd a ConQueRoR AnD JoN haTeS fIrE. Jon, himself, is a feudal lord -- he is elected but Jon himself does not take a vote on his decisions or run trials. Jon, himself, has fought with fire from atop the Wall. Jon's hero was the Young Dragon, a 14-year old conqueror who invaded Dorne atop a dragon. Jon dreamed of being a conqueror himself. Jon has generations of Stark ancestors -- and a Stark brother -- who are conquerors. I could go on but that is a post for another day.
Oh, and in the scenario Dany's not this evil hurricane of darkness and fire? Nice job torpedoing that much needed alliance, Jon. Dany has connections in the east, is queen of Meereen, while the North is struggling with food scarcity, would have just fought a war and is in dire need of repair...
So with Pol!Jon, Jon is placed in a far more incomprehensible and nonsensical position -- it can't even handle an exit strategy. Yet proponents of Pol!Jon claim this theory would make Jon "smart" :/
Revision!Pol!Jon
Sadly for Jonsas everywhere, Pol!Jon kept having to undergo revision after revision by desperately rallying Pol!Jonsers because, unfortunately, Jon would do things that didn’t comply with Pol!Jon.
This includes things like Jon’s fealty being genuine (when Jonsas were so sure it was a ruse); telling Dany the truth about himself before telling Sansa (when Pol!Jonsers were so sure Jon would confide in Sansa first and keep it from Dany); refusing to press his claim against hers when the original theory posited that Jon would secretly use his claim against Dany to undermine her and take the throne from her resulting in the Dance of Dragons v2 (which Pol!Jonsers were sure Jon would do with the aid of Top Advisor Sansa); not warning Sansa or Arya about the oooooooh-so-apparently-dangerous Dany (as Pol!Jonsers were sure Jon would do to reveal his “true” feelings and his “real” plan with Dany); never revealing, “Oh, Sansa, I never loved her, I’ve always loved you! That burn-happy psychotic dictator was just a deluded tool in my grand plan to save the North and only the North, before I marry you, my true love! Will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world by becoming your parents born again? Including the woman who brought me so much pain for most of my life?”… A revelation which Pol!Jonsers were waiting for with bated breath but alas, never came, etc. Among other things.
And as revision after revision of Pol!Jon occurred, it resulted in more and more contradictions within various iterations of their own theory.
Eventually, Pol!Jon became Sacrificial!Jon wherein several 180s are done: surprise, Jon wasn't faking fealty to Dany after all -- so, of course, he must be forcing his fealty to save the North and placate Dany! And now, Jon is suddenly "too honourable" to betray fealty to Dany (but this honour doesn't matter when it comes to manipulating, exploiting, and faking love for a rape victim apparently). Ditto goes for dropping Dany like a stone after the war against the dead -- that didn't happen so Jonsas figured it's part of Jon's "Sacrificial!Jon" ruse, the one where Jon does whatever Dany wants to keep her satisfied, pliant, and happy so Jon can get her away from Sansa safely and calmly...
...Except, while Jon does side with Dany in some areas (like the 8x04 war council), Jon doesn't simply keep Dany satisfied, pliant, and happy, nor does he do everything she wants and they both know it. In 8x02, Jon now knows Dany is his aunt and spends the whole episode avoiding everybody who isn't from the Wall, including Dany -- much to Dany's displeasure. Where's the placation?
Remember the Jonsa explanation for why Jon and Dany's first sexual encounter happens well after Jon pledges fealty to Dany since, in Jonsaview, Jon was only pledging fealty to and seducing Dany for her help (help that she freely vows to Jon before he gives his allegiance to Dany)? I recall Jonsas explained it away that Jon sexed Dany up because he had to seduce her into apparently keeping her on side: focused on the Night King, her mind off Cersei, and her body and mind pliant, satisfied, happy, and under Jon's control. That was the whole point of boatsex apparently -- according to Jonsas. And what happens right after Dany, Jon, & co. all learn Cersei lied about their truce? Jon bolts, avoiding Dany and everyone else in the room.
Uh oh, looks like Pol!Jon isn't doing his job.
So yeah, where's Jon appeasing Dany and keeping her "on side" here?
At the end of that same episode, Dany comes and finds Jon. He's honest with her about the truth of his parentage, Dany is the first one Jon tells -- well before Sansa (which pissed Jonsas right off) and even Arya. Then, in the fourth episode, Jon initiates but stops their make-out session because of his incest hang-ups and Dany voices that she wishes Jon never told her the truth. Jon is frustrated too. He tells that he must tell his sisters. They argue. Jon doesn't back down. Dany doesn't back down. Again, where's the placation in this scene? Where is Jon holding back? Later, in episode five, Jon withdraws from their intimacy again. Where's the appeasement, placation, mollification here? Jon's not doing or saying things Dany wants here and again, they both know it, so how can his words and actions when they are positive about Dany or in defence of Dany be a ruse? How is Sacrificial!Jon working out here with supposedly "taming the dragon" when he's not doing what she wants either?
Well, apparently this is also proof that Dany is being "played" by Jon because get this: Jon's disagreement and resistance to their intimacy here isn't due to his issues with incest or wanting to be honest with Dany that he feels he must tell his family, no. According to Jonsas, it's Jon showing his simmering secret disdain for his "captor" and balking at her authority. The writers and scripts and logic be damned!
It’s telling that Pol!Jon only came after the season 7 leaks revealed Jon and Dany were getting together. It was never a theory (for the show or books) before that point.
And not only that, while today's Jonsas make fun of the Jonerys people for ever believing that Jon knocked Dany up, the Jonsas of 2018-19 had a contingency plan for that too -- introducing Abortion!Jon. Abortion!Jon features an even more morally depraved Jon who secretly slips a pregnant Dany moon tea without her knowledge or consent to abort their child.
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/e9d828df9f6f66ace20359f9089c8201/6effd3a9f5bc054f-d6/s400x600/10fa7b21bf35b3fdac25fd221f25cd517cc2861d.gif)
Yeah. "Feminists."
Then again, it's not like Jonsas see Jon as a lead character in his own story anyway.
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/c7bc87cfda2d858110bb5fdd898c85d5/6effd3a9f5bc054f-90/s500x750/83ff22f7a9c1709095bd9542458822127370f396.png)
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/34152c683ca82fbb16e3b98a8f51ab98/6effd3a9f5bc054f-5b/s1280x1920/d276e5fd33427ba8356882eed4289c6107308e33.png)
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/0e198cc64615529afcd7b8f0f8b170c3/6effd3a9f5bc054f-63/s640x960/201051b2169eab9d69cdf9c2718aae7ad9aa5d03.png)
And those are but a few examples off the top of my head.
But onto the next section!
Conspiracy Theories!
In the previous section, I talked about how the ever growing build up of contradictions within the theory itself resulted from the show relentlessly going against Pol!Jon as events played out on screen. Consequently, Jonsas forced the theory to undergo revisions into other versions to, erm, "accommodate" these contradictions.
Unfortunately for its anxious followers, Pol!Sacrificial!Abortion!Jonsa!Jon was not victorious yet. Canon script and interview snippets still wielded their ugly swords: Jon loved Dany. Dany loved Jon. Jon's fealty to Dany was genuine and he bent the knee to Dany after realizing he loved her. Gah. He was into Dany as soon as he saw her. THAT TREACHEROUS WHORE (Jon, I mean. Think of the North! The whining flip flopping North!) And he blueballed Dany because he learned she was his aunt! So it wasn't because he realized he had Dany trapped in Winterfell with the Night King coming per the (✨new & revised✨) Pol!Jon proposal and now he was just. so. relieved. to. realize. he didn't have to sex her sweetly, gently, and doublecrossedly anymore!!
I've just got to ask a bit of a question about this whole thing....
a) When and where did Jon look relieved to be done making out with Dany in 8x04?
b) How would Jon know down to the second, minute, or even hour when the Night King was coming? Did they share numbers at Hardhome? Does Tormund know he has another bud Beyond the Wall?
c) If Jon was supposed to be focused on trapping Dany in WF until he knew for sure the NK was close and knew what time he'd be coming, why did Jon spend the whole day avoiding Dany too, giving her lots of time to leave? You know, if Dany is the flight risk Jonsas say she is?
....Because even when Dany and Jon hear the horn, it's not like Dany couldn't just turn around, refuse to fight, hop on Drogon, wish the North good luck, and order her dragons and armies to leave. Which is what Jonsas were literally speculating up until the end of 8x02 that night it aired.
Anyway, the show had written Dany and Jon to be in love and mutually. This was unacceptable to Jonsas so they got to work in fantasyland :)
But boy, were Jonsas and Stansas mad when the scripts said Jon loved Dany :) and they use these conspiracy theories to:
a) “invalidate” the cast/crew/writers/scripts stating Jon loved Dany by saying they were lying just for the sake of the public (even after the finale aired...);
b) to explain away story aspects even they couldn’t twist into the Pol!Jonsa narrative (such as Jon rationalizing Dany’s burning King’s Landing -- because Jon was "too honourable" to betray Dany but again, not too honourable to use and abuse a rape victim I guess... or commit oathbreaking back in season 3 or be willing to break sacred guest right in season 4...?);
c) to claim such scenes such as the 8x06 Tyrion/Jon scene where Jon is rationalizing Dany's actions are “retcons” while the “real” Pol!Jon ending was trashed and scripts were “tampered with”.
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/f0e1600295e3f503070e875efdd99b1d/6effd3a9f5bc054f-85/s500x750/278a330559e7b00ee563d17ac2e344c56c3d681f.png)
(ahahahahahaha)
Honestly, that blows me away. The entitlement and gall of that fandom to think that their crack theory driven by their crack ship is writer backed. I don't care how terrible the writers are -- that they honest to god think their misogynistic little punishment wet dream of a "theory" is a credible storyline when it doesn't even have an exit strategy is truly mind-blowing.
Oh, and they’ve blamed Emilia Clarke for cockblocking Jonsa. Sure. Does Emilia Clarke even know what Jonsa is? Does she care? If Emilia Clarke really had this power, wouldn’t she use it to change the final act of Dany’s story on the show? Point to me where D&D is trying to “appease” Dany stans? Whose fave has a crown again?
Jonsas claim D&D scrapped Pol!Jon at the last minute because it’d be too “controversial” for the audience.... on Game of Thrones. Where they had a pregnant woman stabbed to death... in her pregnant tummy. Jonsas deny Kit Harington’s confusion and bewilderment over Jonsa, claiming his “acting choices” are evidence that he was acting out Jonsa all along but forced by the higher-ups to give the Jonerys party line (you know, the couple that ended so happily) or just straight up making up baseless rumours:
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/d9bb8f84896311f062271a9060fea8ad/6effd3a9f5bc054f-fa/s640x960/023063a5c6c62ad1cd3f7bbfd400c07a60310bea.png)
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/0f26e1dfa15eae00c36f7ccf0cd7cc21/6effd3a9f5bc054f-13/s640x960/36d039b10b8b4bca5f30d9d007290e3c5d41e5f1.png)
The list goes on. As a result, those still bitterly hanging onto the theory keep insisting there is “support” for this shipper-derived-and-driven theory which was conveniently developed to explain away Jon and Dany’s relationship upon finding out it would be happening in season 7.
"Support" like when I asked a Jonsa who claimed Dany "summoned" Jon to her chambers the night he came to her room for boat sex in the "original script". I asked them to show me. This is what they were talking about -- from the leaked season 7 outline. Heavy sigh.
When the meeting ends, Theon asks if he can speak to Jon alone. Jon asks for Dany’s permission to do so. Dany grants it. She has some things she’d like to discuss with Jon later, privately. Exit Dany.
Yes, this is apparently a summons. A woman thinking about what she'd like to discuss with a man privately. This is what comprises "support" for a Jonsa.
Ramifications and Themes
Jonsas and their lunacy do make me laugh with how so off the mark they are and I love arguing with them on Reddit. That said, Pol!Jon admittedly steps on a nerve because of how sheerly problematic this theory is and what it says. It's not that Jonsas are regular ASOIAF fans that have deduced this theory from text and are afraid of this theory coming to fruition. They came up with this theory to happen as some sort of contingency plan because their nightmare (Jonerys) was happening over their fantasy (Jonsa) whereby their girl Sansa was not getting with the hot young hero secret prince, Jon. It's down to a pathetic ship war over a ship that is a total crack ship. They vilified Dany to prop up Sansa because Dany got the guy they want for Sansa.
We've got shit like this:
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/82f2088f6475996ce270af6d45dc0e6f/6effd3a9f5bc054f-9f/s500x750/5ef9e1ffb3443395c9a3f2271704a063e8a92573.png)
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/18faf0d20cb8bd8fadbc5796ff9934da/6effd3a9f5bc054f-de/s500x750/b1fa8334d91123920357587bcbb2eaf573bf2c4c.png)
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/f2d4215dc7088d560b32bc8152ba3bb0/6effd3a9f5bc054f-35/s500x750/e1b2632d06fc82bcae1525e61c5606192b81d94e.png)
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/6df04b6323e2aa272de9f74469893782/6effd3a9f5bc054f-b8/s400x600/5e693836869f6d6d72a4abba0e1ef5e1802767cc.png)
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/d8ca6321678f18e200dabcc2147f3b01/6effd3a9f5bc054f-03/s1280x1920/bb0648c7047cdbbfb7b92fb619cd3e6c87ab005f.png)
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/fec3b713f5ca4831bbe747ba6cb39ab0/6effd3a9f5bc054f-11/s1280x1920/fc0e95397c225fa9a3aab59a7eb0e7a8787a5e59.png)
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/abf2f6d89293d99e9d940458e3a69b45/6effd3a9f5bc054f-ed/s1280x1920/7f17bb4914411c595b5283b4091f3e3b9acb170b.png)
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/6b71efab7f2935c006d87797e9819ae2/6effd3a9f5bc054f-12/s500x750/114ebe0136e5c6f8d1702689d524488a9525ec93.png)
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/658efd88d26e3e20ddb42c9eca86d992/6effd3a9f5bc054f-29/s400x600/8731287b8a7c76624585e4f548a9504988938cf1.png)
(In this one, note how Sansa completely replaces Dany in the Dany and Jon promo shots for S8. You know, the ones Jonsas called "empty and "un in love")
To repeat what I said above, Jonsas came up with a theory that has Jon sexually exploiting and faking his love for a rape victim (who loves him!) And how do they characterize said rape victim? As the enemy. As the one who "deserves it". As a brain dead dictator who must be brutally killed after she is sexually manipulated, used, and abused.
Let's talk about that for a moment.
Jonsas keep claiming that Dany was “abusive” to Jon and vilifying her for it. Yet also, in the very same breath, these same Jonsas came up with and supported theories like the very abusive Pol!Jon. They not only theorized Pol!Jon, they counted on it, looked forward to it, and insisted this theory was the only way the story and Jon made "sense" – an overly convoluted, inconsistent, contradictory, and incredibly misogynistic theory they developed in which Jon is abusive to Dany in his manipulation, lies, and exploitation – all for the sake of Jonsa/Sansa.
Yep, and not only that, they have Jon doing the act. Jon, who has spent his book arc empowering weaker characters (often fellow outsiders, his tightest bonds by far) in self defence and combat so they can defend themselves. So they aren't caught off guard. So they can fight. He believes in arming women, spearwives. Giving them their own castle, even if preventing rape means losing some of his men, even against objections of his officers -- but he's going to sexually prey on Dany, is he?
And you better believe Dany would be one of those characters dragon or no (and for the vast majority of the series, she's been without a dragon to bail her out). Dany is not afraid to go into battle or lead forces on the ground, as she's shown already when she's jumped right into the fray head first, but she still needs to be trained with a sword and in ground combat. She's still a 16-year old small-boned girl who is thin and short -- but sure, Jon's going to sexually prey on her.
Jonsas also love to use Ygritte as a "precedent" for Jon sexually manipulating and faking love for Dany but I love to use this as evidence for Jonsas who do so never reading the books :) Ygritte blackmailed Jon into sleeping with her. Jon was clear about rejecting Ygritte’s sexual advances, despite his growing attraction to her to the point where Tormund questions what Jon’s problem is. And when Jon did sleep with her, his feelings for her genuinely deepened. Jon notes he loves Ygritte. Twice:
Ghost padded beside their garrons as Jon and Ygritte descended the Fist. It was not until they were halfway across the Milkwater that Jon felt safe enough to say, “I never asked you to lie for me.”
“I never did,” she said. “I left out part, is all.”
“You said—”
“—that we fuck beneath your cloak many a night. I never said when we started, though.” The smile she gave him was almost shy. “Find another place for Ghost to sleep tonight, Jon Snow. It’s like Mance said. Deeds is truer than words.”
(ASOS, Jon II)
Ygritte was much in his thoughts as well. He remembered the smell of her hair, the warmth of her body . . . and the look on her face as she slit the old man's throat. You were wrong to love her, a voice whispered. You were wrong to leave her, a different voice insisted. He wondered if his father had been torn the same way, when he'd left Jon's mother to return to Lady Catelyn. He was pledged to Lady Stark, and I am pledged to the Night's Watch.
(ASOS, Jon VI)
"Who is Ygritte?" Donal Noye asked pointedly.
"A woman of the free folk." How could he explain Ygritte to them? She's warm and smart and funny and she can kiss a man or slit his throat. "She's with Styr, but she's not . . . she's young, only a girl, in truth, wild, but she . . ." She killed an old man for building a fire. His tongue felt thick and clumsy. The milk of the poppy was clouding his wits. "I broke my vows with her. I never meant to, but..." It was wrong. Wrong to love her, wrong to leave her... "I wasn't strong enough. The Halfhand commanded me, ride with them, watch, I must not balk, I . . ." His head felt as if it were packed with wet wool.
(ASOS, Jon VI)
And the Jonsa response?
![Pol!Jon: A Study In Nonsense](https://64.media.tumblr.com/e348c7e04947b959166ac544e54848a9/6effd3a9f5bc054f-16/s500x750/7b877c974d1685c27834fa140e7050dc776b9ce4.png)
A euphemism.
And GRRM wrote Jon's reference and preference for femininity (Arya) after the second wave feminists he himself knew and grew up with; who transformed history and changed society, helping to pave the way for women now.
Was there anyone in your life who might’ve served as an inspiration for Arya?
I can’t say there’s any one specific model, but a lot of the women I’ve known over the years have had aspects of Arya with them. Especially some of the women I knew when I was a young man back in the ’60s and ’70s, you know — the decade of the sexual revolution and the feminist movement. I knew a lot of young women who weren’t buying into the, “Oh, I have to find a husband and be a housewife.
Source
That Jon is going to use, abuse, and discard Dany like a used tissue? What kind of message is this?
One of the only characters who embrace women who are different, who go against the curve, who don't adhere to convention, who actually prefer women who defy convention, who can fight and defend themselves, who break rigid gender roles -- Jonsas want him to get in line and desire the conventionally ideal "pure" lady, like Sansa is supposed to be, over violent and messy and sexually experienced women. Excellent. Sansa is a maiden and doesn't get her hands dirty. That's the way they like Sansa. That's why Dany, Arya, Ygritte, Val, et. al are all inferior to Sansa. Doesn't matter that Jon has other partners or that he also does violence. Apparently, it only matters if you're a woman.
Another important part of Jon's character is his realization that a) the wildlings are not the enemy, they are our fellow man and b) all humankind need to unite to face a common threat: the Others.
"I am the sword in the darkness," said the six, and it seemed to Jon as though their voices were changing, growing stronger, more certain. "I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men."
The shield that guards the realms of men. Ghost nuzzled up against his shoulder, and Jon draped an arm around him. He could smell Horse's unwashed breeches, the sweet scent Satin combed into his beard, the rank sharp smell of fear, the giant's overpowering musk. He could hear the beating of his own heart. When he looked across the grove at the woman with her child, the two greybeards, the Hornfoot man with his maimed feet, all he saw was men.
(ASOS, Jon VII)
This passage reminds me of a quote from GRRM here:
I'm not an "American First" (and maybe because I read science fiction) I'm a "Terran First". I'm a human being first. And I have this sympathy for other human beings no matter what side of the giant ice wall they happen to be born on.
Source
Putting aside the specifics of [Brexit], and taking a long-range look, I think history shows that we do better when we join together into larger political units that embrace diversity, rather than building walls and breaking into smaller units. Alexander’s empire was better than the squabbling city-states of ancient Greece that preceded it (a pity he did not live long enough to make the union with Persia permanent, and twice a pity that his successors broke it all up into smaller countries to war on each other). The thirteen American colonies were wise to join together into one large country, despite their differences, than they would have been as thirteen small ones. The nations of Europe have been fighting each other for centuries; joining together into one great multi-national nation represents real progress.
Eventually I do hope we will be one peaceful world, like the SF writers of my youth once predicted. Terra, Old Earth, call it what you will. We’re all human
Source
Yet another aspect of Jon's arc that Pol!Jon strips away. Unity and the incredible importance of unity, of compromise, of negotiation, even when it's difficult. Of talking with people, even when relations aren't entirely friendly (or even when it's with an enemy!) and navigating communications from that point.
No. Instead, it turns Jon into a separatist, a Northern nationalist, and that's the kind verbiage. The relationship is flattened into "master" schemer and braindead fool. "Smarter" male predator and dumb female prey. Real nice. This has Jon working for the Starks' interests and only the Starks' interests, just like the good lil bastard he is. When I say Stark, I really mean Sansa because the interests of Arya/Bran/Rickon/Jon are never really discussed when it comes to Jonsa/Stansa theories. They all want what Sansa wants, of course, and do her dirty work. Sansa remains pure as punch. Jon is actively plotting against Dany in a suicide mission that is destined to end in disaster (at best) and decimate the entire North and vilify it for ages (at worst). I can't even begin to think of how Jonsas would spin the unity aspect of Jon's storyline. Do they even care about uniting with the wildlings for instance, considering how they view Ygritte as an ugly disease ridden rapist gremlin and that Jon is due for an "upgrade" in Sansa?
I don't know, Jon. If I was going to date one (or more) of my relatives, I'd go for the one(s) who liked me regardless of my bastard status :)
Pol!Jon is an atrocious problematic theory that started out as a deluded desperation to keep a crack ship alive after finding out that ship wouldn't sail....and it turned into a monster that is pushed as canon on general boards and social media platforms. Yet, on the other hand, it's fascinating to see how vehemently some Jonsas insist on dying on that horrible, sexist hill and the lunacy they come up with to combat canon and avoid some fictional truths all to keep hating on a character to keep their fanon alive.
I am sorry for the length. I have a lot of feelings. And a lot of pot.