The first time I watched the episode I was so scared for Jonsa, specially because of the amount of Jonerys. Can you enlighten us about the hints of political Jon at this episode?
Oooh okay. I honestly don’t even remember the episode anymore and I really should rewatch it but there were a few moments of pol!Jon in this episode that I recall.
Frankly, the entire argument between Jon and Sansa seemed to imply it. Like I said in my previous post, he asked her to have faith in him. He asked her to believe that he knows what he’s doing and that he is being smarter than Ned and Robb because that was what worried Sansa. Their conversation from Season 7, she expressed the need for Jon to not make the same mistakes as Ned and Robb. And what mistakes were those? Ned was too honourable and ultimately could not play the game of politics. Robb was too short-sighted and married a foreign woman instead of honouring his promise to Lord Frey. Jon asking Sansa to have faith in him and believe he is smarter than that suggests that he is playing the game of politics and he is not putting ‘love’ above his duty to the North, whom he promised to lead.
There is also the part where Sansa asks him if he bent the knee for an alliance or if it was for love. I think the fact that they cut off his answer and switched to a new scene suggests his answer is something Jon can’t reveal to the audience. Why is that? If Jon was truly in love with Dani, why would revealing that be so secretive? They’ve been so heavy-handed with the Jonerice narrative that having him admit that ‘yes, this is for love and the alliance’ wouldn’t be that surprising for the general audience. Cutting that scene there suggests that actually his answer isn’t so black and white. Jon’s answer would be divulging too much information. Why though? What information could he be hiding that we aren’t allowed to know yet? That no he’s not in love with Dani and this is all a ploy to secure an alliance?
In terms of Pol!Jon, I’m inclined to believe that Jon isn’t simply manipulating Dani for his own gain, only to throw her away once he gets what he wants. No, I think he wants marriage. He knows the North won’t accept her but if he marries her, they could. To him, this is a political move not a romantic one but he needs Dani to want it romantically because not to be crass but Dani is a hot commodity as a single female rule. Men will want to offer marriage for political gain and Jon might consider sacrificing himself in order for the North to be taken care of post-war. Or I believe Jon doesn’t see himself surviving the war and he believes if Dani is in love with him, she would be more willing to look after his family/the North post-war.
Either reason (or maybe it’s something else entirely), Jon can’t reveal that to us yet because we’re not supposed to know. I also think that scene was so heated because of the implied romance between Jon and Sansa. The vulnerability in Sansa’s question, her self-deprecating “much prettier than me” line, all suggests jealousy of the romantic kind. And Jon not being able to answer the question on screen could also suggest his feelings in turn.
Another case for Pol!Jon was his conversation with Sam. When Sam reveals that Dani was the one who executed his father and brother, Jon’s response sounds like someone floundering. He basically says they need her for the alliance. He’s not trying to make excuses for her or that he believes in her good heart but that they need her. That doesn’t sound like a man in love. If he was in love with her, he would maybe try to defend her or apologise on her behalf but Jon is thinking only of why they can’t afford to alienate Dani right now. After the reveal as well, there was a point when Jon says “it’s treason” to suggest Dani isn’t the true heir but when Sam tells him that she’s not, he is, Jon looks like he just realised something awful. I think it’s that he realises his very existence is a threat to Dani and that he can’t have her as an enemy, not now. Again, this doesn’t seem like the reaction of a man in love but a man realising his plans (and entire world) have just been shattered. It doesn’t seem like Jon trusts Dani at all to truly care about his people and that the only tentative tether between Dani and the North is him and now that could be destroyed too.
Those are the ones I remember of Pol!Jon and of course it’s subjective. It’s up to interpretation until we finally get more explicit evidence for it. But I still do believe in the theory.