Mutiny at Castle Black

"For the Watch."

- The black brothers who stab Jon Snow.

The Mutiny at Castle Black is an event that occurs during the Conflict Beyond the Wall, when numerous members of the Night's Watch mutiny against their Lord Commander, Jon Snow, stabbing him multiple times until he falls and apparently dies.

Prelude
Following the Battle of Castle Black, Jon Snow is elected the new Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Due to having spent time with them on behalf of Qhorin, Jon grows to sympathize with the wildlings and realizes that since both the Night's Watch and the wildlings are Northerners descended from the First Men, the wildlings should have as much right to live in Westeros as the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. With the coming threat of the White Walkers and their undead army, Jon proposes allowing the wildlings to pass through the Wall and settle in the Seven Kingdoms in order to end the feud between the Night's Watch and the wildlings, and to keep them from falling into the hands of the White Walkers. Despite the Massacre at Hardhome, Jon is able to save most of the wildlings and get them through, though this earns him the hatred of most of the black brothers who lack the same intelligence as Jon and see this as a surrender to their traditional enemies.

Events
Shortly after Jon receives news from Davos Seaworth and Lady Melisandre of Stannis Baratheon's devastating defeat at the hands of the army of House Bolton, Jon is left pondering in his quarters what to do. His personal steward, Olly, bursts into his quarters and announces that they have captured some wildlings with information on his missing uncle, Benjen Stark. Jon goes outside to see, only to be shown a sign with the word "Traitor" on it. Jon is surrounded by numerous black brothers, led by Alliser Thorne, Bowen Marsh and Othell Yarwyck, each of whom stab him while uttering "For the Watch". As Jon falls to his knees, he is approached by Olly. After a tense moment, Olly stabs Jon through the chest and he falls to the ground. The black brothers walk away and leave Jon for dead.

In the books
Bowen Marsh, Othell Yarwyck and more of the Watch officers, who initially support Jon, grow displeased with his conduct as the Lord Commander. Their main complaint is his decision to bring Wildlings to the Watch. Bowen Marsh states what he and others feel about Jon's decision: "What you propose is nothing less than treason. For eight thousand years the men of the Night’s Watch have stood upon the Wall and fought these wildlings. Now you mean to let them pass, to shelter them in our castles, to feed them and clothe them and teach them how to fight. Lord Snow, must I remind you? You swore an oath ”. Jon explains that it is necessary because the manpower of the Watch has dwindled dangerously as a result of the Great Ranging, and that every wildling to die north of the Wall means one more wight to fight with, but they are not satisfied. They fear that the wildlings will turn against them, now that they south of the Wall and greatly outnumber the black brothers.

In the novels, the mutiny at Castle Black is told from Jon's point of view, save for a few minor differences. Throughout A Dance with Dragons, tension grows within Jon as he hears of House Bolton's numerous atrocities, mostly at Ramsay Bolton's hands. After hearing of the failed mission to Hardhome, Jon decides to go with Tormund and see to it himself, but shortly before he can leave, he receives a letter from Ramsay, who claims that Stannis Baratheon has been killed, his army smashed, Mance Rayder captured, and his bride (whom Jon incorrectly believes is Arya Stark) and Reek (whom Jon does not know is Theon) escaped. In the letter, Ramsay demands the return of Arya and Reek, and Melisandre, Selyse Baratheon, Shireen Baratheon, Val (Mance Rayder's sister in law) and Mance's baby son handed over to him as hostages, threatening to march on the Wall and kill Jon if he does not agree. Finally pushed to his breaking point, Jon decides to hunt down and kill Ramsay himself, and march on Winterfell, and manages to rally numerous wildlings to his cause. However, since this is a direct violation of Jon's Night's Watch vows, this serves as the final straw for most of his black brothers. Led by Bowen Marsh, they ambush Jon in the snow. When Jon hear Wun Wun roaring, he comes to calm the giant, and then the conspirators make their move.

The first to attack is the steward Wick Whittlestick, but he only grazes Jon; Jon asks "Why?" and Wick cries "For the Watch" and slashes again, but Jon grabs his wrist and makes him drop the dagger. Wick recoils, his hands upraised as if to say, Not me, it was not me. Men are screaming. Jon reaches for Longclaw, but for unknown reason his fingers have grown stiff and clumsy, and he cannot draw the sword. Then Bowen Marsh tearfully stabs Jon in the stomach whilst uttering "For the Watch". Jon falls on his knees. He wrenches the dagger free, smoke emanates from his belly wound. He whispers "Ghost", overwhelmed by pain. The third dagger takes him between the shoulder blades, and he gives a grunt and falls face-first into the snow. He never feels the fourth knife, only the cold. The book does not make it clear whether or not Jon has been killed, and what he meant by his last word.

In the books, Alliser Thorne does not take part in the mutiny since Jon sent him earlier on a mission and he has not returned yet, and neither does Olly, who does not exist in the novels. Othell Yarwyck is among Marsh's followers, but it is unclear if he is one of those who stab Jon.

Melisandre has foreseen the assassination and warned Jon "It is not the foes who curse you to your face that you must fear, but those who smile when you are looking and sharpen their knives when you turn your back. You would do well to keep your wolf close beside you. Ice, I see, and daggers in the dark. Blood frozen red and hard, and naked steel. It was very cold.” She advises Jon to keep Ghost close to him all the time, but since one of her visions proved to be wrong, he ignores her warning.

Though Jon's fate has been left ambiguous in the books so far, Kit Harington, who portrays the character, has confirmed that in the TV series' continuity, Jon is indeed dead. However, sources state that Harington has a seven-season contract with HBO for Game of Thrones and that he has been seen on set in Belfast for shooting season six, leaving Jon's status unconfirmed until the sixth season airs.