The Game of Thrones season 5 finale ended with a huge, shocking death that left fans confused and angry. Sure, it wasn’t the only major death of the episode, but it was the one with the biggest impact. However, will it stick?
SPOILER WARNING: This article contains details from the Game of Thrones season 5 finale and the books.
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In the final two minutes of “Mother’s Mercy,” Jon Snow was betrayed by his brothers of the Night’s Watch and killed as they all stabbed him. The final shot showed Jon lying on the ground with blood pouring out of him and the executive producer of the show has since confirmed that he is, in fact, dead. So I guess Jon Snow isn’t as strong as Scandal’s Jake Ballard.
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But is this really the end for Jon? Death is never so simple, especially on Game of Thrones, so here are four possible ways Jon Snow could live on in the Seven Kingdoms.
A Simple Resurrection
It seemed significant that, right before Jon was stabbed to death, we learned that Melisandre returned to Castle Black. It’s entirely possible that she just brings him back to life using a little red magic. As we saw in season 3, this is completely reasonable since the red priest Thoros of Myr was able to bring Beric Dondarion back to life multiple times, even after he was stabbed and killed by the Hound in a trial by combat.
Jon Becomes Ghost
For book readers, one theory is that Jon, like Bran Stark, is a warg and can enter the minds of animals. Maybe, before he died, Jon warged out and transferred his soul into his direwolf, Ghost. It wouldn’t exactly be the same thing since Jon’s body would be gone, but his soul and spirit could continue.
Lord Stoneheart?
Some book fans are upset that the show has cut out the Lady Stoneheart storyline. If you’re unfamiliar, in the books, Catelyn Stark comes back to life after the Red Wedding, but as a silent, zombie-like figure called Lady Stoneheart hellbent on revenge. The TV show has occasionally taken storylines from one character and given them to another, so maybe the HBO drama will do a Lord Stoneheart storyline instead of the Lady and have Jon come back for revenge against all those who wronged him and his family.
Jon the White Walker
We didn’t see the Night’s Watch burn his body, so maybe it’s as simple as Jon Snow coming back to life, like all of those dead people at Hardhome. And maybe, since he was able to kill a White Walker, that means he doesn’t just come back as a part of the Army of the Undead, but he comes back as a full-fledged White Walker. It might be fun to see Jon Snow turned into the ultimate villain.
What do you think? Will Game of Thrones resurrect Jon Snow? And how should they do it? Or should he stay dead, like so many Starks before him? We’ll have to wait until Game of Thrones season 6 to find out.
(Image courtesy of HBO)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
