At this point, it is a fact universally acknowledged that Jon Snow is returning for Game of Thrones Season 6. Even star Kit Harington has confirmed he will appear, albeit just as a corpse (sure, Harington, everyone totally believes that one). It is the mystery of Jon Snow's resurrection that lingers now — and it seems Ser Davos may hold the answers. And now, in true Game of Thrones fashion, the actor who plays Ser Davos, Liam Cunningham, is being cagey when it comes to divulging the secret.
According to Sky Atlantic, several years back, Cunningham met author George R.R. Martin, who told him a huge book secret that has yet to be revealed. Much like the ever loyal Davos, Cunningham has kept his vow of secrecy. However, during a recent interview with The Huffington Post, Cunningham opened up a teensy bit when asked if the secret had played out on screen. "I'm not gonna tell you what it is, but you have and you haven’t," Cunningham told the Huffington Post.
Curiouser and curiouser, right? Davos is directly tied to Stannis and Melisandre in the books, and since this secret came from Martin, then it must have something to do with how the story unfolds within the pages of the A Song of Ice and Fire series Game of Thrones is based on. Several events in Season 5 involving Davos, Stannis, and Melisandre deviated from the book in major ways. For instance, Stannis is still alive in the books and Shireen has not been sacrificed — but that doesn't mean she won't be.
If the secret has been partially seen, then half of it could be the sacrifice of Shireen. In the books, Shireen is at Castle Black when Jon Snow is betrayed by The Night's Watch. Both Melisandre and a Wildling character named Val are wary of Shireen because of her greyscale, and Val suggested to Jon that she should be killed. With Shireen at Castle Black and possessing the coveted king's blood, Melisandre needs to work her magic, her sacrifice is likely not far off within the pages of the books, but what if her sacrifice is to revive Jon? And what if it fails?
If Cunningham was privy to the death of Shireen, Martin may have also told him that Shireen's death would not save Jon. Shireen has already been sacrificed on the show, so it is unlikely that her death could save Jon there either, but another sacrifice just might. Telling Cunningham the details of Jon's death and rebirth could have been Martin's way of preparing Cunningham for Davos' arc.
In the books, Davos is on a journey to the island of Skagos to retrieve Rickon Stark, so he won't be at Castle Black to stop Melisandre from sacrificing Shireen. Meanwhile, on the show, he is unaware of Melisandre's role in Shireen's death, and the new trailer suggests he is teaming up with the Red Woman to bring Jon back. While Davos and Melisandre are working together for a common goal — to bring Jon back to the land of the living — Davos would not be so keen on helping Melisandre if he knew what she did to Shireen.
It tracks that the second half of the secret, the half neither viewers or readers have seen, is Davos facing off with Melisandre. Once Davos discovers his princess was sacrificed, he is going to be livid, and it could lead to the sweet Onion Knight finally succeeding in killing the Red Woman — which begs the question, what happens when a Red Priestess dies? Well, it might just raise the dead, and bring Jon Snow back to life, making Davos an even bigger hero in the process.
Image: HBO; Giphy (2)
