Does Bran's Return Hint Jon Snow Is Coming Back?

By now, no matter how many times Kit Harington tries to insist that there's no way that Jon Snow will return for season six of Game Of Thrones, it's almost impossible not to be convinced that the dead Lord Commander is just playing possum. And new theories and speculation emerge every day, and your newest Jon Snow's Still Alive conspiracy theory comes from the mouth of babes: Bran Stark. That is, the actor who plays Bran Stark, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, who spoke to the Irish Examiner over the weekend about his return to the show in Season 6. In fact, Bran Stark's return might hint that Jon Snow is coming back, you guys.

Talking about the sixth season, Hempstead-Wright said he doesn't know for sure what's up with Lord Snow. "I don't know [if actor Kit Harington will return]. He's said he's not. I wish he would because I love Kit and because the character's so cool. Who knows? We start filming series six at the end of this month so we'll see."

It could just be an off-the-cuff remark from a cast member who was so busy with his schoolwork that he hasn't even yet had time to watch the fifth season (which he assured that he was saving for a marathon watching session), Or it could be another point for the Jon Snow Lives truthers, of which I am one.

More evidence comes from the fact that Jon Snow's and Bran Stark's fates could be connected and converge in the next season; keeping his cards close to his chest like a good Game Of Thrones cast-member, Hempstead-Wright didn't say much about what Bran would be doing in the new season (although it's quite possible that he just doesn't have the scripts yet, as not all the cast members have them), but he does say this, which is the Jon Snow theorist kicker: "I can’t say a lot but I am back this season, and it’s going to get particularly interesting with Bran. He has some interesting visions."

Bran Stark is a special little dude, and not just because he's BFFs with the best Game Of Thrones guy out there, Hodor. He has the greensight, the ability to see prophecies in his dreams; it was in one of these "green dreams" that Bran first met Jojen Reed, who, along with his sister Meera, helped Bran reach the cave of the Three-Eyed Raven at the end of Season 4. Bran's visions are of the past, present, and future, and, with Game Of Thrones asking more and more questions about history, and the past coming back to haunt those competing for the Throne, Bran could be more integral than ever in Season 6.

So what does that mean for Jon Snow? We don't know if Bran has healing powers, but he does have the ability to Warg as well as the greensight. He can control the mind and body of animals, and even some humans, like when he possessed Hodor to kill Locke in the attack at Craster's Keep. And, if he was already so powerful before he trained with the Three-Eyed Raven, who knows if he also has the ability to bring people back from the dead hiding within him?

But maybe the most important thread tying Jon Snow and his brother Bran Stark together is history. Bran's visions are of all of time, and in Season 5 especially, Jon Snow's murky parentage became the question at the forefront. The most widespread fan theory is R + L = J, which proposes that the Lord Commander is not the son of Ned Stark but, in fact, a Dragon. The theory says that Jon Snow is the true heir to the Iron Throne, as the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, who was put into Ned's protection by his sister (Lyanna). Even if Jon Snow is really dead, which is the story that the Game Of Thrones cast, writers, and crew are sticking with, it's inevitable that we get more information about who Jon Snow really is.

Could Bran's visions be about the true parentage of the saddest boy in Westeros? It could be why Kit Harington is contracted for Game Of Thrones through the end of Season 7; we could get some Jon Snow flashbacks in our future.

Images: Helen Sloan/HBO; Giphy (2)