You know when your parents tell you not to do something and somehow it makes you want to do it all the more? Well, that's kind of the mindset pretty much every Game of Thrones fan is experiencing right now in light of Jon Snow's alleged death in the Season 5 finale. You see, we've been getting some rather conflicting reports as to whether or not Jon Snow will return to GoT next season. And while some stars like Emilia Clarke have spoken in favor of the idea, the vast majority of the cast — including Kit Harington himself — have assured us that our beloved bastard is deader than dead. Something that, despite all odds, we simply refuse to believe. And that's where things get a little tricky.
You see, both sides could be telling the truth. So let's, just for arguments sake, say that Jon Snow has actually met his maker. OK, fine. But that doesn't mean he'll necessarily stay that way forever. As I'm sure many of you have already pieced together by now, Melisandre's return to the Wall could be a very big tell that the Lord of Light will resurrect Jon from his not-so-eternal slumber in the forthcoming episodes. So, technically, no one would be outright lying right now. You just have to look closely at the way they all choose to word things.
With that in mind, let's take a look back at what some of the stars/showrunners have been saying against Jon Snow's return and see if we can detect any loopholes in their statements. And so our watch begins…
GoT Director To POTUS
Director David Nutter recently told Entertainment Weekly at Comic-Con that even when asked by President Obama if Jon Snow's death was legit, Nutter responded saying "Jon Snow is deader than dead." Notice, though, how he didn't confirm whether or not the character would still be apart of the show? He didn't say "Jon Snow is never coming back" or "Kit Harington will never show up on this series again." Instead, he just mentioned Jon's current state. It's just a question of how long he'll stay that way.
Maisie Williams
Shortly after the rumor mill started churning, the actress — who plays Arya Stark — told People that her on-screen bro is no longer for this world. "We saw him get stabbed a lot in the chest, like, I think that's pretty clear," Williams remarked, while adding with an eye roll, "If it makes you feel better then, yes, there's hope, but…" Sounds like someone is going to a lot of trouble to get us to believe this storyline is a done deal. They want us to be thrown off track, but I refuse to let that happen. Stay strong, believers!
Kit Harington
When Entertainment Weekly sat down with the actor and asked him flat out if his character was really dead, here's what he had to say: "I have never been told the future of things in this show, but this is the one time I have. [The showrunners] sat me down and said, 'This is how it is.' If anything in the future is not like that, then I don’t know about it – it’s only in David and Dan and George’s heads. But I’ve been told I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m not coming back next season."
As you can see, Harington does state that he won't be back for Season 6, HOWEVER, he's also clear to point out that he doesn't necessarily know all of the information. (Some might say, he knows nothing.) So there's a chance that they could've been keeping certain things from him at the time, so that he wouldn't let anything slip during interviews. Things may be different now, especially since he's recently been spotted in Belfast. Just saying! A lot can change in a month's time.
George R.R. Martin
GoT book readers know that Martin's 2011 novel "A Dance with Dragons" leaves Jon Snow's death more up in the air than it seemed to appear on the small screen. And while the world renowned author hasn't outright confirmed Jon's fate one way or the other, he's recently implied to Entertainment Weekly that anything is possible with a show like this. "If there’s one thing we know in A Song of Ice and Fire is that death is not necessarily permanent." Sounds like the perfect hint at an upcoming resurrection to me!
Showrunner Dan Weiss
When asked point-blank about this on-going mystery, Weiss made sure to keep it simple: "Dead is dead." But as Martin pointed out, death isn't always permanent, especially on a series where White Walkers and dragons roam the lands. And after hearing all of these denials in regards to Jon Snow's death, I can't help but think that these folks doth protest a little too much.
Images: Helen Sloan/HBO; gifs-to-wear-pants-to/Tumblr; Giphy (4)
