*SPOILER ALERT* Ensure you do not read this article until after you have seen the Season 5 Finale of ‘Game of Thrones’!
Recently Kit Harrington sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss the events of the Season 5 finale, most notably, the untimely death of Jon Snow at the hands of his mutinous Night’s Watch brothers, including Olly, who not only leads Jon into the trap set by the others, but also delivers the final stab to the Lord Commander. It was a devastating scene for fans of the series, who saw hope for the future in Jon Snow, being among the only true heroes on the show. Harrington was asked about how he reacted to the news of his character’s death, to which he responded:
“Like every season, you read something in the script and go, “Oh f–k.” I kind of knew it was coming. I didn’t read [George R.R. Martin’s novel] A Dance with Dragons. But I read the other books and I had heard this is what happens. So I had an inkling it should be this season. I didn’t realize it would be the final shot of the season and that made it extra special. It’s always kind of nice really when you’re the last thing that happens in that episode. I dunno, I loved it. I loved how they brought Olly in to be the person who kills me. I love how the storyline with Thorne was wrapped up. I think it was really well crafted by [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss]. It felt like the right way for it to happen.”
Readers of the books were all too aware of what was coming as the season drew to a close, and I’ve heard many a book reading fan now comment that at last, they and the show’s audience are all on the same page, able to discuss and share in their grief over everything that has happened. For them and for Kit Harrington, a big question is whether Jon Snow made mistakes that led to his death, which some believe was inevitable and others believed he might have prevented. For Kit, he seems to be on the side of Jon making some mistakes, even though ultimately he was doing the right thing:
“He’s only looked at the big picture this season. His major fault is a bit like Ned’s in that when trying to do the right thing he wasn’t observing the people around him.,..Olly puts the last dagger in him. In that moment i think he realizes that he didn’t look after his kin, this young man, and let him down.”
As for the ambiguity of the death, and all the fan rumors and theories about how Jon Snow might yet still be alive, Kit had the following words about his character, and what he was told by the showrunners:
“I had a sit-down with Dan and David, we did the Tony Soprano walk [letting an actor know they’re being whacked]. And they said, “Look, you’re gone, it’s done.” … Quite honestly, I have never been told the future of things in this show, but this is the one time I have. They 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. So that’s all I can tell you, really.”
Which is pretty clear confirmation that we will not be seeing Jon Snow on ‘Game of Thrones’ any longer, unless of course the actor is covering his tracks, and preparing for the greatest return in television history (arguably). Here’s hoping there is still a way we might get more Jon Snow next season, and that even if he is dead, the show and author George R.R. Martin have enough story left in them to keep us enthralled and finally bring closure to the story of Westeros.
Sources: EW, The Hollywood Reporter
