jon snow dead on the ground

Ok, so let’s talk for real for a moment. Does anyone really think Kit Harrington is done with ‘Game of Thrones?’ Does anyone really think Jon Snow is really truly dead, and that he came back to set just to be the corpse on the table for the first episode or two? If you are in the group that believes in his death, then you are right there with what the showrunners want us to think, and have wanted us to think since the end of Season 5.

David Benioff and Dan Weiss have repeatedly cited the predictable-ness of fantasy stories and how often characters miraculously escape death as a big reason why the deaths on ‘Game of Thrones’ are always permanent, and also why Jon Snow is really and truly dead. In their own words:

“Was any gambler dumb enough to bet money on Voldemort? In traditional fantasy, when the forces of darkness are arrayed against the armies of light, everyone knows who’s going to win. And that’s one of the elements that bored us about traditional fantasy: the predictability of it.”

However, as others have pointed out, ‘Harry Potter’ is not the best example to use in this situation, as Rowling technically did “kill” Harry in the seventh book, only to bring him back a chapter later, even as his family and friends are mourning what they think is his dead body.

Regardless, the ‘Thrones’ team is going to keep pushing the idea that Snow is dead, and keep giving us more quotes and examples stating that he will not be coming back, but, as always, take it with a grain of salt. Contractual hair length, his place in the opening credits, and the fact that the season literally started with a slow zoom in on his body all point to a very different story, that Jon is a still a central character, and I think everything in the first episode of Season 6 was designed to make us think Jon is truly dead, even the Melissandre moment at the end where she reveals her true form, thus making us forget for a moment that this frail women is the character most fans are betting will be responsible for the resurrection of Jon Snow.

What are your thoughts on Jon Snow being dead? Can killing off characters so callously also become “predictable” ? (I mean, did anyone not see the deaths in Dorne coming from a mile away?) Share your opinions in the comments below!

Source: THR

Nick is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, who belongs to the privileged few who enjoyed the ending to ‘Lost.’ For more of Nick’s thoughts and articles, follow him on Twitter.