HBOSoon—so soon—we will know once and for all what Jon Snow's fate is on Game of Thrones. But that's not until the new season starts on Sunday, April 24 and honestly, we have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen. To quote The X-Files, "The truth is out there," and here's all the evidence you need to know pointing to what the heck is going on with Kit Harington's character.
Viewers will recall Jon Snow was stabbed to death in the season five finale. Yes, he died. We're not disputing that. Neither are the people involved with the show, but will he stay dead? And dead doesn't necessarily mean anything in a fantasy show that regularly has sorcery and dragons and White Walkers...
Kit Harington and Nathalie Emmanuel spotted in Belfast; Return for PJ Dillon - http://t.co/VAZZ0RY2Pv #GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/6uf5qca2sa
? Watchers on the Wall (@WatchersOTWall) July 29, 2015
THE SIGHTINGS
Over the summer of 2015, after the big finale, the visuals were there that Harington and Thrones were not done. He was (and still is) sporting the Jon Snow hair and beard. He was spotted on set and hanging with the cast (in various locations) before eventually confirming he would have a presence (albeit dead) in season six.
And here he is in the trailer (all dead, or maybe not if you believe conspiracy theorists who think they see him in battle in the trailer above) and in a new clip that Liam Cunningham debuted on Conan.
THE QUOTES
After months of maintaining "Jon Snow is dead" (because he is, it's semantics people), Harington and the rest of the cast finally started to ease up a little bit with some pretty revealing quotes.
"Look, I'm not in the show anymore. I'm definitely not in the new series," Harington told Time Out London. "I filmed some scenes of me being dead—it's some of my best work." He then went on to say he has no clue about what's going on in season six. "I know how long I'm a corpse for, but I can't tell you that."
Because he won't just be a corpse for long?! When Harington stopped by The Jonathan Ross Show, he said his character was dead and not a White Walker. The host shocked him if he wasn't satisfied with the answer. If only we could all do that too!
When asked about Jon Snow's death, Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams said the following fishy statement: "It was awful. It was awful. Everyone was so sad about it, and I feel so mean because I speak to people and they're all like, 'Jon Snow, is he back?' And it's really heartbreaking because people are like, 'Yeah, but he's coming back though?' It's a great twist, but I can't say he's going to be alive."
She can't say "he's going to be alive." Say it with us: Semantics!
E! News spoke with Emilia Clarke after the 2016 Golden Globes and flat out asked her, "Jon Snow: alive or dead?" and her answer was telling. "You know, it's just going to be big," she said after pausing.
And that brings us to new cast member Ian McShane. The Deadwood veteran has been pretty flippant about what he's up to on the HBO drama.
"I am responsible for bringing somebody back that you think you're never going to see again," he said in November. That could be any number of people, but considering all the attention around Jon Snow…
He continued the revival talk this past March. "I can give you one hint: My character is an ex-warrior who's become a peacenik...I bring back a much-loved character everybody thinks is dead." In another interview he added, "I have nursed a much-loved character back to life." So…
THE PROMO MATERIALS
HBO, knowing you all have your doubts, put up a giant billboard in New York City's Times Square with a bloody Jon Snow. Trolls. Then they released a teaser with more Jon Snow in it. And then there's this episode description for the season six premiere, "The Red Woman": "Jon Snow is dead. Daenerys meets a strong man. Cersei sees her daughter again." Could they vague that up for us at all?
Harington's face is also featured in the new posters (as are so many other dead characters).
Plus, last summer HBO also left Jon Snow out of a promotional email about all the dead characters while promoting the Game of Thrones action figures.
In conclusion, Harington is back as Jon Snow. Jon Snow is dead. But how long will Jon Snow be "dead"? Maybe Jon Snow will remain "dead," but in some sort of zombie state? The answers will come once Game of Thrones season six debuts on Sunday, April 24, but if you had to ask us, our money is on you will see Jon Snow walking, talking and fighting...even if he's "dead."