This should go without saying, but if you've yet to finished up season 5 of Game of Thrones, then check back later because we discuss some MAJOR SPOILERS! That aside, I'm sure we all felt the same watching the finale of Thrones last night. HBO trolled us with that pre-credits stinger, promising some development with the return of Jon Snow's uncle Benjen, only to have Snow get all Caesar’d up by some uppity Night's Watchmen. As a rule of thumb, any kid that kills your girlfriend should probably not be trusted. You can read up on our review of the finale here.
Theories are already flying left and right regarding Jon Snow's fate. First off, we have the fact that Melisandre happens to be at Castle Black right now, and we know she's capable of some serious shit. Secondly, there was a report about cast salaries and that Kit Harington's would be increased for the next few seasons. Let's not speculate, though, and see what Harington himself had to say on these matters that might make you think twice.
Kit Harington on his character's fate:
Like every season, you read something in the script and go, “Oh f*ck.” I kind of knew it was coming. I didn’t read "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. It felt like the right way for it to happen. And people die and don’t accomplish what we think they’re meant to in real life. And I think that’s one of the powerful things about Thrones. The major loss with Jon’s through-line is he never finds out who his mother is and that’s the heartbreaking thing for me.
If Jon Snow is really dead, despite a cast salary contract story saying that he would be back for 2 more seasons:
This is my understanding of it. I had a sit-down with Dan and David, we did the Tony Soprano walk. And they said, “Look, you’re gone, it’s done.” And as far as the salary thing goes, that angered me when that story came out. I don’t know where it came from, but it was inaccurate in many ways. It’s going to put questions into your head and into fans’ heads that things are not what they are. 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.
So there ya have it. Now, readers of the books will know that bringing someone back from the dead is entirely plausible, even if the characters are no longer in the right frame of mind. It's possible Harington is shining us on or even unaware of what the writers have planned next season. Basically, this just brings us back to square one. Either way, it's great to have a show that's capable of getting its viewers this riled up! That means that everyone's doing their job, and doing it well! 'Til next season!