The finale of Game of Thrones season five aired a week ago and the internet is still abuzz by what they witnessed – or thought they witnessed – on their small screen. Did that really just happen??? It should go without saying but for those who haven’t already seen the season five finale then please look away now.
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Much has been said and theorised about that shocking finale (read our review here) specifically THAT death scene right at the end. The Nights Watch had finally had enough of the newly crowned Lord Commander Jon Snow and literally stabbed him in the back (well the belly and chest actually) to his death. But is he really dead? Like REALLY dead…?
Well in an interview with EW Kit Harington puts the debate to rest by revealing that Jon Snow is in fact really dead and gone for good…
“This is my understanding of it. I had a sit-down with Dan and David, 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.”
So there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. Harington could of course be pulling our leg and straight up telling us all lies but there is a sense from his words that if he is going to return in a future season then he doesn’t know it yet. He does say he won’t be back for next season but that doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t be back ever.
Although understandably sad at having to leave the show Harington admitted that he was chuffed at how he went out:
“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 by [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss]. It felt like the right way for it to happen…I don’t know how they’re going to finish Thrones, but I think I’ve gone out on a great season. I think they’ll have to end it with most epic fuck-all battle TV has ever seen.”
And if you still think Harington is just toying with us all show runner Dan Weiss also spoke to EW in a separate interview and confirmed that Jon Snow is dead:
“Dead is dead…It should be pretty clear what happens in by the time you’re done seeing that scene. It’s not an, ‘Oh what just happened scene?’…We would hope that after seeing the scene and the way it’s shot that the answer to that will be unambiguous in the minds of the people watching it.”
Despite this blatant confirmation from both Weiss and Harrington author George R.R. Martin continues to tease fans that things aren’t quite as they seem, “If there’s one thing we know in A Song of Ice and Fire is that death is not necessarily permanent.” Several fan theories exist that might explain how Jon Snow could come back from death, one being a resurrection from red priestess Melisandre and the other being that he warged into his direwolf Ghost. I guess we won’t really know for sure until Season 6 starts filming in the next few months and even then we’ll still all probably be asking questions.
Have you got any theories about Jon Snow’s death?
https://youtu.be/yIuEu1m0p2M?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published June 23, 2015. Updated November 29, 2022.
