People are resurrected all the time on Game of Thrones. Remember Beric Dondarrion back in Season 3? It even happened last night, though the Mountain wasn’t really looking all that well behind his mask. Melisandre didn’t say much when she arrived at Castle Black — being ignored by your vengeful fire god will do that to a lady — but she must be there for something. And wasn’t she awfully interested in Jon’s blood once before?
Speaking of that blood: Boy, did David Nutter’s camera zoom in on it in the season’s last shot! People wondering how I called Jon’s fate in last week’s recap should know that I did it only by reading the giant, honking signs the show was throwing at me with Olly these past few weeks. Game of Thrones is many things. Subtle is not often among them.
The Night’s King epic “Come at me, bro” from a few weeks ago needs to be answered, no? But even more than that dangling plot thread, there is simply too much intranarrative piping dependent on Jon’s presence to believe in his sudden demise. The whole fan-hypnotizing theory of “R + L = J” (Google it, you’re safe) is no longer just a book thing — rewatch the Littlefinger-Sansa scene in the crypts of Winterfell for proof. If Benioff and Weiss don’t care about that theory, why introduce it at all? And why mention that as the deal-sealing point that earned them the right to make this show when they solved it for Martin, as explained in my interview with them here? There are pages and pages of backstory that the showrunners have gleefully shorn. We are at the point where if it’s on the screen, it’s important, particularly for the eventual endgame.
Yes, Kit Harington is out there saying all the right things, but what do you expect? He’s a professional with a new career as a comedian to promote. Besides, loose lips and the reliable ravens of IMDb will reveal if he’s back in Iceland for Season 6 soon enough. The most important argument for Jon’s survival is actually less dependent on actor availability than it is on TV convention. Because let’s be real: There are likely only two seasons of Game of Thrones left. That’s 20 hours to remake a world, fight off a frozen death army, and maybe, just maybe, stage a Stark family reunion. (Don’t worry, party planners: You can book a small room.) And to do all that, we’re going to need heroes — or, in Martin’s parlance, “POV characters” — and there simply isn’t enough time to call for reinforcements. Let’s heed the lesson that Stannis learned the hard way just last night: If you don’t have the horses, you can’t win the war. Daenerys can fly the dragons and Tyrion can crack wise and advise her, but someone’s gotta swing that great big sword, you know? And, real talk, it ain’t gonna be Rickon.