In "Game of Thrones," characters that come back from the dead are usually a bit worse for the wear. Back in season three, Beric Dondarrion said that each time he's resurrected he retains less of himself. That doesn't bode well for our hero Jon Snow, who was welcomed back to the land of the living in the most recent episode.
Now, actor Kit Harington has revealed that the Jon Snow fans will greet in season six won't be the exact same character viewers have come to know and love. Death has changed him, but in what ways?
Warning: mild spoilers ahead
"At first, I was worried that he'll wake up and he's the same, back to normal - then there's no point in that death," Harington said. "He needs to change. There's a brilliant line [in this week's episode 'Oathbreaker'] when Melisandre asks: 'What did you see?' And he says: 'Nothing, there was nothing at all.' That cuts right to our deepest fear, that there's nothing after death. And that's the most important line in the whole season for me. Jon's never been afraid of death, and that's made him a strong and honorable person. He realizes something about his life now: He has to live it, because that's all there is. He's been over the line and there's nothing there. And that changes him. It literally puts the fear of god into him. He's seen oblivion and that's got to change somebody in the most fundamental way there is. He doesn't want to die ever again. But if he does, he doesn't want to be brought back."
There's a lot that stands out about Harington's answer. For starters, it dismisses the fan theories that Jon's consciousness had warged into Ghost while his body was getting cold. Second, it hints that Jon will carry around the emotional weight of his knowledge for the foreseeable future. Third, it states pretty clearly that the character does not want to be resurrected again should he die a second time.
It sounds as if Jon Snow will be changed in a different way than Beric Dondarrion is. Very interesting.
"Game of Thrones" airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. on HBO.
Follow Brandon Katz at @Great_Katzby
