HBO has dropped a new trailer for “Game of Thrones” season 6, and with the trailer has come a new theory about Jon Snow’s fate. Of course.
The trailer starts with a zoom-in over Jon Snow’s lifeless corpse , with a voiceover of Davos saying, “He’s gone.”
Similarly, the trailer ends with a few quick shots of Jon Snow’s corpse, and he appears to be lying next to a lifeless Ghost as well. (Sad.)
However, somewhere in the middle of the trailer, is it possible that Jon Snow — fully alive, riding a horse and involved in a battle — is seen alive?
One sharp-eyed Twitter user, @Az0r_Ahai, believes so.
ITS JON. IT’S LIT. pic.twitter.com/kttWlX4fvr
— Fraser (@Az0r_Ahai) March 8, 2016
That image is far from definitive proof that Jon Snow is still alive, but it’s hard to argue the similarities. Jon Snow appears to be riding a horse, wielding a weapon and riding into battle. That signature head of hair is hard to miss.
So if we assume Jon Snow is indeed alive — as has been speculated before — then let’s dive into the theories of how he comes back, and why it would matter.
One possibility: Davos Sacrifices himself to revive Jon Snow
That’s right. The theory is that Davos will sacrifice himself to revive Jon Snow. Let’s walk through it.
Remember way back in A Game of Thrones — and season one of the show — when Mirri Maz Duur told Daenerys Targaryen that “only death pays for life”? In other words, blood magic allows life to be born again from death. Of course, Mirri’s experiment failed, and Daenerys was left with a lot of death around her, but no new life.
Now let’s talk about another witch-like character in Westeros: Melisandre. In season 3 of Game of Thrones, Melisandre uses Gendry’s blood to eliminate some of the other kings during the War of the Five Kings. She considered his blood to be particularly powerful because Gendry was King Robert Baratheon’s offspring, thus he had “king’s blood.”
You following? This is where Davos (might) get important.
Davos is not quite king’s blood, but he was Hand of the King and chief advisor to Stannis Baratheon — a king. It’s possible that his close relationship makes his blood slightly more “worthy” in the eyes of someone like Melisandre. It’s also possible (but not likely) that Davos was the successor to Stannis, making him an actual king.
Another possibility: Melisandre uses Stannis’ blood to resurrect Jon Snow
Another possibility, but one that seems a little far-fetched given geographical constraints, is that Stannis’ dead body somehow ends up at the Wall. Stannis, an actual king who definitely has king’s blood, could be used to resurrect Jon Snow — even though he himself is presumed dead.
If Stannis’ body still has any blood in it by the time it gets the Wall, Melisandre could use its power to resurrect Jon Snow.
One other note: Jon Snow will probably not warg into his wolf, Ghost. The first trailer for “Game of Thrones” season 6 hinted at this possibility, but with Ghost’s lifeless body appearing in the newest trailer, that theory now seems moot (at least from the show’s point of view).
So if Jon Snow is alive, what’s next?
If Jon Snow is indeed alive, the ramifications would be huge. For starters, he would no longer be bound to the Night’s Watch, which prevents him from getting married, fathering children, holding lands and wearing crowns.
In the second line of their vows, the members of the Night’s Watch say: “[My watch] shall not end until my death.”
If Jon Snow died, he is released from his vows. If he comes back, he’s presumably a free man.
That’s a fairly important development, considering the fact that Jon Snow is probably a Targaryen.
Jon Snow could also actually legitimately be Jon Stark. In A Storm of Swords, Robb Stark — then a king with powers to lift out-of-wedlock children such as Jon Snow to higher standings — named his heir. But we don’t know who he named; his banner men fixed their seals as witnesses to the decree, and they all died shortly after. It’s possible the decree names Jon Snow as A) Jon Stark and B) as King of the North.
Therefore, it’s possible that the image of the (maybe) Jon Snow spotted in the Season 6 “Game of Thrones” trailer is actually Jon Stark, King of the North, rallying the northerners to save Winterfell and reclaim Stark land.
Watch the full trailer below.