SPOILER ALERT: Do not read past this line if you have not seen “Home” (season 6, episode 2).
Consider yourself warned. I am not kidding, don’t do it. I will not take responsibility for your overly dramatic cries should your curiosity convince you to continue reading.
Make no mistake, this episode will go down as one of the most epic GOT episodes ever. It’s probably up there with The Red Wedding, and last year’s epic White Walker battle at Hardhome. Before I recap some MAJOR KEY moments from this episode, make sure you’re familiar with what happened by reading the epsiode’s recap here.
I would like to start off by saying, I told you so! I fucking knew it! Jon Snow comes back to life in a way that reflects one of my genius theories.
After 11 minutes of patiently waiting (and fantasizing about the moment Jon Snow will surely profess his love for me), we finally get to see what’s going on at Castle Black. As Davos Seaworth anxiously awaits the arrival of the Wildlings to help save the day, Alliser Throne, Olly and other Castle Black brothers continue to ram through the door where Jon Snow’s dead body lies. (If you ask me, they wouldn’t be this angry if they actually got laid once in a while, but hey that’s just me).
The Wildings finally make an entrance and lay siege to the Night’s Watch and put sweet ol’ Allister and a few other Black brothers in jail before the show moves on to Kings Landing.
As the episode goes on, we’re left in total suspense about the fate of Jon Snow. But just as I’m about to finish off a bottle of wine and lose all hope that Jon will return to me once and for all, Davos mans up and decides to seek help from his least favorite person, Melisandre.
Although resistant, Melisandre—who looks like she’s given up on showering and brushing her hair and life in general—agrees to try bringing Jon back to life. First, she strips Jon’s corpse down to his undies. (If I may say so myself, the Snow-man is as beautiful as ever for someone who’s been dead for over 24 hours). Melisandre then trims Jon’s hair and washes his body (I volunteer as tribute for this job next time around!) while chanting some spell in Valyrian. Then she pauses for about 5 seconds before giving up. Melisandre, Davos, and the Wildings all leave the room in despair.
The camera lingers on Jon’s dead body for what seems like an eternity before Jon suddenly opens his eyes and gasps for air. Holy Santa saggy balls, Christmas came early because Jon Snow came back to life!!! Of course I screamed when this happened. Who wouldn’t?! But now, I have SO many questions about what’s to come!
- Are Jon’s eyes darker than usual? If so, does that mean anything!?
- Is it a coincidence that Ghost woke up right before Jon came back to life?
- When will Jon (aka Kit Harrington) acknowledge my existence?
- Does Jon remember anything that happened?
- How will coming back to life affect Jon Snow’s character? Will he be different from before?
- If you recall in Season 3, Beric was resurrected by the Red Priest Thoros of Myr six times, and each time he came back to life, he lost a little more of himself—his memories, bits of his humanity, and even pieces of his flesh. He was never quite the same.
- In 2011, the author of the Game Of Thrones books, George R.R. Martin, said: “I do think that if you’re bringing a character back, that a character has gone through death, that’s a transformative experience. My characters who come back from death are worse for wear. In some ways, they’re not even the same characters anymore. The body may be moving, but some aspect of the spirit is changed or transformed, and they’ve lost something.”
- Did Jon come back with a specific mission?
- Has Jon been reborn? (Continue reading to better understand my question)
- How could Melisandre be right about Jon, but so wrong about Stannis?
- Did Melisandre see Jon Snow as the reborn prince in her flames this whole time and confuses him for Stannis? (Continue reading to better understand my question)
- Is it really Melisandre who brought Jon back to life, or was it Ghost, according to the fourth of my five Jon Snow Theories? (Continue reading to better understand my question)
After watching episode 2 of season 6, it’s looking like this might just be the season of the Starks. Obviously, I have some thoughts on what might happen to each of the main family members as the season progresses.
1. Lyanna Stark
The episode begins with Bran Stark and the Three Eyed Raven visiting the past, where they see Ned Stark as a child playing with Benjen Stark. Then Lyanna Stark appears riding a horse. As I stated before, it is no coincidence that the episode begins with her (which is the first time we see what she looks) and ended with Jon’s resurrection. I think this season we will ge to discover who Jon’s real parents are and
I believe that we are going to be seeing a lot more of Lyanna and learning a lot more about her character throughout season 6. I think this season we will get to discover who Jon’s real parents are which is why Lyanna will play such a big role here, especially if the theory R+J=L is true.
2. Benjen Stark
Episode 2’s opening flashback scene also tells me that we’re finally going to find out what happened to Benjen Stark this season since nothing is ever a coincidence on this show.
The last time we saw Benjen was in Season 1, when he left Castle Black to head north of the wall on a ranging. Later in Season 1, we see Benjen’s horse return to Castle Black alone, and learn that his fellow rangers are all dead. There was never any sign of Benjen himself, however, which brings me to my theory that Benjen is coming back this season—either alive, or as a Wight
3. Jon Snow (warg?)
I still sense some kind of connection between Jon and his direwolf, Ghost. Although it seems as if Jon was brought back to life by the Lord of Light with the help of Melisandre, that doesn’t change the fact that warging might run in the Stark family.
It’s still possible that Jon’s spirit was hiding out in Ghost before he was brought back to life. I just don’t think it’s a coincidence that Ghost woke up from his nap right before Jon came back to us.
If the warging theory is correct and Jon’s spirit was in Ghost’s body while he was dead then he may avoid a fate like Beric’s, who was never quite the same after every time the Lord Of Light brought him back to life. He could very well remain the same good ol’ boy we’ve all grown to love!
4. Jon Snow (as Azor Ahai)
Jon Snow’s return opens the door to a longtime theory by many avid #GOT fans that he will be reborn as the “Prince that was promised” known as Azor Ahai. If Jon does in fact come back as the reborn Azor Ahai then it answers my earlier question that Jon will not come back as himself, the character that we’ve all grown to love.
If Jon does in fact return as the reborn Azor Ahai then it means we are one step closer to confirming my fifth theory that he is a Targaryen since he would need to have king’s blood running through his veins to fulfill this identity.
According to legend, Azor Ahai was a Westeros hero who wielded a burning sword called Lightbringer and is destined to be reborn so he can rescue the Seven Kingdoms from their days of darkness (which, presumably, refers to the rise of the White Walkers) by teaming up with the Children Of The Forest.
Last season, Melisandre was convinced that Stannis was this very man, but Melisandre has since lost faith in her own prophecy. It is possible that Melisandre’s visions were not entirely wrong, but that she’s been focused on the wrong man (Stannis instead of Jon Snow) this whole time.
5. Bran Stark
This season I expect to see more of Bran and the Three Eyed Raven. It is no coincidence that this episode began with Bran’s flashback vision who is continuing to develop his powers beyond the wall and concluded with Jon waking up from the dead.
I believe that Bran’s evolving powers and his friendship with the Children Of The Forest will factor greatly into the course of this season and the coming war. I predict that we’ll see Jon and Bran reunite, and that they’ll work together to save the realm (if Jon is in fact the reborn Azor Ahai). Regardless, I believe Bran’s warg powers will play a big role this season.
6. Sansa Stark
It is already clear that Sansa will make a big comeback this season and finally take what’s rightfully hers. It will be interesting to watch her character develop and see if she is able to restore the Stark family name to its former glory.
7. Arya Stark and Rickon Stark
Although nothing major happened to these two during this episode (Arya’s still blind, of course, but that’s old news), I have faith that this season will be focused on the Starks and that they will all overcome their struggles. I am curious to see what will become of Arya—whether she will ever leave Braavos and make her way down to her other siblings. I am also curious to see how the story of Rickon, the youngest Starck, will transpire.
