Do you enjoy spoilers? Are you a fan of well-boiled speculation?
Then shuffle that chair closer, sir. Get comfortable. You'll like it here.
HBO all but confirmed the much-speculated return of Kit Harrington's bedraggled Jon Snow earlier this week, with the following fan-baiting poster...
"But how?" remains the question on many fans lips. Yours probably. It's why you're here.
Film set know-all L7R has drip fed a crucial clue, hinging on the filming of a character many fans had linked to Snow's return: that Red Woman, Melisandre (Carice van Houten).
Van Houten has apparently had a short filming schedule for the upcoming sixth season, wrapping up her final shots "in secrecy". What lends more weight to the theory that she'll be instrumental in Snow's return is the news that her final scenes were filmed with Snow's direwolf, Ghost - or rather, the ball-on-a-stick prop used to later superimpose Ghost via CGI.
This CGI prop has apparently been used a lot more than in previous seasons, which leads us to our own (slightly odd) theory: Jon Snow will spend most of season six trapped in the body of Ghost.
"Eh?"
It's a theory that will make more sense to fans of George R R Martin's books than fans of the show. Throughout the novels, Jon Snow experiments with his warg powers - the ability to send his mind/soul/consciousness into the body of his pooch, Ghost.
Various wrags throughout the books speak of the dangers of becoming too close to their animal companions - with the constant threat that they'll slip into their animal state for good. Some even do so to survive, realising their human body is about to meet its end.
With this in mind, along with the news that Ghost will be featured more heavily in the new season, let's re-read Jon Snow's final scene from A Dance With Dragons...
Jon fell to his knees. He found the dagger’s hilt and wrenched it free. In the cold night air the wound was smoking. “Ghost,” he whispered. Pain washed over him.
While Melisandre might be the character who helps restore Jon Snow to his human body, we're betting that for much of the new season, Snow will be wandering about in direwolf form.
Who knows - George R R Martin might release The Winds of Winter before the new season airs in April? Probably not, but we're not giving up hope...
(Images: HBO)
[Via: The Independent]
