One nitty-gritty of the HBO show, Game of Thrones, is that it never shies away from killing off major characters each season. It's what pulls the audiences to the edge of their seats, so imagine the fans' surprise when Jon Snow was suddenly resurrected. Here's how and why he survived his death.
Jon Snow has always been an advocate of keeping his word, especially in becoming one of the men of the Night's Watch. However, when his own men disagreed with his decision to let the wildlings into their territory, he was stabbed to death.
WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the Game of Thrones series, so READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Jon Snow's Morality Led To His Death
Initially portrayed as the 'bastard son' of Lord Eddard 'Ned' Stark, Jon Snow was never given a proper name or title.
By being raised in the North under the House of Stark, he was taught proper manners and mirrored the morality Ned possessed. Jon grew up to be kind, understanding, and brave for his family, but most especially for the youngest ones, Bran and Arya.
As early as the first season, he was sent to Castle Black to take the sacred oath of becoming a part of the Night's Watch, where criminals and bastards alike were sent to work and guard the towers against White Walkers.
Taking the sacred oath meant he wasn't allowed to marry or bear children and viewed no Wildling as a part of their society - both of which Jon strayed from.
He had fallen in love with the wildling named Ygritte and laid with her, and even welcomed the wildlings into Castle Black to give them shelter.
While Jon's loyalty to the Night's Watch led to the death of his own beloved, he couldn't let the wildlings live off in the wilderness on their own anymore.
Unfortunately, the Men Jon looked at as his own flesh and blood ended up stabbing and killing him off in Game of Thrones Season 5. Jon died under a sign that had 'traitor' written on it for bringing the Wildlings in.
It is worth mentioning that the stabbing here was done more than necessary in killing Jon off. It would have been impossible to survive such, so how come he was resurrected in Season 6?
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So, How Was Jon Snow Resurrected? Is He Immortal?
The thing about Westeros is it holds dragons and magic. Apart from Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow was the only other living Targaryen during their time. Although he didn't find that out until the last season.
Technically speaking, it was thanks to the 'Red Woman', Melisandre, that Jon returned from the grave. She spoke some Valyrian spell which brought the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch back to life.
Do take note that the Red Woman doesn't always resurrect the Dead. She 'chooses' them based on the Lord of Light's wishes, which could be explained further if she does end up showing in House of the Dragon Season 2, as rumored.
Did Jon Snow Survive Because of His Targaryen Blood?
Now, could the Targaryen blood running through his veins be the reason behind his survival over the stabbing? Good theory, but it wasn't.
Well, the showrunners definitely decided to brush off this one. They even previously declared (by tricking fans) that Jon's death was inevitable. But apparently, not.
Considering that Jon's revelation of being a Targaryen was but taken at a swift note in Season 8, this wasn't fully explored. Let alone acknowledged, as he didn't take the throne for himself, either.
Perhaps we'd know more about the Lord of Light's plans if the Jon Snow Game of Thrones spinoff show does happen sometime in the future.
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