Skip to main content

Kit Harington strums our pain with his fingers in latest Game of Thrones reveal

jon snow game of thrones season 6 kit harington 1
Helen Sloan/HBO
Jon Snow has been the name on every Game of Thrones fan’s lips since the season 5 finale when he was (spoiler alert!) brutally attacked and left bleeding in the snow and presumed dead. For months, the popular character’s fate has been the subject of speculation, with his appearance on set giving Snow lovers hope, not to mention the season 6 poster featuring his bloody image. Finally, actor Kit Harington has spoken out about his character’s involvement in the upcoming season, but this being Game of Thrones, it’s yet another cryptic teaser.

There’s good news and bad news when it comes to what we know so far about Snow’s return: Harington told the U.K.’s Time Out in an interview that he did, in fact, film new scenes for season 6, but they’re scenes in which he is nothing but a lifeless corpse. “It’s some of my best work,” he joked.

While copping to filming scenes as a corpse didn’t necessarily rule out the possibility of him having also shot scenes as a living, breathing Snow as well, other comments essentially did. Harington seemed to shut the door on any possible season 6 return by the former Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, saying, “I’m not in the show any more. I’m definitely not in the new series.”

The comments come as a blow to those who have been crossing their fingers for Snow’s survival or resurrection. New Game of Thrones cast member Ian McShane recently let it slip that his character would “bring back a much loved character everybody thinks is dead,” so it had seemed possible that Snow might be the deceased in question. Now, however, Harington has more or less doused the embers of hope.

Harington did reveal another clue about Snow’s role, though. “I know how long I’m a corpse for, but I can’t tell you that!” he said. Perhaps Snow’s state isn’t permanent and he eventually does return from the dead — just not in season 6? It’s enough to bend that portion of your brain dedicated solely to GoT into a Westeros-style pretzel. But all denials aside, as we’ve seen in the past, nothing is certain in Game of Thrones — aside from the fact that, you know, winter is (eventually?) coming.

Game of Thrones season 6 premiere on April 24 on HBO.

Stephanie Topacio Long
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…
The Red Wedding at 10: How the groundbreaking episode changed Game of Thrones forever
Robb Stark's body with his direwolf's head in Game of Thrones.

The so-called Golden Age of Television reached its undeniable zenith during the 2010s. Shows like Mad Men, Veep, Breaking Bad, and Stranger Things took TV to new and exciting levels of visual and narrative quality. However, no show had more influence or acclaim throughout the 2010s than Game of Thrones. The HBO juggernaut became synonymous with prestige television, delivering a perfect mix of political intrigue, high fantasy, and sex that became irresistible for critics and audiences.

Game of Thrones wasn't an instant success; it was only in season 3 that the show became the must-see show on television. Two events helped the show achieve this elusive reputation. The first was Daenerys' sacking of Astapor in the fourth episode, And Now His Watch Has Ended. The second is, of course, the Red Wedding. The episode it was featured in, The Rains of Castamere, changed the series' course, altering the fate of multiple characters and radically shifting the power balance between the noble houses of Westeros. The groundbreaking episode showcased Game of Thrones operating at full strength, and, as a result, allowed audiences to truly understand what kind of show they were watching.
Game of Thrones sends its regards

Read more
How House of the Dragon saved Game of Thrones’ tarnished legacy
Alicent and Rhaenyra clutch each other in House of the Dragon.

May 19, 2019, is a date branded on the pop culture lexicon. The finale to Game of Thrones, the television phenomenon that single-handedly revitalized the fantasy genre and redefined what "event television" meant, aired to the collective disappointment of millions of fans. The show's decline in quality had begun in season 7, with some questionable choices happening as far back as season 5, but the train wreck that was season 8 was beyond words. Consistency went out the window in favor of spectacle, resulting in a rushed season that reduced the world's greatest TV show into a sad shadow of its former self.

The controversial finale put a seemingly permanent stain on Game of Thrones. In the years leading up to its conclusion, HBO expressed interest in creating a franchise based around George R. R. Martin's World of Ice and Fire. However, the episode's terrible reception put the network's plan in doubt, with many wondering if the Game of Thrones brand was in a healthy enough place to support a franchise. Things got worse when the first spinoff, starring Naomi Watts, got unceremoniously axed -- even after shooting a $30 million pilot -- spelling doom for the would-be franchise. Alas, not all was lost; GoT still had an ace up its sleeve, and it was called House Targaryen.
Mother of Dragons

Read more
Game of Thrones deserves to be a great video game like Elden Ring
Tyrion and Daenerys on Dragonstone with Rhaegal and Drogon on either side.

After the generational success that Game of Thrones brought the overall HBO brand, the face of original premium TV has begun a broader expansion of the dark fantasy world of author George R. R. Martin with House of the Dragon. The prequel has reinvigorated the strengths of the flagship show, with more projects underway -- including the Jon Snow-led sequel series. But aside from more TV prequels and a sequel, as ambitious as that all sounds, the video game medium should be something else that's at least on HBO and Martin's radar.

Given the tumultuous merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery, it's hard to say what the likes of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will look like in the near or distant future, but the world of A Song of Ice and Fire is teeming with a mythology that would lend itself well to gaming. Whether it's through the roleplaying or real-time strategy genres, there are plenty of avenues developers can take this IP.
The Elden Ring factor

Read more