Already in its 6th season, aficionados of the HBO drama Game of Thrones know what to expect of its major characters (loved or hated): that anyonecould be killed off momentarily.

This is one of thecharacteristic it uses to distinguish itself from itscounterparts after having offed Ned Stark in the final episode of its first season, Robb (The junior stark in its third season), followed by the poisoning of King Geoffrey in its fourth and surprisingly the death of Jon Snow at the hand ofthe Nights Watch men in the last episode of Season 5 amongst many others. Clearly, this is a trend that has come to be expected from the award winning show with the writer’s emphatic saying“No one is safe in Westeros”.

However, in a twist and perhaps a deviation from the usual course, Snow was resurrected in the second episode of Season 6, which started airingon April 23. Not to say this wasn’t expected as itsdevotees vocally expressed their disappointment over the death of their favorite character, but even before the current season started airing-in various interviews, the writers made it clear by saying“Snow is dead for good”while other actors claimed ignorance as regarding his fate. Still, folks lingered on the internet all in the hopesthey might get a flyspeck bit of news or information regarding the coming back of the beloved bastard Stark. It would be absurd to say the writers or the show runners of the series had a change of heart after reiterating that Kit Harington’s character is gone and gone for good and this write-up aims at enlightening various factors responsible for the revival of one of the most beloved characters on TV today.

The L+R=J theory

Contrary to popular belief that Jon Snow is the product of one of Eddard Stark philandering’s in king’s landing, the theory suggests he is the son of Ned’s sister Lyanna and Prince Rhaegar. It purports that during one of the meetings of the great seven lords of Westeros, Rhaegar, son of the mad king Aerys smitten with Lyanna eloped with her and they had a romantic rendezvous at the Tower of Joy for a whole year while to all others, it seemed she had been kidnapped: one of the catalysts for the rebellion that overthrew the house of Targaryen.

After the battle of the trident in which Rhaegar was slain by Robert Baratheon, Ned rides up to the tower to meet a dying Lyanna who entrusts unto his care a child after making him promise to keep silent on the matter.

The show runners have remained mum on the hypothesis and haven’t made any move yet to explore it. But on the whole, it would make sense to bring back the character if there is any possibility that they are going to toe that path in the future. After all, why kill off the son of Lyanna and Rhaegar if they plan on visiting the two lovers.

Fans’ Disappointment

In this age of social media and the internet, buffs have had it easy in voicing their concerns to film/TV executives.
That a certain Dead pool or Suicide Squad is being released can be attributed to the persistence of fans demands and several online petitions. Basically, it means the voices of some certain demographic can be a determining factor on whether studios continue with their pre-planned action or take a step back, make some changes and hope at the end of the day their loyal followers aren’t alienated or disgruntled in some way so much that they choose to ignore the show for good.

Perhaps, the bringing back of Jon Snow might be a classic example. When it became apparent that one of their preferred was being killed, many expressed displeasure at the show’s intended direction through several channels. It was more off people knew what to expect from the show regarding their major players, but expressed shock when the writers decided to eliminate a high profile one.

Thanks to the internet and social media buzz, this provided a conduit for enthusiasts to voice out their frustration: a determining factor for the character’s comeback.

Further exploration of his character arc

For the character, his death and return has many ramifications with reference to his story arc. First, it releases him from the oath he swore to the Nights Watch men.

And second, this makes him a free man. The writers of the series could have created this scenario in order for them to have more reins with character: that is, taking away Jon Snow from the confines of the wall (and beyond) and thrusting him into occurrences in the kingdom of Westeros.

What lends credence to this is that he has often being touted as one of the heirs to the Iron throne and if the L+R=J theory should later play out somewhere down theline, it would be logical to have Mr Snow in a position where he can rightly make a claim to the ruler ship of Westeros. Add to that romance, meetings with the other Starks and figures and character development, which seemed absent while he served with the men in black (pun not intended). Simply put, it allows more flexibility with the character.

To sum it all up, it could be all of the reasons listed above, and more or even none of it that made creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss vivify the character. But it is worth noting that theseries has a knack for eliminating their major players and perhaps they went a bit far this time risking shutting out their fan base most of whom were rooting for Jon Snow’s success in the harshterrain of Westeros.

Furthermore, it can be said they had no idea on how endearing the character has become with audiences and as such wouldn’t have expected such a public outcry regarding the killing off of the “the bastard”. Whatever new path they’ve decided to lay out for the character, it would quite interesting to sit back and enjoy how it plays out every Sunday night. Game of Thrones is currently airing on HBO.

Source: http://www.yeyepikin.com/2016/05/possible-reasons-why-jon-snow-is-back-on-game-of-thrones/