 There are big-time spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 5, Episode 10, “Mother’s Mercy.” I’ve never been more serious about a spoiler warning. It would appear that Jon Snow is dead and gone for good, wouldn’t it? Given George R.R. More concerning for viewers is the interview Kit Harington gave to Entertainment Weekly, in which he reveals that "I’ve been told I’m dead. Is this really the end for Jon, a million show-watchers cry out to a million book readers? A messiah who, it is said, will return to challenge the power of the Others, a.k.a. You now know exactly as much as book readers do about the fate of Jon Snow. The only difference between you show watchers and us book readers now, when it comes to Jon Snow, is that we’ve had four years since A Dance with Dragons came out to think of creative ways to bring back Jon Snow. We can't go too far here without venturing into possible show-spoiling territory, but we have already met one character resurrected in the Red God's name: Beric Dondarion of the Brotherhood Without Banners. Melisandre looked rather scandalized by Thoros’s antics, but it’s a good thing the show went out of its way to link these two up (they don’t meet in the books) so we would know that Melisandre had this option in her back pocket. You may remember that Melisandre once considered Stannis to be the messiah Azor Ahai — and just recently left his camp for some reason that isn't apparent yet. "If anything in the future is not like that [i.e., Jon's permanent death], then I don’t know about it," Harrington said. Supposedly they could not stand against it.” Melisandre spoke of the legend of Lightbringer back in Season 2, saying, “In the ancient books it is written that a warrior will draw a burning sword from the fire.” In the books (though not the show), when he saved Lord Commander Jeor Mormont's life from a wight attack at Castle Black, Jon Snow set a fire that damaged Longclaw’s hilt, melting silver on the bear's head pommel and burning the crossguard and grip. And the cry comes back: We don't know either. So that means Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, and, oh yes, probably Tyrion Lannister will together form the prophesied savior. And that sword shall be Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him. In Book 3, A Storm of Swords, Mellisandre has this to say about Azor Ahai: "When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone." It made a point of reminding us in this episode how that sword shattered a White Walker back in Episode 8. Could Anyone Other Than Melisandre Bring Jon Snow Back? We won't know for sure until Book 6, the Winds of Winter, is published, an event awaited almost as eagerly as Azor Ahai himself. Notice that choice of words, however: He's not coming back next season, just like Bran Stark wasn't coming back this season. "It’s only in [showrunners] David and Dan and [author] George’s heads." Then again, maybe not 
 
 Could Martin know that we're primed to expect such a resurrection — that we won't want to wait four years just to find out Snow is dead for good — and throw it in our faces anyway? He's not dead, he's just resting — maybe 
 
 There are strands of hope that book readers have been holding onto for many years, too.
– First, the requisite "spoilers ahead" warning. If you've watched last night's episode, the series' Season 5 finale, you'll want to next read Entertainment Weekly's interview with Kit Harington (Jon Snow), or, at least, our excerpt of it. Vanity Fair's headline sums up what countless other publications are this morning asking: "Is This Really the Last We'll See of Jon Snow?" He's stabbed Julius Caesar-style by members of the Night's Watch, and the season ends with his apparent death. Or not so apparent, but crystal-clear, he tells EW. Here's part of the key exchange: EW: "I was talking to [showrunner] Dan Weiss and he said Jon is really dead. But George R.R. Martin left open the possibility the character might not be dead in the books. ... So let me ask you: Is Jon really dead?" Harington: "This is my understanding of it. I had a sit-down with Dan and David, we did the Tony Soprano walk [letting an actor know they're being whacked]. And they said, 'Look, you're gone, it's done.' ... But I've been told I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm not coming back next season. So that's all I can tell you, really." But Harington's words don't stop Joanna Robinson from asking in Vanity Fair if it's really, really the end of Jon Snow. She writes that the show's scene pretty closely mirrors the one that occurred in A Dance With Dragons, the fifth (and last-to-be-published thus far) book in the series, meaning "the only difference between you show watchers and us book readers ... is we've had four years ... to think of creative ways to bring back Jon Snow." She runs down a few of those creative ways here, including a popular one that's popping up in most articles: that Melisandre believes he's Azor Ahai and could resurrect him. Wait, what? More on that and the reasons why he might not be dead (the last word he uttered in the books, that we still need to unravel the mystery of his parentage) here, and here.