'Game of Thrones': What a new poster might tell us about Jon Snow

Will Jon Snow return on “Game of Thrones”?

HBO, the network behind “Thrones,” recently released a poster for what is presumably the next season of the show. The poster reads only “April” (the month in which the past seasons of “Thrones” have traditionally debuted) and features supposedly deceased character Jon Snow front and center.

Jon (Kit Harington) appeared to be gone for good after this past summer’s season finale. Jon had become the leader of the military group the Night’s Watch but after he put various controversial rules into place, some of his men attacked and appeared to kill him. 

Harington himself said of his character’s fate in an interview following the season finale, “I’ve been told I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m not coming back next season.” (Back when the book in which Jon apparently meets his end, “A Dance with Dragons,” was published, “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin gave a slightly more ambiguous answer. “Oh, you think he’s dead, do you?” he asked, then said, “I’m not going to address whether he’s dead or not.”) 

So the poster seems to indicate that Jon will be involved somehow in the upcoming “Thrones” episodes, either as a character who is still alive or perhaps in flashbacks of some kind. 

“Thrones” is by now a cultural institution as it heads into its sixth season. It has become HBO’s most popular show of all time, surpassing early hits like “The Sopranos” and “Sex and the City,” and “Thrones” recently became the first fantasy series to win the Emmy Award for best drama series. 

However, “Thrones” has had its troubles. There were always complaints from viewers over the show’s depiction of some female characters and of sexual violence, but the complaints increased even more last season after a plotline involving sexual violence that many found troubling was included on the show. Some said they were finished with "Thrones."

Unlike past seasons, viewers don’t know what’s ahead. While those who had read the books knew ahead of time what stories would be told in upcoming episodes – and whether they were stories that would be disturbing to viewers – the fact that the show has reached the end of Martin’s written material means the story is a mystery to everyone. The show will be able to truly surprise everyone for the first time, but viewers will no doubt be wondering what kind of stories those behind the show will choose to tell following last season’s episodes.