JON SNOW AND CONSEQUENCES

THIS SNOW DON’T MELT, OR HOW THE RED WOMAN MAY HAVE GAINED A SOUL BY REALLY TRYING

Yeah, well Kit, it’s not like nobody saw through it. It was as transparent as transparent aluminum..

What interested me most was not the Resurrection, saw that coming the moment you were killed. What was really interesting was the way.

I was right about the Red Woman. She was obviously different than all the other followers of the Lord of Light.

But is she now? She was obviously remorseful about her “failure of vision and foresight” (though who else might be resurrected in some odd way – Stannis – were all her visions false, or all true just in unexpected ways) though is she remorseful about her pagan sorceries and human sacrifices? Maybe so. Has she now learned a lesson? Will the Resurrection move her to becoming a Priestess of Light and not just a man and child burner, and a demon-birther? We’ll see I reckon. If she is really changed, and if so, exactly how.

And how will that influence the Truth of her real mission, what she is hoping to accomplish, and everything else that lies underneath her shell? The shell of her necklace that is…

Game of Thrones: Kit Harington breaks his silence — Exclusive

BY JAMES HIBBERD • @JAMESHIBBERD

Game of Thrones

Posted May 1 2016 — 10:03 PM EDT

This story contains a major revelation from Sunday’s Game of Thrones episode “Home.”

Jon Snow has returned to the land of the living.

As fans of HBO’s Emmy-winning hit Game of Thrones have now learned, Kit Harington’s murdered fan-favorite character Jon Snow was revived at the end of Sunday night’s episode. The Lord Commander was resurrected by the sorceress Melisandre, a reveal that caps 10 months of worldwide speculation following Snow’s death at the hands of his Night’s Watch brothers in last year’s finale.

During an in-depth interview exclusively with EW, Harington spoke about his incredible journey shouldering the show’s biggest secret. Actors typically only have to perform while in front of the camera. But to protect the Jon Snow twist, Harington was asked by the show’s producers to deliver an off-camera performance too — the role of an actor who departed a series that’s become a worldwide sensation.

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The first thing Harington wants viewers to know after seeing his revival: “Sorry!” the 29-year-old says in the above video excerpt. “I’d like to say sorry for lying to everyone. I’m glad that people were upset that he died. I think my biggest fear was that people were not going to care. Or it would just be, ‘Fine, Jon Snow’s dead.’ But it seems like people had a, similar to the Red Wedding episode, kind of grief about it. Which means something I’m doing — or the show is doing — is right.”

RELATED: Game of Thrones: 17 Biggest Changes from Books to TV

For months EW has been working on a top-secret cover story on the extraordinary behind-the-scenes tale of Jon Snow’s death and resurrection — including an exclusive conversation with Harington.Subscribe to receive the issue in digital format and exclusive online access the moment the story is posted. Or buy the issue right now here. Follow @jameshibberd for updates – and check out our recap of “Home” now. More coming Monday on the shocking episode, including our Game of Thrones podcast, where we’ll break down “Home” — plus talk about our Harington interview.

Check out our exclusive cover below.

THE RED WOMAN

You know I’ve always known something was off about the Red Woman. That she was not who she appeared to be. For the first and most obvious thing she was far too interested in ancient and pagan human sacrifice whereas the rest of the followers of the Lords of Light were interested in things like Resurrection. (As a matter of fact she was rather stunned by both the evidence of resurrections she saw performed and even by the idea, wasn’t she?) Secondly she was far too consumed with political and collective authoritarian power whereas the other followers of the Lord of Light seem more interested in the individual and a rebellion against worldly authority (take the Brothers without Banners, as just one instance).

So she was a conundrum, a misstep, a paradox, an openly hidden thing compared to the others. So I never assumed she was actually a follower of the Lord of Light anymore than I assumed she was as she appeared. But today at lunch I rewatched that final scene from last night’s Game of Thrones and it finally struck me (though I had a suspicion a couple of times before, such as when she summoned the demon out of herself) as she disrobed and took that necklace off (which seemed to go dead the moment she took it off) to become an Old Crone. (A pregnant old crone, or a “carrier” crone?)

Now I suspect I know exactly who she serves and why. Something far more ancient even than the White Walkers. Something far more Chthonic.

And I also suspect that she wasn’t at all disappointed by the overthrow of Stannis, but rather she had been planning it all along.

The thing now is, what exactly does she intend by the White Walkers. She and they would be natural enemies I suspect, but does she intend the Walkers and mankind to wipe each other out (for if she is what I think she is, she is enemies of both) or just to weaken man enough that after the Walkers are defeated she and her kind can then drive men again from Westeros?

Of course, there is always the other possibility…