Video: Game of Thrones explores the life, death, and renewed life of Jon Snow

Old Jon Snow was a funny old crow, and a funny old crow was he…and by the end of Game of Thrones Season 6, the production has traveled so far from where we were last year that it’s almost hard to remember that at the end of Season 5 we were desperately trying to find proof that the production was lying to us and that Jon Snow wasn’t really dead. Even President Obama was asking people who worked on Game of Thrones for the truth. It was Game of Thrones’ “Who shot JR?” moment.

Ten episodes of television later, and Jon’s Snow’s resurrection has largely been forgotten, partly because the show decided, once Jon and his companions left the Wall, not to dwell on it. We never see Sansa react directly to the news. We do not see the Starks using Jon’s resurrection as a way to gather the Northern houses to his side—we don’t even see them discuss the pros and cons of doing so. Until Jon tells Melisandre not to bring him back should he fall during the fighting in “Battle of the Bastards,” it’s like something everyone’s swept under the rug because they’d rather not think about it.

But between Seasons 5 and 6, the potential for Jon’s resurrection was the hottest Game of Thrones-related topic around. With the Season 6 over, the production has gone back to the beginning and released a behind-the-scenes special talking about the decisions that went into Jon Snow’s death, resurrection, and new life.

For the record, Brenock O’Connor (Olly) seems like a really good kid.

A few of the producers make some eerie comments about what Jon will be like going forward:

• Writer Bryan Cogman: “I firmly believe that Jon Snow did die at the end of Season 5. This character’s something else.”
• Writer Dave Hill: “He’s more haunted. He’s seen what lies after death, which is nothing.”
• Actor Kit Harington: “A little bit of bad has entered him. A little bit of evil. I’m back, but something’s gone.”

We’ll have to wait for Season 7 to see how the resurrected Jon Snow will handle his rule, and his life.