Razor’s Rant: Jon Snow always comes back…but as what?

CAUTION: THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS

Rejoice, Jon Snow fans: our favorite bastard has risen from the dead like Jesus on the third day, and now has a whole new world full of challenges to face. How will his close friends feel about his miraculous resurrection? There have to be some men at the Wall who still worship the Faith of the Seven and consider his rising from the dead unnatural. Does Edd stay true to his friend, or does he consider him an abomination?

Then there are the wildlings to contend with. What do they believe with regard to resurrection? Usually, when a person comes back to life beyond the Wall, they have blue eyes and enjoy ripping people’s throats out. But we all heard what Tormund said, presumably to Jon, in the teaser for Episode 3: “They think you’re a God.”

Finally, there’s Melisandre and Davos. We’ve seen the Red Priestess at her rock-bottom worst, but once she sees Jon alive and well, she has to know that her faith has been rewarded, and she will receive a much needed boost in morale. Davos, who has always said he’s not a man of faith, may even have an awakening after seeing what the Lord of Light can really do.

So we have a veritable powder-keg of volatile emotions just waiting to explode at Castle Black, and we haven’t even mentioned the fact that Alliser Thorne, his officers, and that no-good Olly are all rotting in the ice cells, awaiting their punishment.

The question remains: who or what has come back? Is it Jon? Or is it something else? Throughout the story of Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire, there are instances where resurrections go awry, and where the person being resurrected comes back a little less like themselves each time. We can look to them for guidance.

Let’s start with Ser Beric Dondarrion and the drunken red priest Thoros of Myr. In A Game of Thrones, acting as Hand of the King, Lord Eddard Stark sends Ser Beric and a group of men to hunt down the false knight Gregor Clegane, who is raping and pillaging the countryside on the orders of Lord Tywin Lannister.

Beric and Thoros have many clashes with Gregor’s men, and Ser Beric eventually takes a mortal wound. Thoros, despite no longer having any faith in the Lord of Light, begins funeral rites for his fallen friend. When he bends down to give him the last kiss, fire pours from his mouth, and Ser Beric rises from the dead.

Ser Beric Dondarrion came back lessened, and says he has trouble remembering who he was before Thoros brought him back to life. In all, he would die seven deaths:

• Impaled on a lance by Ser Gregor Clegane.
• Smashed with a mace on the side of the head by Ser Burton Crakehall.
• Hanged at Rushing Falls by Ser Amory Lorch.
• Stabbed in the eye with a dirk by Ser Gregor Clegane.
• Killed by an archer of the Brave Companions sellsword company.
• Killed by Sandor Clegane in a trial by combat.
• Finally, he gives his life to resurrect Lady Catelyn Stark, thus producing Lady Stoneheart.

Lady Stoneheart is the other big example of resurrection in the Song of Ice and Fire series. When her eldest son Robb Stark was slaughtered at the Twins during the Red Wedding, Lady Catelyn Stark was murdered as well.

Three days later, the Brotherhood without Banners chased away a pack of wolves led by Arya’s direwolf Nymeria and happened upon Lady Catelyn’s body. Beric Dondarrion bent over it and kissed her lips, and died for the last time. Lady Catelyn rose anew as Lady Stoneheart, and took control of the Brotherhood.

Stoneheart began a campaign of bloody and mindless vengeance against those who had harmed her family. She began by hanging every Frey and Lannister she could get her hands on. Her appearance is terrifying to behold. Since her body was submerged in the river for days, her skin is the color of curdled milk. Half of her hair is gone, and the rest is white and brittle. Her wounds have not healed, and her face is covered in scratch marks from when she clawed at it in despair and anguish right before her death. Her throat is still slit open, and to speak, she must cover the wound on her throat.

The last time we see Lady Stoneheart in the books, she can no longer tell friend from foe. She is willing to hang even Brienne, an honorable warrior who once pledged Catelyn her sword, and Podrick Payne, an innocent child. Lady Stoneheart could be described as a mindless revenge zombie, despite the fact that she is killing Freys and Lannisters, which is somewhat satisfying for fans of House Stark.

So this leaves us with a question: what will Jon be, now that he has come back from death’s door? Will he be more or less intact, like Beric Dondarrion? Or will he be a mindless revenge zombie like his stepmother? Or is there a third option? Does the Lord of Light have a plan for him? Is he Azor Ahai reborn? And if he is truly reborn, does that mean that he is the old Jon Snow?

We’ll find out more tomorrow, when “Oathbreaker” airs. This is a new stage for Jon, and I’m eager to see how he handles it. His story is expanding, and if rumors about what happened at the Tower of Joy are true, it could expand even further…but that’s for another rant, for another time.