George R.R. Martin recently sat down for a massive interview with The Hollywood Reporter. The relatively reclusive writer revealed massive details about the future of his best known work, A Song of Ice and Fire.
Fans have been eagerly anticipating The Winds of Winter, the next entry in Martin's epic fantasy series, for quite some time. His most recently published book in the series, A Dance with Dragons, hit shelves in 2011, shortly after Game of Thrones, HBO's adaptation of Martin's novels, aired its pilot. Since then, Game of Thrones completed its eight-season run, surpassing Martin's published progress of the books, but no additional main series installments of A Song of Ice and Fire have been released.
As such, readers have been speculating about the resolution of certain major cliffhangers from A Dance with Dragons for well over a decade. The book leaves several characters' storylines open ended, and while Game of Thrones' final seasons provide answers for some of those questions, it's still uncertain how much the books' ending will match the show's.
However, in his interview, Martin casually implies a hugely satisfying conclusion to one of Dance's biggest cliffhangers. After years of speculation, fans finally know the fate of one of the series' most iconic characters.
Jon Snow's fate has been left uncertain
From the beginning of the first A Song of Ice and Fire novel, Jon Snow stood out as a major fan favorite. Ned Stark's bastard son quickly joins the Night's Watch before infiltrating the Free Folk forces. After Jon is elected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, he makes allies with the wildlings, thanks to his understanding that a far worse threat, the armies of the dead, is on the horizon. This makes Jon Snow a controversial Lord Commander, causing several of his brothers to stab him to death in a mutiny which they claim is "for the Watch."
This is how Jon Snow's story ends in A Dance with Dragons. However, many fans cannot believe such an important figure in the series could be killed off for good, especially with so many loose ends in his plotline. As such, fans have been wondering and hoping since Dance's publication that Jon Snow may somehow come back for the next book, The Winds of Winter.
Jon Snow is back (as a point-of-view character)
In Martin's interview, he discusses his writing process for The Winds of Winter, and how he sometimes bounces between characters depending on his mood, saying, "This Tyrion chapter is not coming along, let me write a Jon Snow chapter." While this was merely an example where Martin describes his method, it does seemingly confirm that Jon will not only return for The Winds of Winter, but that he'll resume his role as a point-of-view character.
While Martin doesn't explain how or why Jon Snow returns, that's what The Winds of Winter will be for, and fans everywhere can finally breathe a sigh of relief. After wondering and worrying about Jon Snow since 2011, George R.R. Martin himself has publicly stated for the first time that Jon Snow will be in the next A Song of Ice and Fire book.
Jon Snow's fate in the show
Jon Snow's death on Game of Thrones, which plays out mostly similarly to the books' depiction of his demise, takes place in the season finale of season 5, "Mother's Mercy." Two episodes later, in season 6's "Home," Jon comes back to life thanks to the magic of the Red Woman, Melisandre.
After his resurrection, Jon hangs the mutineers responsible for his death, then leaves the Night's Watch, claiming that, because he has died, his watch has ended. He then reunites with his sister Sansa, and the two of them take back the Stark family home of Winterfell from Ramsay Bolton in the epic Battle of the Bastards. After his victory, Jon is crowned King in the North.
As King, Jon takes the looming threat of the undead seriously, so he reaches out to Daenerys Targaryen, requesting her aid in the coming battles. At first, she refuses to help unless Jon bends the knee, which he is reluctant to do. However, after saving Jon's life beyond the Wall, he finally submits to Daenerys, and shortly thereafter, the two fall in love.
Jon and Dany's happiness is short lived. Daenerys grows to resent Jon after he receives more credit than her for stopping the undead invasion, and when they learn that Jon is actually the legitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, thus making him a stronger heir to the Iron Throne than her, that resentment turns to paranoia. After Daenerys "goes mad," burning King's Landing to the ground, Jon tearfully kills her and watches her last surviving dragon, Drogon, melt down the very same throne his mother spent her life trying to win back.
In an ironic twist, for killing Daenerys, Jon is sentenced to join the newly formed Night's Watch. When audiences last see him, he is venturing beyond the Wall with his brothers in black.
Jon Snow's ending in A Song of Ice and Fire will almost certainly play out very differently. However, thanks to Martin's interview, fans now finally know for certain that there is more of Jon's story to tell.
Make sure to catch A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the next HBO series set in the World of Ice and Fire, when it airs on Sunday, January 18.