The major reveal in “Game of Thrones” Season 6 Episode 2 was that Jon Snow came back from the dead. The Red Woman Melisandre performed some witch magic on his lifeless body before giving up (her magic didn’t seem to work). Once all hope seemed to be lost — and Jon Snow’s lifeless body was once again left alone in the room — Jon Snow back breathing back to life.
But only after his trusty direwolf Ghost woke up from a slumber.
We’re made to believe the Melisandre resurrected Jon Snow. It would make sense, after all. Thoros of Myr (another Red priest) resurrected Beric Dondarrion several times. Perhaps Melisandre’s magic just took a little bit longer to kick in.
Ghost and Jon Snow are intrinsically linked
But the “Game of Thrones” show runners were very intentional in showing Ghost sleeping under Jon’s lifeless body several times throughout the scene. In fact, Ghost himself almost looked dead at one point.
Only after everyone leaves the room does Ghost rumble, sit up, and wake up. And immediately following this, Jon wakes up with a gasp of breath.
It’s unclear what role — if any — Ghost played in Jon Snow’s resurrection. It’s possible that Ghost simply stirred right before Jon Snow woke up because the dire wolf sensed that its master was back.
Or perhaps there’s more meaning to it.
If you want to see the full theory behind Jon Snow warging into Ghost, check it out on our other blog post. But here’s the gist of it:
- Jon Snow is a warg in the books, and sometimes wargs into Ghost
- Jon Snow’s final word before dying in the books was “Ghost”
- The Season 6 “Game of Thrones” trailer hinted at Jon Snow living via warg powers
Why it would matter if Jon Snow warged into Ghost
While this may seem trivial — who cares how Jon Snow came back, he’s back and that’s all that matters! Right? — it could end up being hugely important.
Why? Because Melisandre is losing her faith. This was evidenced in the Season 6 Episode 1 shocker that Melisandre is actually an old crone. It was reiterated by her lack of conviction is raising Jon Snow from the dead — she even pleaded at the end of her chants, something very un-Melisandre like.
But if Jon did warg into Ghost, and it was simply a coincidence in timing that he came back just minutes after Melisandre’s resurrection attempt, nobody will actually know that. Melisandre (and everyone else that was in the room) will think that her magic worked, and she will likely regain some faith and rally behind Jon Snow. However, if this does happen — and it wasn’t her magic that brought Jon back but in fact Jon’s own form of magic (warging) — then Melisandre could be in for disappointment again, because she will falsely (but understandably) think that it was the Lord of Light that brought Jon Snow back.