Jon Snow is dead. In the closing scene of season five of "Game of Thrones," he was stabbed multiple times by men of the Night's Watch then collapsed in a pool of his own blood. Let's put to rest the theory that he is somehow still alive. He isn't. Kit Harington, the actor who portrays Jon Snow, admitted as such, saying that he is only a part of the season six cast to portray Snow's dead body.
With that being said, Jon Snow is coming back. I don't know how he will come back, although I have a few ideas, but at the same time I have never been as certain about anything in my whole life. Here is why Jon has to come back.
1. We are too far into the series for another hero to reveal him or herself and uptake the mantle of responsibility. Additionally, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the writers of the show, are on record that season eight will be the final season of "Game of Thrones" with season seven being a shortened season.
2. Every major character will have a role to play as the show comes to an end, which I believe will be a final cataclysmic battle against the White Walkers. In terms of military prowess, there is no major character who could match the combination of Jon's fighting skills, experience, and leadership. A character who might have been able to match Jon is Jaimie Lannister, but ever since losing his sword hand, he has been a shell of himself. The only other choice would be Khaleesi herself, but she has yet to learn that the White Walkers actually exist and, despite her dragons and army of Unsullied, she hasn't really had the chance to prove herself as a great war general. Her conquest of Mereen was due in large part to the city's slaves revolting against the masters. There is not a character that is a better fit to lead an army of the living against the dead than Jon.
3. Jon has to come back because a plot line that seems to be forgotten since season one is who Jon's mother is. Even more so, who is actually Jon's father? (Potential spoiler: It's not Ned Stark.) There have been plenty of rumors that this season is the one where Jon's parentage will be revealed, but it hardly makes sense to invest time in that particular storyline if Jon isn't even alive.
4. Finally, Jon has to return because of the ultimate "Come at me, bro" scene in which the Night's King stared down Jon after obliterating the thousands of Wildlings and Night's Watch men at Hardhome. It is clear from this scene that the Night's King is intrigued by Jon and may even view him as a potential rival. This point is only strengthened by the fact that Jon is the rightful owner of Longclaw, which is one of the few Valyrian Steel swords left in all of Westeros.
Along with Dragonglass, Valyrian Steel is the only material that has been able to parry and kill White Walkers. In the first trailer of the new season, Ser Davos is seen next to Jon's dead body, unsheathing Longclaw while presumably buying Melisandre time to bring Jon back to life. "I've never been much of a fighter. Apologies for what you're about to see."
With so many questions going into season six, one thing is certain: winter is coming and so is Jon Snow.
