海角大神

While the fifth season of the wildly successful HBO fantasy drama 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� may be over, speculation over the fate of a certain main character is not.

(Spoilers for the newest season follow, if you鈥檝e been away from the Internet and planet Earth for the last month 鈥�)聽

In the most recent season finale of 鈥淕ame of Thrones,鈥� character Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Lord Commander of The Night鈥檚 Watch, was betrayed and attacked by his men. The episode ended with him lying on the ground, apparently fatally wounded. The scene echoes what happened at the end of 鈥淎 Dance with Dragons,鈥� the most recent book in the series by George R.R. Martin on which the TV show is based.聽

So is Jon gone? Following the airing of the season finale, Harington said in an , 鈥淚鈥檝e been told I鈥檓 dead. I鈥檓 dead. I鈥檓 not coming back next season.鈥澛�

Meanwhile, Martin following the 2011 publication of 鈥淒ragons,鈥� 鈥淥h, you think he鈥檚 dead, do you? ... I鈥檓 not going to address whether he鈥檚 dead or not.鈥�

Fans have pointed to various reasons that Jon must be returning to the show, from what appear to have been supernatural resurrections of other characters to the fact that a plotline involving the identity of Jon鈥檚 parentage (he was told his father is Ned Stark, portrayed by Sean Bean) has not yet been resolved.

Now fans are discussing what some view as evidence Harington must be returning to the program. 鈥淭hrones鈥� actress Emilia Clarke recently posted on Instagram that she had arrived in Belfast to participate in a read-through, presumably for the show (the photo she posted included fellow 鈥淭hrones鈥� cast member Nathalie Emmanuel).聽

And now a fan has posted a of Harington at what the photographer says is the airport in Belfast.

Even if Harington is in Belfast, is it possible that he鈥檚 there just to visit cast members or for a reason entirely unrelated to 鈥淭hrones鈥�? Definitely.聽

However, if he鈥檚 not and there鈥檚 some kind of reversal 鈥� Jon is only wounded, or Jon is brought back to life through magic, or, as some viewers have guessed, Jon puts his mind in the body of his pet direwolf Ghost (look, this show is complicated) 鈥� is it a good creative move by the show? A practice that has sometimes frustrated TV and movie viewers in the past is when a show seems to set up a shocking death, only to back away from it at the last minute. A very recent example was another HBO show, 鈥淭rue Detective,鈥� which put one of its headlining stars in harm鈥檚 way when actor Colin Farrell鈥檚 character was shot at the end of the second episode. One critic wrote of the second episode, before audiences knew whether Farrell鈥檚 character Ray Velcoro survived (he did), 鈥淸The show has] even less going for it if it鈥檚 willing to do the whole fakeout thing.鈥澛�

The 鈥淪tar Trek鈥� character Spock was famously resurrected, and while the character is beloved, the movies after the one in which Spock died, 鈥淪tar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,鈥� weren鈥檛 as acclaimed.聽

So far, 鈥淭hrones鈥� has been commendable in that most of the major character deaths have been shocking and final 鈥� in fact, a character who died on the books and the show was resurrected in the books, but so far, the show hasn鈥檛 followed that plotline. While Jon Snow is a fan favorite and viewers will no doubt be interested to see his story continue, especially if more details of his parentage are revealed, they will also perhaps feel cheated if the show's creators back away from a bold creative decision.