Is Jon Snow Really Alive?

08/31/2017 05:37 pm EDT

WARNING: Major spoilers ahead for Season 7 of Game of Thrones! Continue reading at your own risk...

Even though Jon Snow was resurrected at the beginning of Season 6, a new theory has emerged claiming that he might not actually be alive after all.

In episode 6 of Season 7, titled "Beyond the Wall," Kit Harington character led a group of warriors up beyond the wall with the intention of capturing one of the wights. Along for the journey was Beric Dondarrion.

Jon and Beric have one particular similarity in their storylines. They have both died and been brought back to life with a priest or priestess of R'hollr, Beric by Thoros of Myr and Jon by Melisandre.

The two still have the scars from their death, or in Beric's case deaths, but they didn't get a chance to have a conversation about what dying and coming back to life was like. They did discuss the purpose of being brought back by the Lord of Light but did not talk further about the subject.

While Jon seems to be the same character that he was before being betrayed by members of the Night's Watch, Beric has said as far back as Season 3 that every time he comes back, he's a "bit less."

It is unknown if Jon feels the same way. One distinction is that Jon has only been brought back once so the effect is likely much stronger for Beric.

The matter became even more complicated after A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin spoke out about Beric being brought back to life.

"[Poor] Beric Dondarrion, who was set up as the foreshadowing of all this, every time he's a little less Beric," Martin said during an interview with TIME.

"His memories are fading, he's got all these scars, he's becoming more and more physically hideous because he's not a living human being anymore. His heart isn't beating, his blood isn't flowing in his veins, he's a wight, but a wight animated by fire instead of ice, now we're getting back to the whole fire and ice thing," he continued.

Based on these comments, it's clear that Martin doesn't technically consider Beric to be alive. Because Jon was resurrected in the same way, this begs the question of whether the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark is also a wight.

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