Why fans are skeptical of the latest 'Game of Thrones' twist

Warning! Video and post contain spoilers for the Game of Thrones season 5 finale.

Game of Thrones fans cried out as one on Sunday night when the brothers of the Night's Watch turned on their Lord Commander (again) and assassinated Jon Snow, the last good man on the whole darn show. It's hands down the most heartbreaking death since we lost Ned back in Season 1. But, when you think about it, did we really lose Jon?

Yes, star Kit Harington has said that this is it for the character, and yes we did see him lying in the snow as his blood pooled around him, but who says that means anything? It's been four years since A Dance with Dragons, the book where this plot twist occurs, and fans have had ample time to theorize about Jon's assassination. And most of them think that the bastard of Winterfell isn't gone for good. And they have good reason to (spoilers for the books from here on out, as well as potential future spoilers).

There are three major theories about how and why Jon could have survived the attack, and they're all pretty darn nerdy. We broke them down for you:

1. Jon isn't dead -- he just warged into Ghost

This is probably the most prominent of the fan theories. Remember how Bran -- who sat out this season -- is a skinchanger who can go into the mind of his wolf, Summer, and even other people? Well the books have hinted that his brother Jon might have that ability, too, and that could mean that even though his body died, his mind is still alive inside his own wolf, Ghost.

This theory has major backing in the books. The prologue for A Dance with Dragons is told from the perspective of a dying Wildling fleeing the battle of the Wall (that big one in Season 4). He, too, is a warg, and he spends a lot of time thinking about what happens to them when they die. As it turns out, their spirit is flung into their animal, and the two souls slowly merge into one. So if Jon is a skinchanger, this seems like the most logical answer. Plus Melisandre had this vision in the books that seems to validate the theory:
"The flames crackled softly, and in their crackling she heard the whispered name Jon Snow. His long face floated before her, limned in tongues of red and orange, appearing and disappearing again, a shadow half-seen behind a fluttering curtain. Now he was a man, now a wolf, now a man again."

2. Jon comes back as a wight, but the good kind

In the books there's a character named Coldhands, who has the outward appearance of a zombified wight, but can speak and control his own actions (to bring another fan theory into the mix, people think this is Jon's Uncle Benjen). We've already seen that even dead bodies at Castle Black can rise again, if you remember that attack on the Lord Commander in Season 1. Jon might come back with some ice blue eyes and a colder handshake. But we'd be OK with that.

3. Jon is reborn because he's Azor Ahai, aka the Prince Who Was Promised

OK, this one gets pretty far into the nerdy weeds of things. But basically, there's this prophecy that has been mentioned sporadically in the show and all the time in the books, about The Lord's Chosen or The Prince Who Was Promised or Azor Ahai. Basically he's the one who's going to save everybody in the end (presumably from all those White Walkers).

The thing about this guy is that he has to fit a bunch of specific qualifications -- he must be the blood of the dragon, born when there's a bleeding star in the sky among smoke and salt -- and fans have been looking for someone who fits the bill ever since it was first mentioned. A lot of people might qualify, from Dany to Davos to one of Theon's random uncles (Melisandre thinks it's Stannis but we all know that child-murderer is nobody's savior), but with this assassination, Jon now seems to fit the bill. It's caused by the death of a knight with a star sigil (the bleeding star), one of his attackers is crying (the salt), and when he's stabbed, his wounds steam in the cold (the smoke). (If you're looking for the blood of the dragon that's a whole other fan theory.) Since Melisandre decided to ditch Stannis and head back up to the Wall, she may be the prime candidate to resurrect Jon -- the way the Red Preist Thoros of Myr resurrected Beric Dondarrion back in Season 2 -- and get this whole prophecy thing going.

These theories are all well and good, but as much as fans like to theorize, there's also the possibility that Jon might actually be dead, which would just be the worst news ever. There's also the possibility that the show and the books could seriously diverge on this major plot point, and as far as I'm concerned, until  George R.R. Martin tells me Jon's dead, I'm going to sleep soundly convinced that he's alive. Because if Jon's gone, who's left to root for among these sorry characters? Who is going to save everyone? And what's going to happen when all those White Walkers show up at the Wall? Are the mutinous Night's Watch brothers just going to wish them away? Game of Thrones needs Jon Snow, and so do the rest of us.

To tide you over until we learn Jon's true fate, check out our super cut dedicated to the best of the Starks: