11. It Changes How We Watch The Show
One of the thrills of watching Game of Thrones, the thing that makes us despair but unable to tear our eyes away, is the fact that no one is safe. Valar morghulis: all men must die. This is something that was established early on, with the death of Ned Stark, and it's only been reinforced throughout the subsequent seasons. Death by agonising death, viewers have learnt to never get too attached to a character on the show, no matter how important they may seem. Jon's death was the biggest example of that. He was one of the untouchables, in it until the very end. His death, whether you first encountered it on the show or in the books, is a huge shock. His coming back isn't. But what it means is that the idea of no one being safe is gone. Whenever someone major dies, the impact will be slightly lessened, because there'll always be the thought of 'well, Jon came back...'
James Hunt
Contributor
NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far.
A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.
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