How will Jon 'survve' the stabbing

[KINGpanther]

I don't like the idea of Jon warging into Ghost either, but at least it'd have precedent with Varymer 6 Skins

It's pretty much a given that this will happen for atleast some amount of time. I wouldn't be surprised though if Jon warged Wun Wun first and squished Marsh and co. Is Jon strong enough to warg a giant, I don't know.

[The Bastard of Walton]

I don't believe he has died & will become Ghost or be resurrected. Castle Black will be in chaos Queens men fighting Wildlings, Wildlings fighting Black brothers, Black Brothers fighting Queens men. With all this going on Mel will escape with the comatose Jon & Ghost.

Jon's first chapter will be in a coma dream state. He will either fulfil his Winterfell dream to its conclusion & learn his true identity or Bran will contact him telling him he must fight of death & return to the Wall to fight the WW.

[NanNymeria]

I don't recall any ice magic involving bringing people back to life. So IMO if he survives, Melisandre will be the one bringing him back. Although the warg chapter does mean something, it can involve Bran or Jon (as I recall Bran meets him with Summer). I personally don't like the idea Jon becoming Ghost, how can he save Westeros then? I want to believe that he is the prince that was promised, so he must reborn in fire. And then again, it might be too soon to do that in book 6. So many questions, so many theories, so little information, and this book is just not coming..

[lakin1013]

There are so many possibilities that it is hard to decide what happens to Jon. Many posters want Jon to not die and thus not need special resurrection. If we go with the --'he is not dead, he was not given mortal wounds', the text tells us that

stab 1: Jon twisted from the knife, just enough so it barely grazed his skin (this graze is on his neck)

stab 0: Wick slashed at him again. This time Jon caught his wrist (Wick's) and bent his arm back until he dropped the dagger.

stab 2: Marsh stabs him in the belly and Jon pulls the dagger out.

stab 3: between the shoulder blades and this was from behind. Jon is kneeling and after this stab, he falls forward.

stab 4: Jon never felt the 4th knife.

Clearly, Jon can survive stab 1, 0, and stab 3 depending where it was located. Stab 2 is deadly and we simply do not know about stab 4, but we do know Jon was down, face-first in the snow. I am going to assume that the 4th stab, in the back, to an unconscious victim, is probably not fatal. It would take tremendous personal hatred to finish a person off in that manner. While I do believe some factions hated Jon, that final stab would be so personal, so intimate to the victim that I do not think the Knight Watch men have it in them to do that. I could be naive but.. which leads us back to stab 2.

The belly cut could lead to peritonitis which leads to death. Or it could have missed key organs and it will heal. If Jon is truly injured but NOT dead, he is going to need time to recuperate. GRRM could use a time jump, in that there is a great deal about Dany, Tyrion, Sansa and so on, then we get a chapter about Jon; one of those 'several months later'...type of things.

What GRRM tells us about this in an interview:

1. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So why did you kill Jon Snow?
Oh, so you think he's dead, do you?

2. So fans are not supposed to draw that conclusion he’s dead?

What I’m seeing from early reactions, admittedly just a handful, I think fans are going to split and argue about it until the next book comes out.

interview link: http://shelf-life.ew.com/2011/07/21/dance-with-dragons-shocking-twist-g/

Personally, I would prefer that Jon is injured, but not dead. The books have already had some supernatural resurrections and we run the risk of 'been there, done that' . That narrative would be more believable if Jon is injured, tended to, and regains his heath. I would then argue that his 'contract' with the Knights Watch has been terminated, by them, not him. I also think that during his convalescence he does warg into ghost, talks to Bran via the weirnet and finally discovers his parentage. Which then leads Jon (and the readers) in an entirely new direction.

[The Snark of Winterfell]

I would hate if he is resurrected UnCat/Beric Style. They have gone to that well too many times and for me it's dried out. If you add in Robert Strong that's a lot of dead coming back to life through magic, think it completely diminishes the power of death in this series. One of the best parts of this series is that major characters die and up till now most of them stay dead, would like that ratio headed in that direction.

With that said, I'm hoping he's not completely dead, the sort of mostly dead princess bride thing. I think he wargs into ghost. They try to heal his body or maybe throw him in an ice cell. When they believe he is dead they try to burn him, he wargs back while in the fire.

[Lady Blizzardborn]

I dont believe that Mel will revive him, because that would mean Jon has to accept the Lord of Light. And Jon just wont do that...

I don't see why that would be an issue. For one thing, you don't have to accept the LoL for it to work (Cat never changed religions), and for another we haven't seen her revive anyone at all. If he's not dead there's not much magicking to do. And if he is dead, he can't accept or reject anyone or anything.

I wouldn't be surprised if Bloodraven pulls some strings somehow, but Mel ends up getting the credit because she tried something around the same time.

[Lady Blizzardborn]

There are so many possibilities that it is hard to decide what happens to Jon. Many posters want Jon to not die and thus not need special resurrection. If we go with the --'he is not dead, he was not given mortal wounds', the text tells us that

stab 1: Jon twisted from the knife, just enough so it barely grazed his skin (this graze is on his neck)

stab 0: Wick slashed at him again. This time Jon caught his wrist (Wick's) and bent his arm back until he dropped the dagger.

stab 2: Marsh stabs him in the belly and Jon pulls the dagger out.

stab 3: between the shoulder blades and this was from behind. Jon is kneeling and after this stab, he falls forward.

stab 4: Jon never felt the 4th knife.

Clearly, Jon can survive stab 1, 0, and stab 3 depending where it was located. Stab 2 is deadly and we simply do not know about stab 4, but we do know Jon was down, face-first in the snow. I am going to assume that the 4th stab, in the back, to an unconscious victim, is probably not fatal. It would take tremendous personal hatred to finish a person off in that manner. While I do believe some factions hated Jon, that final stab would be so personal, so intimate to the victim that I do not think the Knight Watch men have it in them to do that. I could be naive but.. which leads us back to stab 2.

The belly cut could lead to peritonitis which leads to death. Or it could have missed key organs and it will heal. If Jon is truly injured but NOT dead, he is going to need time to recuperate. GRRM could use a time jump, in that there is a great deal about Dany, Tyrion, Sansa and so on, then we get a chapter about Jon; one of those 'several months later'...type of things.

<snip

Stab 2 is a slow kill spot. There's time to save him unless an artery was hit.

Stab 3 could have hit a vertebra in the spine at just the right place to slide off and not cut anything major.

Stab 4...maybe there wasn't one.

I've had peritonitis. No way he survives that without magic, so I think they'll be able to hold off infection. I think he'll be in a coma for a while, like Bran was, have important dreams, maybe run with Ghost a bit, and then return.

[Elkrider]

I'm not even certain Mel can do the resurrection thing that Thoros can. On the surface, yeah, they are both fire priests, but not all their abilities overlap. They can both see glimpses of the future in the flames--a skill that, according to both of them, is taught at the Red Temples. (Moqorro can do it too, maybe Benerro I can't remember right now) But Mel knows shadowbinding from Asshai, something Thoros of Myr does not.

The resurrection Thoros is doing is not understood even by the man doing it. Apparently he was just doing the standard funeral rites and then poof. Undead Beric. But there are hundreds of red priests and we haven't heard any of them resurrecting the way Thoros did, and it doesn't appear to be on the standard R'hllor priest magic training curriculum the way fire-scrying is.

The sort of burning that Moqorro does to Victarion's arm, and that Mel may have done to herself, is superficially similar to Thoros's resurrections because they are preserving things past the normal lifespan. But Moqorro isn't bringing back the already dead, only what's dying, and what comes back is transformed and burnt unnaturally black. Thoros brings back people with their injuries still debilitating them (Beric's eye, Catelyn's cut throat. You think that if he could figure out how to heal that he wouldn't? It'd definitely make communicating with LS easier...)

It's accidental magic that Thoros is doing, intuitive and without formal guidance. It's a lot more similar to Dany hatching the long petrified dragon eggs, and both feats are unlikely to be replicable by others.

[rosiemags]

I dont believe that Mel will revive him, because that would mean Jon has to accept the Lord of Light. And Jon just wont do that...

I'm not so sure...she's been pretty open to people being nonbelievers in the past, as long as they fit into her plans or can make use of them somehow.

[sj4iy]

I don't think Jon will actually die. But I think he will need the help of Bran, BR and maybe Melisandre to survive.

[Arcia]

What I think could happen is, after his stabbing, he unconsciously wargs into Ghost leaving his body in a comatose state. Jon's men/followers steps in in time to stop his bleeding and takes him somewhere safe to recover. Because he has lost a lot of blood, his pulse is weak, and is in a coma, to the untrain person they may believe he's dead. Perhaps they'll lock him in a cold room just incase he comes back from "the dead" as a white while they decide what to do next.

Being that Jon believes in the old Gods, they'll decide to burn him infront of the weirwood just beyond the Wall since they can't bury him. In doing this, Bran would see Jon through the tree and semi-warg into Ghost to urge Jon to return to his body before his really does die.

At the same time, Stannis will give the Stark justice by beheading Theon before a weirwood tree and triggering something magically to happen. Jon wakes up in the middle of his funeral as the fire engulfs him but he'll be unburnt similar to Dany during Drogo's funeral. The fire would cleanese him of all his wounds and he is reborn.

[Squab]

Maybe his body becomes a wight and his ego is saved by jumping to ghost, then he leads the others to victory and becomes the king of winter and king in the north. Maybe a lot of things but this is what i hope

[Not Dead Just Broken]

He's dead. He won't survive. His plot is finished. He had an important role in the story: to bring the Wildlings south of the Wall. Every single step of his journey led to that moment. R+L=J is not the Song of Ice and Fire. It's a minor detail that got less and less important the longer Ned Stark was dead.

Who is going to save Jon? He has no friends at Castle Black. The Wildlings swore an oath, but they can treat with the next LC as easily as Jon. They just found out they were tricked into thinking their King was dead. Do you really think they care about a Crow who stabbed them in the back? The Queen can't stand him and her men treat him with disdain. The non-Wildling NW are the ones who stabbed him. Jon purposefully sent his friends away. Sam can't save him from Oldtown even with a glass candle. Nor can any of his friends at the other castles on the wall like Pyp, Grenn and Edd. Leathers and Satin aren't going to rescue him, they just don't have the numbers.

Melisandre is everyone's choice to save him. She warned him of his fate. She told him there would be daggers in the dark. She told him to keep Ghost near. He ignored her. She left the Shield Hall in a rush, presumably to try to figure out if her King, her Azor Ahai is actually dead. Stannis is her fixation. She's bet everything on Stannis. She can't be wrong about that. Until she sees Stannis in the flames, no amount of chaos will break her trance. Even if she finds Stannis through the blizzard the Old Gods have sent, why help Jon now? What does she gain from having him alive?

Ned sent away the majority of his household guard and then tried to depose a King relying on the Goldcloaks to back him. He thinks he has their support, he thinks that he will succeed in arresting the Queen and it all falls apart. Jon sends his friends to various castles and Oldtown. He relies on the Wildlings to help him lead an attack on Winterfell. He thinks he has their support, he thinks that he will succeed in defeating Ramsay and it all falls apart.

Robb angers the Karstarks by showing no mercy to Lord Rickard. He angers the Freys by marrying Jeyne. He ignores Greywind at the Twins when he starts freaking out. Jon angers a lot of the Night's Watch by showing no mercy to Janos Slynt. He angers the Queen's Men by not allowing them to marry Val. He ignores Ghost when he starts freaking out.

Jon dies like a Stark of Winterfell. That's what Jon always wanted to be and that's how he dies. His arc is complete. The first dagger killed him. That's why he can't unsheath Longclaw; he was already losing too much blood.

Valar Morghulis. All Men Must Die. Even Jon.

[Squab]

Thats even better. Way more fulfilling

[Stannis's birthright]

I don't believe Jon will die , nor will he become UnJon . Jon will survive with the help of Ghost ( not Warging style) but by Driving away his attackers. Mel will arrive and with the help of and few Wildlings or Jon loyalist remove him from the yard / battlefield . Mel will stop the flow of blood and attempt to heal him but his true healing will come from Bran/ Bloodhaven ..

[Stannis's birthright]

Mel will come to Jon because she sees his fall in the flames ... And finally figures it all out . She see what happens if he dies ..A Final Long Night .

[John Suburbs]

I read an interesting post that has Lady Stoneheart giving Jon the Kiss, resurrecting him or, in a metaphorical sense, waking the dragon from stone.

[Not Dead Just Broken]

Mel will come to Jon because she sees his fall in the flames ... And finally figures it all out . She see what happens if he dies ..A Final Long Night .

Mel would just think it's Stannis. She thinks Bloodraven and Bran are the Great Other for pete's sake. Bran is the one being trained to defeat the White Walkers. Jon's job was to bring the best parts of their potential army south of the Wall. He succeeded.

[Not Dead Just Broken]

I read an interesting post that has Lady Stoneheart giving Jon the Kiss, resurrecting him or, in a metaphorical sense, waking the dragon from stone.

Too bad she's south of the Neck and hates his guts. Lady Stoneheart hasn't shown much capacity for changing her mind in her undead state. Whatever she hated in life, she seems to hate in death by a factor of 10. Book Cat never had the remorse Show Cat did about Jon. Even if she wasn't busy trying to kill Freys and Lannisters, I don't see it.

[Hos the Hostage]

He's dead. He won't survive. His plot is finished. He had an important role in the story: to bring the Wildlings south of the Wall. Every single step of his journey led to that moment. R+L=J is not the Song of Ice and Fire. It's a minor detail that got less and less important the longer Ned Stark was dead.

Who is going to save Jon? He has no friends at Castle Black. The Wildlings swore an oath, but they can treat with the next LC as easily as Jon. They just found out they were tricked into thinking their King was dead. Do you really think they care about a Crow who stabbed them in the back? The Queen can't stand him and her men treat him with disdain. The non-Wildling NW are the ones who stabbed him. Jon purposefully sent his friends away. Sam can't save him from Oldtown even with a glass candle. Nor can any of his friends at the other castles on the wall like Pyp, Grenn and Edd. Leathers and Satin aren't going to rescue him, they just don't have the numbers.

Melisandre is everyone's choice to save him. She warned him of his fate. She told him there would be daggers in the dark. She told him to keep Ghost near. He ignored her. She left the Shield Hall in a rush, presumably to try to figure out if her King, her Azor Ahai is actually dead. Stannis is her fixation. She's bet everything on Stannis. She can't be wrong about that. Until she sees Stannis in the flames, no amount of chaos will break her trance. Even if she finds Stannis through the blizzard the Old Gods have sent, why help Jon now? What does she gain from having him alive?

Ned sent away the majority of his household guard and then tried to depose a King relying on the Goldcloaks to back him. He thinks he has their support, he thinks that he will succeed in arresting the Queen and it all falls apart. Jon sends his friends to various castles and Oldtown. He relies on the Wildlings to help him lead an attack on Winterfell. He thinks he has their support, he thinks that he will succeed in defeating Ramsay and it all falls apart.

Robb angers the Karstarks by showing no mercy to Lord Rickard. He angers the Freys by marrying Jeyne. He ignores Greywind at the Twins when he starts freaking out. Jon angers a lot of the Night's Watch by showing no mercy to Janos Slynt. He angers the Queen's Men by not allowing them to marry Val. He ignores Ghost when he starts freaking out.

Jon dies like a Stark of Winterfell. That's what Jon always wanted to be and that's how he dies. His arc is complete. The first dagger killed him. That's why he can't unsheath Longclaw; he was already losing too much blood.

Valar Morghulis. All Men Must Die. Even Jon.

I can live with that, but not with any Jon-Rulore alliance.