Speculation about Jon Snow's future(Spoilers from ADWD)

[Bran17]

I don't believe Jon is going to be released from his vows because he died.

If he comes back to life, it won't matter if he was dead for a while.

[Mithras]

Ok so in order for you to continue reading you must follow the hypothesis: Jon Snow actually died after being stabbed a million times, but Melisandre brought him back to life.

So now that we are all on the same page lets continue.

Moments before his tragic demise Jon Snow announced to the Night's Watch as well as to the Queen's Men and the Wildlings that he was going south to lend aid to Stannis to free Winterfell and the North from Ramsey Snow/Bolton, who he believe wrote the Pink letter. And this was one of the immediate causes of his stabbing. I think that we all agree that Jon was going to break his oath by going south. Now that he has been brought back to life would he be oath breaking if he went south? In my opinion no he won't, reason... lets look at the Oath of the Nights Watch:

"Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come." ―The Night's Watch oath

Yes, there is a loop hole in the oath. Technically since Jon died he is no longer a brother of the Nights Watch when he is brought back to life. And this brings us to the main topic question: How does this impact the story? Since he is now free from his oath Jon can re establish the Stark's in Winterfell(ie Rickon), become the prince that was promised, become Azor Ahai (although he could have done that in any case) and most importantly he could be the True Heir to the Throne (if you believe in R+L=J).

Truth be told this is only speculation and none of this could come to pass but I do enjoy thinking about different scenarios. Even if Jon is free from his oath, who knows, maybe he will want to say the words again. Please let me know what you think and feel free to poke holes in the theory.

P.S: i was unable to find any other thread similar to this but if there is one i apologize. I promise that i did not steal the idea from some one else, it just came to me while i was re-reading the books XD Also this is my first time posting so...Hello Forum XD

This idea has been brought many times before and I don't agree with it.

“Our honor means no more than our lives, so long as the realm is safe. Are you a man of the Night’s Watch?”

“Yes, but—”

“There is no but, Jon Snow. You are, or you are not.”

Jon sat up straight. “I am.”

Above quote is your answer. To save the Realm, Jon can break his vows, stain his honor and even die. He certainly does not need wordplays to claim that "Look I am free of my vows now". By the way, I don't think he will literally die. He will be in a coma like Bran and he will be healed, not resurrected.

[Julia H.]

Welcome, Meraxes of House Stark and Lord Tony of House Stark! :) It's nice to see that my favourite Westeros family has acquired new members.

Heyo all,

First real post on the boards. Quick shout out to the starter of the post fellow member of House Stark Meraxes. I always believed the Wall was not Jon's final destination and I believe that his death will change his role in the story. However, I had not previously considered Jon being released from his oath upon his death as a possibility. Personally, I was a fan of him just saying f this and leaving (bad theory I know but I could not think of a neat way to get Jon off the Wall). I think we can all safely assume given all the info and time spend describing warging, Mel's magic, and Beric being able to return to life, that Jon is in some capacity alive. That being said, I believe that his resurrection will release him from his oath and Sam will be the one to realize this and somehow inform Jon (meeting up again, or finding out about the situation and sending a raven). From there, I believe Jon has some "vision" while dead where he learns something about his past and purpose and ultimately realizes he must leave the Wall.

Sidebar: if R+L=J holds true, is it possible Ned steered Jon towards a life in the NW to be near his only remaining kin, Aemon, in hopes he will eventually learn his identity. Thoughts on that.

There are few things that we all agree on on this Forum. Jon Snow's future is the subject of a lot of debate. Like sj4iy and Paper Waver, I'm also in the camp thinking that Jon will actually survive the injuries, so what he needs is healing rather than resurrection.

Therefore I don't think Jon will be released from his vows by means of a loophole, but I believe that he will leave the NW if he realizes that he can fulfil his life-purpose somewhere else better. The vocation that he has found is to be the shield that guards the realms of men and not to stick to the words of his vows. I think he'll do anything that is needed to protect the realm even if it includes leaving the NW, without waiting for any loopholes or pretexts.

Whether Jon will go north or south once he leaves the Wall (or the place where the Wall has been) ... I can see reasons for both, though I can't really see him go very far south - but maybe as far as Winterfell? ;)

[Lord Tony of House Stark]

I am not necessarily convinced one way or another in terms of if Jon dies and is reborn or survives and needs to be healed. Either way it is possible, but the key point I had is that somehow while he is in his present state, his "destiny" "purpose" etc. will become apparent to him. Most of the posters agree that Jon will inevitably leave the Wall (where the Wall was) though his direction and purpose are still of much debate and speculation. If Jon were to be dead and returned to life as he knew it (through some new magic or a combination of things we have already been introduced to), it would be interesting to see IF the vows still applied. Whether Jon takes this as an opportunity to do other things, I cannot say. Jon is firmly a Brother of the NW and has proven his loyalty to them throughout the series, but like Julia said, he is not overly concerned about the actual words but rather their meaning and purpose. It guarding the realms of men points him to something other than the NW, I believe Jon would see it as being true to his vows rather than breaking them.

The way I see it, Jon will get off the Wall in TWoW and go either north to Hardhome to save the Free Folk north of the Wall, or ride South as he intended and have an impact on the events at Winterfell. Depending on the path he takes here are a few possible options that take Jon through the next book.

1. (North)

Jon leads a ranging to Hardhome to bring the Free Folk there south of the Wall. When he gets there, they are unwilling to listen to him and he has to somehow prove to the Free Folk that he is worthy to lead them to safety and eventually becomes King Beyond the Wall (which a Stark has been before). This would be an interesting twist and put Jon in a position for the much anticipated final battle.

2. (South)

According to a few things it have seen posted on various boards, Jon was named Robb's heir (as he was under the impression Bran and Rickon are dead). Correct me if I am wrong here, but I believe that unbeknownst to Jon, he has been legitimized as a Stark since then. This makes him minimum Lord of Winterfell, and at most the new King in the North. This would make Jon a major political player in Westeros with the ability to drastically change the political landscape.

These are my two strongest theories for Jon's story. I am open to general thoughts on them, corrections, expansions, or "you're an idiot's". They are intentionally short because I did not want to get bogged down by details, but I'd love to know if they make sense and which people find more likely.

[BearQueen87]

Whether Jon will go north or south once he leaves the Wall (or the place where the Wall has been) ... I can see reasons for both, though I can't really see him go very far south - but maybe as far as Winterfell? ;)

I think that if Jon goes south he will get as far as the Trident (perhaps a certain colored fork...) before having to turn back. In my total crack pot mode he gets to the fork where Rhaegar dies and finds the 7th ruby.

[Avalatis]

Sidebar: if R+L=J holds true, is it possible Ned steered Jon towards a life in the NW to be near his only remaining kin, Aemon, in hopes he will eventually learn his identity. Thoughts on that.

I've been listening to the first book via audiobook recently and Ned isn't steering Jon towards a life in the NW. He actually wanted Jon to be Robbs right hand man since they were such close friends/brothers. Caitlyn refused to allow him to stay in Winterfel if Ned was heading down to KL and stated that he must take Jon with him. Of course Ned doesn't want Jon at KL for a whole host of reasons, but states that having a open bastard at court would make his life miserable.

Jon himself proposes this and asks his uncle first. Ned learns about it through their Maester. Both Benjen and Ned think he's too young to make this decision but Ned has few options. I imagine if R+L=J is true he felt that Jon would be safe up there as he wouldn't be a contender to the throne if he swore his oaths (meaning he wouldn't get assasinated/used by the players in the Game of Thrones). Ned also saw it as an honorable position.

[Canmoore]

I believe that the Wildlings (led by Tormund) will turn on the Nights Watch for killing Jon. They will kill those who attempted to kill Jon, and all the while still hold the wall (defending the wall is only to there benefit).

[BearQueen87]

I believe that the Wildlings (led by Tormund) will turn on the Nights Watch for killing Jon. They will kill those who attempted to kill Jon, and all the while still hold the wall (defending the wall is only to there benefit).

Nice. I do expect Tormund to be quite wroth at the stabbing of Jon.

And welcome to the Forums!

[Canmoore]

Nice. I do expect Tormund to be quite wroth at the stabbing of Jon.

And welcome to the Forums!

Thanks!! From GRRM's writing style, until Jon is dead in the ground than I do not believe that he is dead. However, I think that the Wildlings at the wall will play a huge part in future events. I feel that the NW had been degraded to a dumping ground for exiles, and the purpose of the NW was lost.

The Wildlings however, are desperately trying to flee the Others. In this way, they will make better defenders of the wall than those currently sworn to defend it!

[kimim]

Actually, Jon doesn't say that, either.

“The Night’s Watch takes no part in the wars of the Seven Kingdoms,” Jon reminded them when some semblance of quiet had returned. “It is not for us to oppose the Bastard of Bolton, to avenge Stannis Baratheon, to defend his widow and his daughter. This creature who makes cloaks from the skins of women has sworn to cut my heart out, and I mean to make him answer for those words ... but I will not ask my brothers to forswear their vows.

“The Night’s Watch will make for Hardhome. I ride to Winterfell alone, unless ...” Jon paused. “... is there any man here who will come stand with me?”

Basically, we have absolutely no idea what Jon's actual plan was. We know that he was going to go alone at first, and then recruited a small group of Wildlings to help him. But whatever his plan is, it would have to work if he were just alone, because he had no way of knowing if anyone would come with him.

I bolded an extra bit. Jon has no intention of going alone; he wants men, and he gets them: "The roar was all he could have hoped for...I have my swords, thought Jon Snow, and we are coming for you, Bastard."

I think Jon has every intention of doing the Bastard in, then returning to his command with his men.

[sj4iy]

I bolded an extra bit. Jon has no intention of going alone; he wants men, and he gets them: "The roar was all he could have hoped for...I have my swords, thought Jon Snow, and we are coming for you, Bastard."

I think Jon has every intention of doing the Bastard in, then returning to his command with his men.

He said "I make for Winterfell alone". He couldn't depend on anyone volunteering to help him.

I absolutely wouldn't be surprised if he had a plan to kill Ramsay, but it doesn't seem likely that he was going to join Stannis (whom he thinks is dead) or attack Winterfell (because that's just pointless). He has something else in mind, but we don't know what it is. Maybe a rescue mission for Mance, even. I don't think well find out, though.

I do agree that Jon wasn't deserting, and had every intention of coming back to CB.

[BRANDON GREYSTARK]

Jon leading the Others back to the land of eternal winter ,but that's before he puts a bun in Daenerys' oven.

[Ghost's Shadow]

Don't forget your sarcasm font. Some people might take that serious.