Snow on the forecast? Harington's hair keeps fans guessing

Kit Harington's hair has fans guessing about a possible return to Game of Thrones. Photo / Getty

It has been three weeks now since Jon Snow was stabbed in the back (though technically the front) by his Night's Watch comrades. For almost any other show, the death of a character would be final, and people would have moved on by now.

But Game of Thrones is not just any other show.

This week, fans longing to keep their favourite bastard around were given more evidence to fuel their case. Stepping out at Wimbledon (appropriate, given his upcoming tennis mockumentary on HBO), Kit Harington could have easily been mistaken for his most famous character: with a long mane of hair and unruly beard.

When he stepped out at the Testament of Youth premiere, people went into overdrive, reading into his shorter hair as a sign he was definitely doomed - a prediction that unfortunately came true.

Now, like some sort of follicular crystal ball, Harington's hair is again being picked at. Like apes grooming for bugs, fans are taking any change in length as an omen of his character's future. Indeed, if he is to don his black leather and fur once again, the time to grow his hair is now. Thrones typically films during the second half of the year. With the director's list recently announced, the show is gearing up for a new round of production, and Harington's hair would certainly need to be uncut.

Harrington does his best Jon Snow face while watching a match at Wimbledon - practicing for his eventual return? (Photo / Getty Images)

This hairy evidence may be seen as a bit panicky and unnecessary (and in some ways, it is). There is a fairly weak case that Jon Snow is actually dead. The writers and actor have insisted he is, but really, who is going to turn around the day after a major character is "killed" off and say he will be back?

There are a number of ways Jon could return. Red priestess Melisandre conveniently showed up at Castle Black in a scene before Snow was stabbed by his Night's Watch brothers. She is also there in the books and given that the followers of the Lord of Light have been previously shown to have the power of resurrection, many fans are speculating that Melisandre will bring Jon back to life. She does have the skills, and is in desperate need of a new leader to follow. Plus, resurrecting a fan favourite will definitely improve her image after what happened last season.

There is also that Jon could warg into Ghost, his loyal direwolf, who normally shows up to eat the bad guys, yet for some reason made himself scarce when the killing was going on.

Let's presume they didn't kill Ghost first (Jon's death isn't enough to make me stop watching, but if they kill off another direwolf, I quit); if not, a popular fan theory suggests Jon will live on through his wolf. In the books, Bran Stark isn't the only one of the siblings with a strong connection to his wolf. Arya and Jon are both shown to have visions connected to their pets, though they are unaware of the connection. Though Jon fell silently in the show, in the books, he manages to whisper out "Ghost" before blacking out. And another cliffhanger helps the case: Arya's blindness is made slightly easier by her warging ability. Unless the show continues to dance around this element of her character, it will have to happen for at least one Stark child. And if the writers use the power for one, why not the other as well?

Melisandre, played by Carice van Houten, is likely going to come to Snow's rescue

From a narrative point of view, killing off Jon also takes away one of the major threats and plot points in the show: the White Walkers. With Jon dead and his bestie Sam heading off down south, there are no main Night's Watch characters left. Unless Melisandre and Davos suddenly decided to team up for some ice-zombie edition of True Detective, one of the show's major threats has no one significant or popular enough left to tackle it.

Equally, the subject of Jon's mother is apparently so significant that the writers only got the go-ahead from author George R.R. Martin when they correctly guessed who she was. Such an important, unsolved part of the show can't go through the series unsolved, and with Jon not around to find out who his real mother is (and potentially father, if you believe some theories), the big reveal when it eventually comes will all be for nothing.

Either way, it is clear it will take a lot more than just a few statements to confirm Jon's fate. George R.R. Martin has never confirmed Jon's death in the books, while Emilia Clarke, who plays Daenerys, said recently she thinks there is a 50/50 chance he could return -and if the cast members don't believe the writers, why should we?

The writers and Harington also will be absent from the show's Comic-Con panel this week, despite most other departing actors making an appearance in the past to farewell the fans - it could be a case of scheduling, but Harington clearly has free time if he's showing off his hair at tennis matches.

The wait until the next season is always long, and with this abundance of clues building up week by week, it is likely to be the longest yet, as - despite the writers' protests - it seems no clue, no matter how small, will be enough to stop the fans from hoping.

Or maybe Kit Harington just likes having long hair. Who really knows?