Is George R.R. Martin Predicting The Extinction of The Human Race And What Does This Tell us About The Fate of Jon Snow?
Written by Daniel Blick on Creators.co
Many have begun season 6 of "Game of Thrones" already on a cliff-hanger, asking; what will happen to Jon Snow?! But what if you know nothing of the true importance of Jon Snow's resurrection? Whether Snow returns to the realm of the living, or not, could have massive repercussions far greater than may at first seem apparent. Whether he lives or dies could represent not only what writer George R.R. Marten's ultimate plans for the concluding storyline is, but also on his philosophy of whether man is destined to prosper, or doomed to extinction. Let's take a look at the evidence.
A Game of Thrones - Has The End Already Happened?
If the ultimate story of "Game of Thrones" was really about just getting a good, moral person on the thrown for a change, we kind of already got that in season one. Eddark Stark effectively took a seat on the iron thrown toward the end of season one. Unfortunately it was the very qualities that made Stark a worthy king, that led to his demise. George R.R. Martin clearly stated this in an interview. When talking about GoT he confirmed the influence Machiavellian philosophy has had on his work. This can be seen in the destiny of Stark. He was a good man. So when he found out about the illegitimacy of Cersei's bastard children, rather than go straight to the King with the news, Eddark gave Cersei the opportunity to leave the realm and save her children. However, whilst this decision was certainly a moral one, it was not a politically astute one. It gave Cersei time and opportunity to assassinate the King and arrest Stark instead, ultimately leading to his own death, and ironically the subsequent death of his wife and many of his children as well. This showed that ultimately the game of thrones is a selfish, short-sighted and evil game that simply kills-off any good men who try to play it, even if they have become the most powerful player in it.
How Will The Song of Ice and Fire End the Game of Thrones Then?
In line with this ultra-realist take on the political game is the ever-impeding threat of the super-natural. At the start of our story, both 'White Walkers' and dragons had become nothing more than myth and fallacy. However, as we approach the latter stages of the tale, both these sources of super-natural phenomena have taken far greater precedence within story-lines. The White Walkers originate from the north, representing ice, and the dragons have originated in the south, and of course represent fire. Both are slowly heading in the direction of Westeros - the literal and symbolic centre of where the game of thrones is played.