‘Game Of Thrones’ Director Reveals The Show’s Most Devastating Death Was Not A Trick

The following article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones.

The Game of Thrones season finale left many fans stunned and incited so much online speculation and debating that Entertainment Weekly actually took a poll to determine which was the most devastating death in the entire Game of Thrones saga. The death of John Snow topped the list, earning 49.83 percent or 11,320 votes. That Game of Thrones death even topped The Red Wedding, which resulted in the deaths of Robb Stark, Catelyn Stark, Talisa Stark, and Grey Wind. Incidentally, The Red Wedding earned 45.38 percent, gaining 10,310 of the votes.

It seems very likely that Jon Snow’s death topped that list of Game of Thrones deaths simply because there was room for doubt left by the events of the Game of Thrones season finale. Online Game of Thrones forums and message boards have been hosting a number of discussions about possibly bringing Snow back from the dead, while others imply that Jon never really died.

The Game of Thrones director, David Nutter, recently came forward to crush hopes (or fears) that Jon Snow would return in the next season of Game of Thrones. In an interview with Variety, Nutter emphasized the finality of that Game of Thrones death.

“I can say emphatically that Jon Snow is definitely dead. I keep hearing that phrase in my head, ‘Ding dong, the witch is dead.’ After what you saw there, I think there’s no more clear picture whether he is dead or not.”

David does understand the reactions he’s seen from Game of Thrones fans, however. He spoke of the emotional fallout, even for himself, as that final Game of Thrones scene was being filmed.

“As when we shot the Red Wedding, the death of Robb and Catelyn Stark, these are people you spend years with and these people become your family. Kit Harington is just a great guy and Kit was sad to leave the crew. It’s an emotional feeling as well. But I felt it was important to set up the sequence as quickly as possible so you didn’t expect it or wait for it. I didn’t want it to linger. I wanted it to catch you by surprise. I think in how David (Benioff) and Dan (Weiss) wrote it and how I decided to shoot and how our editor cut it, it was something it was quite powerful and stunning and surprising to great effect.”

The Game of Thrones director also negated any speculation that Melisandre might resurrect Snow, now that she has returned to Castle Black.

“That’s not my concern. My concern was to take care of Jon Snow, and he’s now deader than dead.”

Game of Thrones will premiere its sixth season in April 2016 on HBO.

[Featured image courtesy of HBO/Game of Thrones]