Erin-LD

There have been opinions and speculations circulating everywhere on what will happen in the seven kingdoms with the start of the new season. And the next GOT episode is finally here. There's no doubt about it, the focus for most is certainly on Jon Snow’s powerfully shocking death scene in A Dance With Dragons, one that eerily resembles the mutiny of Caesar via Shakespeare. And the question that’s been on everyone’s minds is: Is Jon Snow really dead? After scouring the internet, here are the top fan theories for this answer: 1. He's Dead A dark and sobering answer after a horrific display of murder. The only way this can be true is if we remember that there was a significant amount of death early in the show and we had definitely invested our emotions and feelings into those characters too. However, none of us really believe that he’s dead, especially because so many questions are still unanswered about his life, lineage, and his larger role in the story. [su_divider top=no" size="1] 2. Enter the White Walkers and the Wights What will happen to the body of Jon Snow if he is dead? In , we see The Night’s King, Coldemort, White Walkers and the wights overtake the Wildlings. Coldemort reanimates them by simply raising his arms. As their eyes turn cold and burn blue, The Night’s King stares across the water at Jon Snow: a powerful moment that calls for pause and consideration. Is it possible he stares because he is biding his time for the right moment to reanimate Snow? He would certainly make the perfect ally for his war against the living. Furthermore, the chances of the White Walkers reanimating Snow are pretty good considering that after the excessive stabbing; it doesn’t appear that the men of the Wall will take much care in disposing of his body properly. Without burning his body, the White Walkers can definitely get to him. If that is the case, a blue-eyed Snow will be joining the very minions he tried to protect Westeros from. 3. The Power of Warging and the Dire Wolf Even though Snow is presumed dead, we know that he can warg into his dire wolf, Ghost, and survive for a while longer. In the show, we only see Snow laying against the cold ground as the blood spreads around him, but in the book, Snow utters one last word, something that must be on his mind as he fades into the darkness: Ghost. Is it possible we will see his eyes turn white as he enters his second life through the dire wolf? [su_divider top=no" size="1] 4. The Lord of Light and the Resurrection of Azor Ahai [mks_pullquote align=left" width="800" size="24" bg_color="" txt_color="#1e73be]“If we lose, the night will never end.”[/mks_pullquote] Azor Ahai is a legendary figure thought to wake dragons from stone and reforge his great sword, Lightbringer to defeat the darkness and the Others. Forged with the blood and spirit of his wife, Nissa Nissa, legend has it that “There will come a day after a long summer when the cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour, a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him.” Milisandre, the Red Lady, told Stannis that he was chosen to lead as per the legend of Azor Ahai. Stannis was obviously not the legend’s hero, since he died at the hands of Jamie Lannister. At one point, she looks into the fire to ask the God of Light, R’hllor to see Azor Ahai and sees a strange vision. She responds, "I pray for a glimpse of Azor Ahai and R'hillor shows me only snow." A double-meaning, perhaps? Furthermore, she just so happens to be conveniently located at the Wall at the close of the finale to complete her blood magic rituals and revive Snow just like Beric Dondarrion, and make this legend a reality. The discussion continues. Which do you think will happen after the Season 6 premiere? Add a comment below and keep the discussion going.

(If you aren’t up to date, beware of *spoilers*) [su_quote cite=Shane Walsh]"Rick you can't just be the good guy and expect to live, not anymore"[/su_quote] For the characters in the Walking Dead, years of enduring this decimated world has made them strong survivors so when basic needs get scarce, there’s got to be a way to sustain the new life they have become accustomed to. We have seen Rick and his group use strong democratic morals and judgments that still aligned, albeit teetered on the edge, of our own feelings about what is morally acceptable behavior. We’ve also seem some behaviors, we didn’t agree with but we accepted for the greater good. Either way, it seemed up until this point in season 6, there were definitive lines on good and bad. We watch our main characters fortify their homes from outsiders and walkers, each episode fearing for the inevitable: another main character death, a walker invasion, or something else dreadful in this ominous series- an encounter with the bad guys. But in the last few episodes, we get a huge emotional twist: instead of renegades attacking, we see our “heroes” viciously tear down others in a desperate attempt for survival. This murderous and reactionary response created a shocked reception and forces us to ask the question: Good vs. Bad We have made our judgement about others based on the perspective of our main characters up until this point, cheering them on, caring and fearing for them. We decided that people who attacked our team or put them in danger were bad. We have also determined that people who were defending themselves, even violently, against corrupt or horribly immoral groups were good. We were glad when we watched Carol’s . And there was careless Nicholas cowardly killing Noahand almost getting Glenn killed numerous times. We were waiting with baited breath for the destruction of the , Terminus crazies. And we cheered for the demise of despite a glimpse into his sadness and personal strife dealing with his zombified daughter. We see this in the largest conflict throughout the beginning of the show: the between Shane and Rick. Not only in a fight for some resolution in a new family structure as Rick returns, but also a leadership struggle of which direction the group should take. In the end, Shane lost this battle and Rick took the lead. In season 6, we were sure that the scavenging Wolves were bad, but we considered Morgan’s choice to keep Owen acceptable when Owen saves Denise's life. But what of these pockets of tribes still enduring in their own ways, living according to their own neo-morals and post-apocalyptic values? A Gray Area Much like the feuding tribal communities before agricultural and industrial revolutions of our own historic past, in this post-apocalyptic society, it appears it is necessary to trade, barter and kill for your survival. Episode 13: The Same Boat forces us to consider the other survivors as our “heroes” aren’t acting so heroic anymore. Carol and Maggie are in captivity as a response to the group’s slaughter of sleeping Negan followers. With these deaths, the line of no return has been crossed putting us into a strange gray area of uncertainty and it is blatantly obvious when Chelle tells Maggie, “you’re not the good guys. You should know that.” Who’s to say who is right in this mangled social experiment? Even has a contemplative look in this scene, considering this new information- and with her, we wonder whose side we should be on. Ultimately, we are torn between our old associations of those bad extremists and the consideration of the emotional reactions and lives of the others just trying to survive. In Episode 14: Twice as Far, with everyone at their breaking point, we watch these emotions take over as Carol sneaks away, Daryl goes on a man-hunt and Morgan decides to leave the group. The search parties spread out and all hell breaks loose leaving us with a handful of loose ends to discover. In the End [caption id=attachment_3124" align="alignleft" width="80] We are all the Walking Dead[/caption] Season 6 forces us to look at what remnants of humanity endure after the main characters encounter zombified herds and tribal fights. Throughout each successive episode, we see individuals and groups thrown into situations that force them to consider their survival over morals and values even at the cost of the lives of others. These deep glimpses into the gray areas of morality and societal perpetuation are ultimately what draws us in for more insisting we contemplate our own personal morals to With the final episode upon us, what will happen to our heartstrings next?