Here's why Uncle Benjen's reunion with Jon Snow was so important in 'Game of Thrones' episode 6

Jon Snow just won't die on Game of Thrones. And the latest episode, "Beyond the Wall," provided us with the most convenient plot twist of all to save him.

Uncle Benjen's back!

Oh dear, now Uncle Benjen isn't back :(

But we're not all that sure Ben's final moments in the episode necessarily prove he's dead. Despite being mobbed by wights, there's a lot to suggest otherwise, actually.

First, though, let's do a refresher on who the hell Uncle Benjen even is in the first place, why his reunion with Jon was so meaningful, and what the it might mean for his role in the future.

Benjen was Ned Stark's youngest brother, who served as the "Stark in Winterfell" while all his brothers were off fighting in Robert's Rebellion. Almost immediately after Ned (his only surviving sibling) returned from the war, Benjen decided to go off and volunteer to join the Night's Watch.

That's a pretty nutty move for a nobleman with an important last name and promising future.

The reasons behind his decision were never made clear. But ever since his introduction in the first episode of the show in Season 1, Benjen was actually already trying to warn people about an ominous threat from beyond the Wall.

There was a strong connection between Benjen and Jon Snow from day one. Even with limited screen time, it was clear that he was Jon's hero growing up, serving as the noble and badass First Ranger of the Night's Watch. He gave Ned's bastard son something to aspire toward, and Jon never forgot it.

But their days of warm embraces in Winterfell were short-lived. Benjen returned to ranging beyond the Wall to find out more about what happened to his fellow brothers in black (who were murdered by the White Walkers in the very first scene of Season 1.)

Benjen never came back. His spooked horse did, but it was missing a rider.

Several seasons later, Jon's young steward Olly ran into his office to tell Lord Commander Snow that his Uncle Benjen had finally returned. But it was a trick. Instead of a family reunion, Jon got stabbed by his own brothers in black, in the mutiny that lead to his eventual resurrection.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

This fake-out wasn't just a red herring, though. Benjen did come back -- to save a different Stark in Season 6. When Meera and Bran looked just as doomed as Jon, with a swarm of wights gaining on them after their attack on the cave, Benjen rode in with his ball of fire to save the day.

In yet another parallel to Jon, Benjen was also resurrected. He told Bran that after being killed by wights he was brought back by the Children of the Forest, who pierced his heart with dragonglass (similar to how they created the first White Walker ever). This somehow kept him from turning into a mindless zombie.

But the cost of his resurrection was to live out the rest of his undead days stuck in this strange, permanent purgatory, not quite dead, but no longer truly alive.

Importantly, Benjen also told Bran that he was not allowed to cross the Wall with them, because the same magical protections that kept the White Walkers from passing through it also applied to him.

As one redditor theorizes, this warning could have dire implications for everyone's plan to take a wight down South next episode:

But this also means that there's a pretty good chance Benjen will survive the fight he saved Jon from in episode 6.

Some even theorize that Benjen not only knows of Jon's true parentage (as Ned's only surviving sibling, it would make sense for him to trust Ben with that information), but that he might've even risked it all to save Jon because (like Melisandre) he believes Jon is Azor Ahai and the final hope for the living in the battle to come.

One redditor theorized that Benjen's uncanny timeliness in saving Jon might even tell us something huge about Bran:

Things have been quiet on the Bran front, so this advancement in his abilities might be exactly what he needs to become relevant again.

While Benjen has yet to return in the Song of Ice and Fire books, the Game of Thrones showrunners have often referred to the show version of Benjen as "Coldhands" (see the video below.)

In the books, Coldhands is another mysterious undead helper cloaked in black who saves Bran and Meera beyond the Wall. His identity has yet to be confirmed in A Song of Ice and Fire, and although some fans theorize that the book version of Coldhands is also Benjen, that has not yet been conclusively proven. (In fact, there's some evidence to contradict it.)

But even if book Coldhands is unrelated to Benjen, there's a lot of fascinating information in ASOIAF we can use as an indication of what might still lie ahead for Benjen on the show, if the showrunners are using that character as a template.

Like Benjen, Coldhands also wears a black Night's Watch uniform. Leaf (the Child of the Forest who helps Bran in the Three-Eyed Raven's cave) hints that, "they killed him long ago," leading many to believe Coldhands is actually the northern legend known as "the Night's King" (who, just to make things extra confusing, is also different from the "Night King" leader of the white walkers we've seen on the show.)

In the books, centuries ago, the Night's King served as the 13th Lord Commander. After joining in an "unholy union" with a "corpse Queen" (AKA what sounds suspiciously like having sex with a White Walker), he declared himself King, and subjected the Watch to a reign of terror that included human sacrifices.

It is theorized that, after finally being defeated and cast out from Castle Black, the Night's King became Coldhands -- an undead, fallen brother of the Night's Watch roaming the forests in search of redemption for betraying his brothers in black.

While this rad back history likely won't have any place on the show, it does lend credence to the theory that Benjen is kind of... unkillable now.

And, like Coldhands, Benjen has found purpose in his aimless, undead existence by committing himself to protecting his remaining family. (Oh, by the way, The Night's King was believed to be a Stark too!)

So, in all likelihood, we haven't seen the last of Uncle Ben. And we'll be glad for that if the Land of Always Winter spreads south once the Army of the Dead goes beyond the Wall.

As Benjen told Bran last season, “The great war is coming and I still fight for the living. I’ll do what I can as long as I can.”