(EDITORS: Spoilers ahead for season six episode two of “Game of Thrones.”)

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There was a gasp-out-loud moment during “Home,” the second episode of this season’s “Game of Thrones.” Upon hearing that he has a little brother, current reigning villain Ramsay Bolton thrusts a knife into his dear old dad, Roose. Then, like the psychopath he is, he dispatches his stepmother and her newborn son. It only took a couple of seasons for the smirking bastard Ramsay Snow to become Lord Bolton, Warden of the North. Who saw that coming?

At least there was one surprise twist in “Home.” Because the other moment — reserved for the grand finale — was one every single viewer saw coming: Melisandre brings Jon Snow back from the dead. Can you imagine if we hadn’t known it all along? It would have been thrilling to see the late Lord Commander’s eyes spring open as he took his first frenzied breath following a couple days as a corpse. Oh well.

You have to hand it to showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff. They tried to keep us guessing. Not only did they wait until episode two for the big (non-)reveal, but they also used some camera work to keep one logistical question alive — whether Jon’s soul was going to end up inside of his direwolf, Ghost. A few pans back and forth between the corpse and his sleeping pet was enough to make us wonder if Kit Harington would be giving up his role so that an adorable dog could take his place.

During the break between seasons, Benioff and Weiss also tried mightily to get fans to just stop talking about it already. “Dead is dead,” Weiss told Entertainment Weekly after the season five finale. “We would hope that after seeing the scene and the way it’s shot that the answer to that will be unambiguous in the minds of the people watching it.”

You can just imagine him justifying these statements to himself. He wasn’t lying! Jon really was dead. But there were persuasive indicators he wouldn’t stay that way. Here are a few pieces of evidence that gave it all away.

– Harington’s hair

The actor has been vocal about disliking his long hair and beard. So you’d think that if he was done playing Jon Snow, he would immediately shave it all off. The fact that Harington was snapped after season five was over with the same voluminous locks was the first thing to get tongues wagging.

– The circumstances of his death

If Alliser Throne had chopped off Jon’s head, we might have accepted the death the way we did Ned Stark’s untimely demise — with disbelief and rage followed by resignation. But Jon wasn’t decapitated and, more importantly, the magical Melisandre appeared right before the massacre went down. Why would she show up if she wasn’t going to do something to move the plot forward? Other than, you know, stripping down to reveal herself as a naked old lady.

– Harington’s presence in Belfast

When the actor showed up in Ireland — the same place where season six was filming — he tried to explain it away. He was just shooting scenes as a corpse, he promised. Mmhmm, right, and that takes how many weeks?

– Comments from the man who wrote the source material

George R.R. Martin’s latest book, “A Dance With Dragons,” ends the same way season five’s finale did with Jon Snow under attack then left for dead. For season six, Weiss and Benioff have decided where the story goes, since Martin has yet to release his next novel. Even so, it was worth taking notice when Martin seemed to contradict Weiss’s desperate assertions by telling Entertainment Weekly, “Oh, you think he’s dead, do you?”

– Photos from filming locations

It wouldn’t be fair to reveal much here for people who don’t want to know what’s ahead, but let’s just say that wily photographers in Ireland snapped Harington playing Snow and doing a lot more than acting dead. You can get the whole spoiler-filled scoop on the fan site Winter Is Coming.

– Jon’s mysterious origins

Book readers have debated Jon’s parentage for ages, given that little hints are sprinkled throughout George R.R. Martin’s books. It’s a lot of useless work to leave clues lying around if they only serve to give us a deeper understanding of a dead man, right?

So what now? Jon will no doubt be back as Lord Commander now that Alliser Thorne and his Joffrey-in-training Olly are imprisoned. We could also finally get confirmation of Jon’s ancestry. From Sunday night’s episode, as well as scenes from the upcoming one, we know that Bran can travel back in time to see his father’s exploits as a young man. How exactly did Ned Stark end up caring for Jon Snow? We could have our answer about as soon as next Sunday.

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Video: “Game of Thrones” fans had some intense reactions to the second episode in season six. Check out their self-recorded states of shock. (By Nicki DeMarco / The Washington Post)

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