Research Paper Uses Math to Prove Jon Snow Is the Most Important 'Game of Thrones' Character

There have been several Game of Thrones fan theories trying to prove that Jon Snow is not dead and will return to possibly take revenge for his murder in the HBO show's sixth season, but the cast and crew of GoT continue to reiterate that Kit Harington's character will be nothing more than a corpse when the series returns this month. However, that hasn't stopped two individuals from using math to prove that Jon is probably the most important character in Game of Thrones!

The research paper titled "Network of Thrones" was written by Andrew Beveridge and Jie Shan of Math Horizons, who decided to work out the complicated social network of Game of Thrones. The duo used The Storm of Swords, the third novel of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series, which explains why characters like Robb and Catelyn Stark are still present in the study.

But how does this work? Making use of the characters' location, rank and how often their names are mentioned in the novel, Breveride and Shan sorted out the connections to find out which one is the most important character in ASOIAF's storyline.

According to the report, Jon is second only to Peter Dinklage's Tyrion Lannister when it comes to holding influence over their peers (Sophie Turner's Sansa Stark comes in third due to her marriage to Tyrion and optimal location in King's Landing).

"Jon Snow is uniquely positioned in the network, with connections to highborn lords, the Night's Watch militia, and the savage wildlings beyond the Wall," the report read.

OK, so now we have proof that Jon might have been the wrong Snow to get killed off in the show (we're looking at you, Ramsey "Snow" Bolton), but does it prove that the former Lord Commander will return in Season 6? Unfortunately, it doesn't but in a world where dragons exist and can be considered a girl's best friend, anything can happen.

Game of Thrones Season 6 will air on HBO on April 24.