[Here’s the requisite Game Of Thrones spoiler alert, in case you somehow haven’t watched or read anything about season five or six.]
If history has taught us anything, it’s that the internet doesn’t respond well to changes in Kit Harington’s grooming habits. When the actor debuted his newly-shorn locks in January 2015, a panic ensued as fans assumed that the change in style indicated a change in Game Of Thrones casting, presumably because they also thought that Harington hair could only be harvested once. These same fans found solace in the longer ’do Harington showed off at Wimbledon last summer, just weeks after the season five finale broke their hearts. But now that the clippers have come out again, the Daily Mail reports that everyone’s hopping back on the “Jon, noooo!” wagon.
With season six of Game Of Thrones currently airing, Harington is treading the boards as Doctor Faustus in London’s West End. The role doesn’t seem to call for a particular set of facial hair, though preview photos have shown a bearded Harington jamming his hands between other actors’ thighs onstage. But on Wednesday night, fans spotted a beardless Harington leaving the theater, and all hell broke loose again.
Yahoo!’s UK celebrity-news bureau could only muster a “weird” in response to Harington’s new look, which shows off a close shave as well as a blatant disregard for his fans’ feelings.
Australia’s News.com.au also covered the backlash, which almost certainly leaves Harington feeling vindicated in his remarks about the industry’s (and internet’s) demands on his looks. The Cut got a little melodramatic and eulogized the beard, which we should point out can easily be grown back (he’s done it before). Then you have the theories. But at least this dude seems to have a sense of humor about the whole thing.