--- description: Former U.S. President Barack Obama was told by HBO's CEO that this 'Game of Thrones' secret was too classified for even him to learn. title: Even Obama Couldn't Unlock This 'Game of Thrones' Secret image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02d5d282ad4dc8ac/698946ea7cdbac4afcd5f384/jon-snow-game-of-thrones.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Even Obama Wasn't Important Enough to Know This Huge _Game of Thrones_ Secret by [Rachel E. Greenspan](/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 19, 2019 3:40 PM CUT  Helen Sloane—HBO by [Rachel E. Greenspan](/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 19, 2019 3:40 PM CUT In the business of secret-keeping, the world’s most adept may include the entire cast and crew of [_Game of Thrones_](http://time.com/5550981/game-of-thrones-who-will-win/ "undefined")_._ The show’s twists and turns are so classified that even former U.S. President Barack Obama wasn’t permitted to know the truth about Jon Snow’s death. In [an interview with ](https://variety.com/2019/tv/features/kit-harington-game-of-thrones-finale-jon-snow-1203165896/ "undefined")_Variety,_ Kit Harington, the actor behind the iconic Lord Commander, explained the pressure he felt when his character was killed off in the show’s fifth season. “When you become the cliffhanger of a TV show, and a TV show probably at the height of its power, the focus on you is f—ing terrifying,” he said. Public interest in Jon Snow’s death was piqued to the point of no return. _Variety_ reports that Obama himself couldn’t help but ask: Would Jon Snow come back to life? The President asked the question to then-CEO of of HBO, Richard Plepler, during a state dinner. But just like the rest of the nation’s viewers, the President would have to wait until the next season to find out. “Mr. President, even your security clearance isn’t high enough to give you the answer to that,” Plepler said. Obama’s love for _Game of Thrones_ is well-documented. In 2016, he filmed a [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eE7Da%5F6AMM "undefined") for _Buzzfeed_ that encouraged Americans to register to vote. One activity more difficult than registering, the President said, was naming [every single _Game of Thrones_ character that had died](http://time.com/3924852/every-game-of-thrones-death/ "undefined") — and despite his avid viewership of the show, he couldn’t name them all. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5554267/obama-game-of-thrones/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5554267/obama-game-of-thrones/"},"headline":"Even Obama Wasn't Important Enough to Know This Huge Game of Thrones Secret","datePublished":"2019-03-19T15:40:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:58:11.846Z","description":"HBO's CEO told the President this information was classified","url":"https://time.com/5554267/obama-game-of-thrones/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television","onetime","clickmonsters"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02d5d282ad4dc8ac/698946ea7cdbac4afcd5f384/jon-snow-game-of-thrones.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel E. Greenspan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02d5d282ad4dc8ac/698946ea7cdbac4afcd5f384/jon-snow-game-of-thrones.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Barack Obama Game of Thrones Predictions","caption":"Jon Snow Game of Thrones Season 8","creditText":"Helen Sloane—HBO","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5554267/obama-game-of-thrones/","name":"Even Obama Wasn't Important Enough to Know This Huge Game of Thrones Secret"}}]}] ```