WARNING: This post contains spoilers from the season premiere of Game of Thrones. You've been warned.
Melisandre, is that you?
If it's a big moment you wanted from the Season 6 premiere of Game of Thrones, then you likely weren't disappointed by the episode's last minutes. That's when viewers saw the character played by Carice van Houten transform into an old, wrinkled lady after removing everything, including her large ruby necklace, in front of a mirror.
Credit: imgurGuess that explains why the episode is titled "The Red Woman."The last time we saw Melisandre, known as the priestess of the "Lord of the Light," she had sacrificed Stannis Baratheon's daughter Shireen in an attempt to save his army. That failed (R.I.P. Stannis), and she fled to Castle Black.
In the new episode, a wary Melisandre seems to be as shocked by Jon Snow's death as the rest of us.
"I saw him in the flames, fighting at Winterfell," she says to Sir Davos.
After Jon Snow was stabbed in the season 5 finale, some fans speculated that Melisandre may be able to bring him back because she has the power to resurrect dead bodies/souls.
But the first episode of Season 6 only showcases her reaction to the death -- and later, her true form.
So what could this all mean?
Van Houten told Entertainment Weeklyin a recent interview that the arc of her character is "finally going into a different direction."
via GIPHY
"It's changing and I really like it," the actress revealed. "We see her from a really different side of her now. We see somebody whose whole belief system is tumbling down. She's completely confused, and I really like to play that. After all the security and strength and pride, now we see something completely different."
"Completely different" is right.
On Friday, just a few days before the Season 6 debut, images of Melisandre's wrinkled self leaked on Imgur.
A Reddit thread almost immediately popped up, speculating what Melisandre's new form may reveal about the rest of the season.
The Red Woman is always wearing her necklace, which glows whenever she performs magic. Per one Reddit user, "in the books, she uses rubies to change appearance of other people. In the D&E series, Bloodraven uses them to change his appearance as well." (D&E refers to Dunk and Egg, another series of George R. R. Martin novellas set in the same universe as his Song of Ice and Fire saga.)
Another user suggested, based on analyzing cast members' previous interviews (including this one), that "Melisandre is 400 years old or thereabouts, which dates her birth to around the time of the Doom of Valyria" and "that she is a former slave."
Others weren't as shocked, suggesting this moment was foreshadowed in George R.R. Martin's books.
Credit: redditBut one Redditer pretty much summed up how we all feel:
"I'm just trying to connect the dots."
Credit: hboAren't we all?
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