Big time spoilers ahead for Game of Thrones. Read on at your own risk!
So, we’ve seen some amazing and terrible things happen on Game of Thrones in the past five seasons, but it can be rare that the amazing on this show is also really good. Well, Sunday’s episode, “Home,” revealed something that many people have been waiting to see since the end of Season 5. Now the showrunners have something to say about that freaking cool final scene and what led up to it.
For Melisandre, she comes into this with grave doubts. She was someone who was a true believer whose faith was shaken, someone who was an absolute devotee of the Lord of Light, and the events of the last many episodes have shaken that faith. But she still believes in him, she just doesn't know if he believes in her, so she comes to Jon Snow's body with the tiniest hope that maybe, if she says the right words, if she says them with enough belief, with enough passion, the Lord will listen to her.
Game of Thrones executive producer and writer David Benioff spoke with HBO about Episode 2 for Season 6, and explained how the ending helps to show another side of Melisandre. The last minutes of the episode, of course, were devoted to Davos and the small group of Jon Snow’s supporters (including Ghost) standing by his side and watching as Melisandre tries to bring him back from the really, super dead. After what happened at the end of Season 5, with Melisandre convincing Stannis that his only daughter, Shireen, has to be killed in order for the Lord of Light to be on his side in the coming battle, and having everything go horribly wrong from there, she is understandably unsure of her faith at this point. The Red Woman wasn’t exactly on her game at the end with Stannis, so it's no wonder she doubts her pull with her god now.
Showrunner D.B. Weiss adds that while Davos isn’t a fan of Melisandre, he knows she can do seemingly impossible things, and he is desperate to find a way to regain the leadership of Jon Snow for their meager forces within Castle Black. And, asking her for any assistance at all shows how much he wants Jon Snow back.
Davos has no real love lost for Melisandre. He's seen what she's capable of. He's seen her do many impossible things. He's not a big fan of her god, he's not a big fan of her program, but there's certainly nothing to lose at this point. If it doesn't work, then it doesn't work.
We’ve got what most of us wanted from the time that first sword pierced Jon Snow’s body: he’s back from the dead. But, will he be the same man we’ve come to know and admire? Will he be able to help his friends survive at Castle Black? Only Season 6 of Game of Thrones will tell.
