When Game of Thrones returns to our every waking thought later this month, the epic drama is going to show viewers the aftermath of everything that happened in those hectic final few episodes of Season 5, among other things. And while much of the offseason conversation has revolved around the fate of one particular character, I’m pretty invested in what’ll be happening with one of the show’s most villainous characters, Melisandre. But according to actress Carice van Houten, it sounds like the Red Woman will be going through quite a personality shift as the season goes on.
The arc of my character is finally going into a different direction. It’s changing and I really like it. 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. I’ve been really waiting for this moment.
While I’m never one to hope that an evil character loses their antagonistic edge, Game of Thrones has some insanely foul personalities running amok, and Melisandre was a definite standout. Her last major act of awfulness came when she somehow talked Stannis into sacrificing his daughter Shireen (along with others) so that the Lord of Light would assist Stannis in his fight against the Boltons. It didn’t work at all, and she fled after that, stopping by Castle Black to silently alert Jon Snow and Davos of Stannis’ death. But what now?
There were definitely signs of her confidence cracking after it was discovered that half of Stannis’ army had abandoned the cause following that brutal pyre experience, and I can’t imagine that learning of Jon Snow’s death will do a lot to keep her on a path of positivity. (Well, as positive as she gets, anyway.) If she’s falling apart from the inside out, does that mean she will no longer be a threat within this world? Will she be too shattered to attach herself as an advisor to another potential Throne-holder, especially after news travels of her last piece of advice? I’d hate to see her get neutered, but I don’t know if I can handle her ruining anyone else’s life in such an extreme fashion. Oh, hell, yes I could.
And speaking of “life,” many people have speculated that Melisandre may play a part in reversing Jon Snow’s death in some way. Carice van Houten told EW this regarding that.
When he died, a lot of people who wanted to kill me after episode 9 came back and said, ‘We’ll forgive you if you resurrect Jon Snow!’
That doesn’t really tell us if she’ll play a part in changing his fate, but it doesn’t tell us she won’t. This is just like Melisandre to be so devious with the way she answers things.
Game of Thrones Season 6 will debut on HBO on Sunday, April 24, at 9 p.m. ET, and it will be followed by the first episode of the Bill Simmons-produced chat show After the Throne. To see when everything else is premiering in the coming months, check out our summer TV schedule.
