Game of Thrones season 6 is coming back on April 24, and the show is very tight-lipped this year. No press copies (understandably enough), little advance information besides leaks from loose-lipped actors , no books to guide us, and a whole dog-and-pony show confirming what we already know: That Jon Snow really is dead. Which isn’t the right question anyhow. But we do know one thing about the next season: The title of the season premiere. It’s called “The Red Woman,” and that means Melisandre is going to be in the hot seat.
Game of Thrones Season 6 Premiere: “The Red Woman” Will Show Us Melisandre’s Side
The Red Woman has always been Melisandre’s nickname in Game of Thrones—Davos Seaworth particularly enjoys the somewhat derogatory epithet—and it’s no surprise that she’s going to play an important role early on. After all, in the show’s version of the Song of Ice and Fire storyline, Stannis is defeated and dead. His army, his family, his future is utterly destroyed. This isn’t just a personal blow to Melisandre—she legitimately believed that he was The Prince That Was Promised, Azor Ahai reborn, the savior of mankind. Now he’s dead, and it’s largely her fault.
Melisandre has a lot of ‘splainin’ to do—to Davos, to the Night’s Watch, and to herself. The Night’s Watch itself is now in huge turmoil. Melisandre is at the Wall , and will surely discover in the Game of Thrones premiere that a mutiny just took place, and the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch is dead. And she’s always had strange thoughts about Jon Snow. She’s seen his face in her fires. Maybe because he’s the real savior?
Don’t expect Melisandre to just bring Jon Snow back to life immediately—that may well happen, but not necessarily in the season 6 premiere. Still, she has a lot to answer for and decide. Where else “The Red Woman,” the Game of Thrones season 6 premiere, will take us is up in the air. All we know is the thematic focus is clearly going to be on Melisandre and the fallout in the North.