Who is Melisandre?
That question is the new one posed as we see a completely new and unexpected site where Melisandre reveals herself at the end of Season 6 Episode 1 as a decrepit woman. The showrunners admitted that they held a conversation with George RR Martin, who told them that Melisandre is a few centuries old. While the main point in the story at this stage is to demonstrate the metaphor of her vulnerability, the appearance of “Old Meli” raises a question about her purpose/existence.
First, up until this point, Melisandre’s powers have only been shown twice. Once in her introductory episode where she drinks poison without harm. And the second when she gives birth to Stannis’ shadow baby. Beyond those two instances, you have to question whether or not Melisandre has any true powers. For instance, the deaths of Joffrey and Rob Stark could be chalked up to coincidence (since Balon Greyjoy thus far has not perished). In short, she seemed like a fraud or as they would ascribe to these types in the world of Game of Thrones, a mummer.
In unveiling her true form though, Melisandre new side in many ways abnegates the idea that she lacks any power. Her ability to be immune to poison previously may have implied she knew she would have an assassination attempt against her life and somehow made herself immune to poison (cf The Princess Bride). The shadow baby could have been smoke and mirrors, even if Ser Davos Seaworth had witnessed it first hand.
Yet in this situation, she is alone and this unveiling resembles, in a manner, her sole viewpoint chapter, where we see a small portion of what goes through her mind in the books. Here, there is no dialog just a very somber mood that hints at the same weakness where she questions her visions and faith.
Nonetheless, without her speaking a word, this transformation reveals a lot. One can assume that her life might be driven through a faith that perhaps has rewarded and misguided her for those centuries. Her rewards have only been material as she has revealed how she came from almost nothing, even slavery and risen to dine and fuck with kings. One can see potentially how she managed to survive wars and dynasties rising and falling, making her focused only in serving her deity.
The producers mentioned that Melisandre’s cold (or rather hot) sacrifice of Shireen was done only for her faith. Prior to that, her position with Shireen seemed more like an obstacle that stood in between her and Stannis. Yet her actions only have been in failure now and her faith no longer is rewarded.
From that you have to ask how long she has been going on in this manner. Has her mission since being discovered by The Lord of Light been to singlemindedly to fight the abstract darkness? Has her faith ever been shaken? Is this the last straw in a string of massive failures to find redemption?
I feel that her belief is pure but overzealous and unquestioning. I feel as though the way she looked at herself as an older woman isn’t the first time while she was alone. Yet the difference is how she saw herself from her previous times. That aged feeling is one of being worn out in being dragged around and toyed with. We see her slowly crawling into bed which resembles what one does with severe depression. She only desires to sleep, in avoiding responsibility and hoping that when she awakens, all the darkness and evil passes.
That last scene was incredibly touching for me as it’s a reminder to everyone about the frailness of life. In a brief moment, all the glamor gets swept away and the thing remaining is the memories that cling to your heart (not the other way around). You feel diseased and wretched because you cannot rid yourself of what you’ve done over your life, despite your intent to right what you perceive are wrongs.
Overall, there’s no question that she has a very large role to still play. But how will this happen? Will her faith be renewed now that she has been shattered? Can she sink any lower? Remember, part of the story is about fixing things once they are shattered. They no longer are the original object but the new form can improve upon what existed previously. Melisandre is broken, her faith has been called heavily into question, but she can slip to an even lower path before she can rise again.
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