‘Game of Thrones’ season 6, episode 1 reaction: Carice van Houten on big Melisandre reveal

We knew that there was going to be some sort of big reveal on the season 6 premiere of “Game of Thrones,” but we certainly did not think that this reveal was going to be this when it comes to Melisandre. Here we were, thinking that this character was going to go and revive Jon Snow. However, what we ended up learning instead is that this Red Woman is far older than she first appears while wearing the choker necklace. She’s been around to see more battles and bloodshed than almost anyone.

As it turns out, this is a twist that Carice van Houten has known about for some time judging from her comments to Entertainment Weekly after the fact:

“I was really happy when I read that we were going to reveal that this year … I don’t think a lot of people will see that coming. It makes her immediately more vulnerable, but also more wise and even more mysterious. There’s also a vulnerability in her age.”

Carice also explained that it was in part due to her character’s age that she was willing to see someone like Shireen perish, thinking that the sacrifice would be an aid thanks to what she’s been through:

“That’s why she was able to say, ‘This is just a small war, it’s all relative compared to the big war were going to face.’ [Her age] makes everything even more meta. Definitely, that’s where all that stuff comes from.”

Ultimately, Melisandre made some miscalculations, but we’ll still see where this story goes.

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