Game of Thrones Recap ‘The Red Woman’: Your Lying Eyes

In the Game of Thrones recap for the season six debut, Jon Snow’s friends gather in the wake of his death, Cersei believes she’s cursed and Daenery comes face to face with her former life…

By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer

Magic has been an ever-present part of Game of Thrones since the show first debuted, but only at times has the fantasy crossed over with reality in such a way that it’s truly affected the direction of the series as a whole.

No one person has been at the middle of magic in Westeros more than the Lady Melisandre, who stationed herself beside Stannis Baratheon, believing that he was the chosen king and the second coming of Azor Ahai — a great figure who is meant to save the world from the cold winter coming from the north.

But as we found out last season, Melisandre’s faith in the Lord of Light was snuffed out when she had Stannis’ only living daughter sacrificed and instead of winning him the war, it ultimately cost him everything. Melisandre wasn’t just all talk — she was a real worshipper of R’hllor, the Lord of Light, and everything he taught her in the flames.

Now her faith has been shaken and she’s beginning to wonder if everything she’s been following and teaching has all been a lie. Why would the Lord of Light show her Stannis Baratheon as king if he were never going to sit on the Iron Throne? Why would the Lord of Light show her Jon Snow in a battle at Winterfell if he was only going to die at the hands of his own brothers in the Night’s Watch?

Melisandre is even beginning to lose faith in herself after looking upon an image of herself in a mirror and barely recognizing the face staring back at her. Of course removing a magical ruby choker that helps hide what Melisandre truly looks like underneath — a withered old witch, hundreds of years old, who has been surviving for centuries on the prophecies of her lord.

There have been rumors hidden inside the books for years that Melisandre wasn’t exactly as she seems and now we know for certain that she’s hundreds of years old and being held together by magic. Her ruby choker is the key to her fountain of youth — better known as “glamouring” — it’s a magic trick used by Melisandre and the Faceless Men of Braavos to appear one way in reality while the rest of the world see them in a completely different light.

As for Melisandre’s next step, what happens now when the Lord of Light has failed her so dramatically? Is Melisandre really going to crawl up under a blanket and wait for old age to catch up to her? Or is she the only hope Jon Snow has to return to the land of the living and cast out the traitors and the dead men who would see all of Westeros engulfed in a never ending night filled with cold and White Walkers?

It appears Melisandre will be a major catalyst to the future of the realm whether she’s ready to reach out and touch faith again or not.

With that said let’s recap the debut of Game of Thrones season six titled “The Red Woman”…

For the Watch

Game of Thrones season six picks up just seconds after last season ended with Jon Snow left bleeding to death in a pile of snow after his brothers in the Night’s Watch betrayed him and stabbed him repeatedly while claiming it was for the greater good.

A howling direwolf cries from behind a locked door, helpless to get to his owner, just like what happened at The Red Wedding three seasons ago when a pinned up Grey Wind just wanted to escape to get to Robb Stark in his moment of need. The eerie howling is enough to send shivers down your spine, but it’s just enough that it wakes Davos Seaworth from his bed where he discovers the young Lord Commander, dead and bleeding in the snow.

Davos retrieves Jon’s body with some help of his loyal friends, who are all convinced that this was the world of Ser Alliser Thorne, who has hated their new Lord Commander since the first day he arrived at Castle Black. Davos is stunned to see Jon Snow is dead, but to make matters worse, the mutineers are all sleeping just a few feet away and once they discover his body is gone, that’s only going to be mean trouble for the men who took him.

Inside the room with Jon’s body, the Lady Melisandre appears and once again looks shocked at what unfolded. Just like the visions she witnessed for Stannis for all those years, she also saw something involving Jon Snow — but now that he’s dead that’s obviously impossible.

Melisandre: “I saw him in the flames, fighting at Winterfell”

Davos: “I can’t speak for the flames but he’s gone.”

As shocked as Melisandre is about Jon Snow’s death, Davos knows there’s not time to spare mourning the young Lord Commander before the conspirators come back to pick the bones.

If Davos is going to lead a band of men from the Night’s Watch to fight their brothers, he’s going to need a lot more than a few swords, who would all be willing to die for Jon Snow. Instead, Davos gives Jon’s good friend Dolorous Edd an alternative idea for finding help to lash out against the conspirators who killed his friend.

“You’re not the only ones who owe your lives to Jon Snow”

~ Davos

That means Edd is off to find the Wildlings to see if Tormund Giantsbane and the rest of the free folk are ready to fight for the man who truly gave them the chance to live rather than being forced to serve the dead.

Oathkeeper

Just south of the Wall but outside Winterfell, Sansa Stark and Theon Greyjoy are on the run from the Boltons after fleeing in an attempt to escape Ramsay and his gratuitous torture on the both of them.

Ramsay is actually in a state of mourning after his beloved Myranda was tossed off a perch before crash landing on the ground below leading to her untimely death. Ramsay almost sounds sentimental as he remembers the first time he set eyes on Myranda, who was the daughter of the kennel keeper at the Dreadfort where he called home as a boy. The two youngsters grew up together (likely sharing in laughter and glee as they pulled the wings off of butterflies) and that bond only strengthened once they became man and woman.

But now she’s dead and Ramsay plans on paying back her killers with a death a thousand times worse than what just happened to her. Of course, Ramsay’s sentiment only goes so far — because he orders Myranda’s body chopped up and fed to the hounds in the kennel she once kept.

Meanwhile, Roose is none too pleased about this latest turn of events. While he commends Ramsay for crushing Stannis Baratheon and his middling army, the real threat lies to the south in a much more powerful and well organized Lannister army that will undoubtedly come for their heads after Roose married his son to Sansa Stark. To make matters worse, Sansa is now gone and she was the only thing that gave the Boltons any hope to stop an uprising from their own people.

Roose berates Ramsay for playing his sadistic games with both Sansa and Theon because now they are gone and no one can find them. Good thing for Roose, he has another heir on the way because if Ramsay can’t give him a male grandchild with Stark blood running through his veins than perhaps his new son will have better luck ruling the north once he’s gone.

In the woods, Sansa and Theon remain on the run as Ramsay’s forces close in on their location. Finally after wading through a freezing river, Sansa and Theon try to stop for a rest but the sound of dogs barking in the distance let them know that Ramsay’s men will find them sooner rather than later.

So Theon decides to offer himself up as a sacrifice for the sake of letting Sansa go, but the Bolton men aren’t buying it. A few seconds later, they’ve gobbled up Sansa and plan to present them both back to Ramsay while curiously chuckling about which body part their cruel lord-to-be will chop off next as retribution.

But none of them ever see Ramsay on that day after Brienne and Podrick show up in the nick of time to save the day. Along with Theon picking up a sword for the first time in years to stop a Bolton attacker, Sansa is alive and well and she’s got a new protector to watch her back.

This time around Brienne pledges her vow to stand by Sansa through life or death and the eldest Stark daughter is now ready to accept her help. Brienne finally feels some accomplishment and redemption after she failed to save Renly Baratheon and failed to save Catelyn Stark. Now instead, Brienne will save her daughter and it’s going to take an army to remove her from Sansa’s side.

A Prophecy Realized

Back in King’s Landing, Cersei is still recovering from the torture and humiliation she suffered at the hands of the High Sparrow a season ago when she had to walk from Flea Bottom to the Red Keep stripped naked from head to toe as people shouted, spat and defecated all over their former queen.

Despite her inner desire for revenge, Cersei seems almost subdued as the new season begins but she finds some reason to move forward after a Dornish ship is spotted in Blackwater Bay and that can only mean one thing — Jamie has returned with their daughter Myrcella.

But Cersei’s hopes are dashed almost immediately when she sees Jamie on a boat with a table shrouded in gold and that can only mean one thing — Myrcella is dead.

The typical seething rage that bubbled and boiled over inside Cersei Lannister has seemingly been dashed because after seeing her second child dead, the only thing she can think about is that fortune telling witch she meet years ago who predicted this would happen. If you remember to the flashback that started last season, Cersei visited a witch outside her home in Casterly Rock when she was barely a teenager and she was told that she would marry a king, have three children by another man and they would all die before her very eyes.

Now three of those prophetic statements have come true and Cersei is left clinging onto her only remaining child Tommen, who rules a kingdom just teeming with people who would love to see him dead.

Jamie doesn’t recognize this version of his sister and lover — she seems weak, frail and almost defeated. So Jamie tries to snap her back to reality and reminds her that the Lannister family determines its own fate — and not by the words of some forest dwelling swindler, who convinced her of a prophecy.

“Fuck prophecy. Fuck fate. Fuck everyone who isn’t us. We’re the only ones that matter, the only ones in this world and everything they’ve taken from us, we’re going to take back — and more.”

~ Jamie Lannister

Things haven’t gotten any better for Margaery Tyrell either, who continues to be held prisoner by the Faith Militant while being read scripture day after day along with a few beatings in order to get her to confess. Margaery is steadfast despite the conditions where she now lives and insists on only wanting to see her brother and find out how he’s doing. Instead of giving her answers, the High Sparrow instead offers her more riddles about her own contrition and what it will take to ever see the light of day out of these dungeons again.

Bowed, Bent and Broken

Back in Dorne, Ellaria Sand is escorting Prince Doran around the water gardens as he continues to recover from the gout that landed him in a wheelchair in the first place. From the look of things, Dorne is beginning to return to normal after Jamie Lannister traveled home with Princess Myrcella and since his son Trystane is going with them to fill a spot on the small council, Dorne will be well represented at the table advising the king.

But a moment later, Prince Doran receives a communication by raven informing him that Myrcella has been poisoned and she’s dead.

Before Doran can even accuse Ellaria of wrongdoing, she’s stabbed him in the chest with a knife while her daughter Tyene reacts and does the same to his personal bodyguard. Despite watching the Lord of Sunspear being assassinated, Doran’s troops refuse to acknowledge or help their king.

Instead they watch as he bleeds out on the ground, a victim of a stronger woman with more conviction to protect Dorne than he ever had while ruling the kingdom. Ellaria reminds Doran of all the mistakes he made while allowing the Lannisters to piss on Dorne and convince them that it was only rain. Now she’s eliminated the weak link and the Martell name will live on through the daughters of Doran’s much more capable younger brother Oberyn.

“Elia Martell, raped and murdered, and you did nothing. Oberyn Martell, butchered, and you did nothing. You’re not a Dornishman and you’re not our prince. Your son is weak just like you and weak men will never rule Dorne again.”

~ Ellaria Sand

As Doran Martell takes his final breath, on a ship in the harbor of Blackwater Bay, Trystane finds that two more of the Sand Snakes (Obara and Nymeria) have found their way on board. Trystane attempts to defend himself, but the Sand Snakes are much too savvy for him — not to mention they don’t play fair. So Trystane’s life comes to an end as well after Obara plants her spear through the young prince’s head.

Now the entire Martell hierarchy has been eliminated and it appears Dorne will be searching for a new, stronger leader who is unafraid to go head-to-head with the rulers in King’s Landing, who demand so much but then give so little.

Blind Leading the Blind

In Braavos, Arya Stark is still blind and now she’s panhandling on the streets to make ends meet. Following her brutal murder of Meryn Trant a season ago, Arya is being punished and learning in a much more difficult way to appease the Many Faced God she seeks to worship.

During her day filled with begging for coins from strangers, the Waif from the House of Black and White comes along with a pair of bo staffs, handing one to Arya and telling her to prepare for battle.

Time and time again, the Waif smacks a helpless Arya, who can only swing wildly and hope to connect with the stick. Instead, Arya gets her ass kicked and in the end the Waif only tells her that she’ll see her again tomorrow. Arya is finding out the real cost of killing and what it will take to truly become a Faceless Man.

Burning Man

Back in Meereen, Tyrion is determined to learn more about this city he’s been charged to run in Daenerys’ absence. She’s been carried away by a dragon while Daario and Ser Friendzone Jorah Mormont search for the queen.

Tyrion walks the streets alongside Varys as they converse about the best way to govern a city falling into complete chaos after the Sons of the Harpy arrived and put every noble person and former slave into a state of complete panic and fear about what’s coming next. Varys reminds Tyrion that to unleash an attack as organized as the one that happened at the fighting pits, somebody was in charge to put together that plan.

The key now is Varys waiting for his little birds to chirp in his ear to let them know who that mystery person might be. It’s clear despite their best efforts to stay in disguise that somebody is watching Tyrion and Varys from afar and it’s not likely they’ll stay hidden for long.

It certainly seems like things are getting worse before they get better in Meereen after Tyrion and Varys find that the queen’s entire navy has been set in flames and her fleet destroyed. Tyrion is no stranger to burning boats in a harbor, except this time he’s the only one to answer to and he better come up with some answers real quick before Meereen implodes while Daenerys is gone.

Miles away from Meereen, Daario and Jorah hunt for Daenerys while waxing about the relationships they’ve shared with the queen. Jorah admits his love for Daenerys while also simmering in frustration that she’ll seemingly never return those same feelings for him. To make matters worse, Jorah is on a time limit to find Daenerys because the greyscale on his arm is spreading and there’s no way to stop it.

Luckily, Jorah finds the ring Daenerys left behind as a breadcrumb to find her way home and judging by the horse tracks throughout the field, it was a horde that came along and took the queen — and not just any horde — a Dothraki horde.

And finally we find Daenerys, bound and walking barefoot through the desert escorted by her new Dothraki captors. While they joke about her blonde hair and whether or not the carpet matches the drapes, Daenerys is just waiting for her moment to strike.

When she finally meets Khal Moro, he’s more concerned about stripping off her rags and finding out what’s hiding underneath. His wives tell him to cut her head off because this pale, blonde woman is nothing but trouble. Khal Moro prefers to think of her as a chew toy and he’s going to use her up for days.

But just before he’s about to take her clothes off and send her to his tent, Daenerys finally reveals her true name — and about 30 subsequent nicknames — but the only one that matters right now is that she was a Khaleesi alongside Khal Drogo. Invoking the name of a former Khal is enough for Moro to declare that Daenerys isn’t to be touched by anybody in the horde no matter what.

Daenerys is relieved to find out that she’s protected from any physical assault and because she’s the widowed wife of a famous Khal, she believes it’s a one way ticket back home.

Instead, Khal Moro tells Daenerys that she’s headed to Vaes Dothrak — the great Dothraki city — where she will serve out the rest of her days inside a temple alongside the widows of every other great Khal in history. Just days ago, Daenerys Targaryen was a ruler trying to reach her people and stamp out a coup brewing inside her city.

Now, the Mother of Dragons is left with only two choices — worship forever or die tonight.

Book of Revelations

Inside the walls of Castle Black, Ser Alliser Thorne begins to plead his case to the rest of the brothers of the Night’s Watch, many of whom want his head after admitting to treason in the death of a Lord Commander. Instead, Thorne sells them on the fact that Jon really was a traitor and he betrayed each and every one of them on the day he asked the gates to the Wall be opened so hundreds of free folk could cross over to the other side for the first time in centuries.

Thorne won’t take over command without a fight but to spare some blood, he offers amnesty to any of the brothers, who stayed by Jon’s side after his death to protect his body. He even offers Davos a free ride out of Castle Black with a fresh horse, plenty of food and no sword in his back when he turns around.

Of course, Davos nor any of the surviving loyalists to Jon Snow believe Thorne will let any of them leave alive so now it’s a matter of holding steady until Edd returns with reinforcements or fight this battle with just a few against the many.

Instead, Davos offers up another alternative — call on Lady Melisandre to cast her spell and thwart Thorne and his goons from getting their hands on Jon Snow’s body.

“What’s one redhead going to do against 40 armed men?”

“You haven’t seen her do what I’ve seen her do.”

Maybe Davos’ faith in Melisandre will re-awaken whatever flicker and flame has been quieted in the wake of Stannis and Jon Snow’s deaths recently. It’s clear, Melisandre is tired of looking at the gorgeous redhead, who can get kings and armies on their knees and she now believes it’s going to take looking at her true self to find real reflection. She takes off her ruby choker and what is revealed is the true Melisandre — a red priestess who has lived far beyond her intended years, but thanks to the effects of this charm, the rest of the world sees a far different picture.

The question still remains — will Melisandre hold the key to Jon Snow’s resurrection or has his chance at regaining life withered away just like her shaken faith in the Lord of Light?

Game of Thrones returns next Sunday night at 9pm on HBO.