Game of Thrones Season 6 Premiere – The Red Woman – Recap

Tonight, Game of Thrones returned for another season of mayhem, heartbreak and shattered expectations. “The Red Woman” was a wild ride, from start to finish. Here’s where we break it down for you!

Spoiler Note: This post is for those who have read the A Song of Ice and Fire series. The post and the comments section will contain spoilers from the novels! Because no, we are not all Unsullied now. If you haven’t read the books yet, please check out our non-book-reader recap. Thanks!

Ten months after we watched the men of the Night’s Watch commit a terrible act of betrayal against their Lord Commander, we pick up right where we left off: on the haunting image of Jon Snow’s bled-out corpse. The stomach-curdling howl of his direwolf Ghost can be heard as the camera pans from the icy Wall down to the remnants of Jon. The question is answered, if you still were in doubt: Jon Snow is dead.

The sun comes up, and Davos Seaworth discovers Snow’s body in the courtyard, with the TRAITOR sign still tacked up over him. Dolorous Edd and a handful of loyal men help him pull Jon’s body inside and they quickly realize that Ser Alliser Thorne has to be to blame for the crime.

Melisandre joins them and taken aback at seeing Jon dead, says, “I saw him in the flames fighting at Winterfell.” The priestess already seems shaken by Stannis’s loss; this further strike at her gift of reading the flames raises more questions. She was wrong about Stannis being the king and marching on to victory. What does this mean for her vision for Jon? She retreats from the room, and based on her later actions, I think she is going to be proactive about her visions, in the way she always has been. Only the cost may be far more for her this time, instead of her laying waste to those in her fiery path.

In the meeting hall, Thorne surprisingly owns up to the bloody deed in front of the entire Night’s Watch, though Bowen Marsh and Othell Yarwyck are less proud of the murder. Thorne talks the men into believing that what he did was right, due to Jon’s favorable treatment of the wildlings. Playing on their distrust and hatred for the people from beyond the Wall, he quiets the outrage over their dead commander, and secures his power base.

Locked in the room with the body, Davos and Dolorous Edd strategize on how to proceed. In his grief, Edd is ready to go Wild Bunch on the mutineers, until Davos points out that the wildlings can be used to fight against their opponents. Edd ducks out and now Davos is left stalling for time.

At Winterfell, Ramsay mourns his dearly departed torture girlfriend Myranda, whom he’s known since they were children. (For those who have forgotten, Theon tossed her over the railing to her death in the season 5 finale.) In a surprisingly heartfelt moment, he fondly recalls her fearlessness and swears to inflict pain on those who killed her.  Just in case we were starting to think he has a heart, Ramsay then callously suggests throwing her body to the hounds since she’s “good meat.” Glad we didn’t get too sentimental there, Ramsay!

Afterward, Roose keeps Ramsay’s ego in check regarding the destruction of Stannis’ army by reminding him he’s lost Sansa (the Stark connection) and Theon (the Ironborn heir). He threatens Ramsay’s status by reminding him that his wife Walda is likely carrying a boy. You know, I don’t think this will end well for old Roose. There aren’t exactly bonds of familial love keeping him from murdering his dad. Their lengthiest conversations have consisted of “You’re a screw-up, kiddo and “Have I ever told you how I raped your mother?” stories. For a man known for his cold cunning, Roose is displaying an odd blind eye when it comes to his son.

On the run from Ramsay’s men, Sansa and Theon are forced to cross an icy river to dodge the hounds of the Bolton soldiers. It’s snowing and the two of them are staggering and suffering even after they escape the dogs. Huddled under a fallen tree, Theon warms Sansa in his arms.

But not for long- the hounds have caught scent of their trail. Reek disappearing more by the minute, Theon offers himself up as the sacrifice to try to lead them away from Sansa. Unfortunately, the Bolton soldiers aren’t buying it, and they easily find Sansa roughly five feet away, underneath the tree. They’re screwed- but no, it’s Brienne ex machina!

Brienne charges into the fight and slashes through the men, with Pod providing some not-terrible assistance. Theon grabs a fallen sword, as the other two fight the remaining soldiers. As Pod loses his sword fight with one man and appears doomed (I can’t believe this kid hasn’t at least lost a limb yet), Theon sneaks up from behind and kills the man.

The danger past, Brienne seizes the moment to present herself to Sansa once again. She lays her sword down and offers her services to her lady. The women exchange oaths (does that sound like a wedding? I don’t care), vowing to serve and provide a place for one another, and it’s goddamn beautiful. Even chilled and soaked, Sansa is the consummate lady, performing her duties to the best of her ability. The lady who wanted to believe in an honorable knight, and Brienne, the young woman who only wanted to find a worthy and noble person to serve. Catelyn would be so proud of both of them.

News arrives that a Dornish ship is docking in King’s Landing, and it hurts so much to see Cersei happily running to greet her daughter’s ship. She’s been through hell in the last few months and finally there’s a ray of light breaking through the clouds- her daughter has come home. Except on the ship, there is only a body escorted by the girl’s father.

Later Cersei mourns, recalling morbid thoughts of her mother’s death when she was a child. She wonders how a woman like her could have produced a girl as good and sweet as Myrcella; Cersei knows she is jealous and mean. It seems as though Cersei may be as harsh about herself as other people are on her. She is haunted by Maggy the Frog’s prophecy now that a second child has fallen. Predictably practical and blunt, Jaime says fuck the prophecy but Cersei is spooked. She has one child left- and his crown is gold. Will there be a shroud for him this season?

Look at the show’s track record so far- Joffrey in season 4, Myrcella in season 5- I would be shocked if Tommen makes it out of season 6 alive.

Elsewhere in the city, our bell-ringing friend Septa Unella has moved on to pestering Margaery in prison this year. The High Sparrow interrupts their chat to see if the young queen is interested in confessing yet. But Margaery is very much like Cersei was last year- she is the queen, insisting on her privilege and title, and she just wants to see her family. Her pride is still intact. But the Sparrows will work on her as they did Cersei. Margaery is cunning however, and she may find a way out of this bind yet.

In Dorne, Doran Martell and Ellaria reminisce about his brother Oberyn. Her daughter Tyene Sand accompanies her, as the group chats, there in the Water Gardens. Just then as they speak, a messenger brings word of Myrcella’s death and Ellaria knows it’s time to act. Tyene quickly stabs Areo Hotah in the back, killing the bodyguard, and Ellaria takes down Doran, stabbing him in the front (is that more courteous than the back?).

Ellaria explains her motivations and the inactions of the other guards around them- he doesn’t know his people, his own people who hate that he didn’t act to revenge Oberyn or Elia Martell. Doran will not be their prince, and neither will Trystane.

The young man is currently on a Dornish ship close to King’s Landing, by the look of it. We see Trystane painting eye stones- for Myrcella, I assume. He doesn’t look that heartbroken, to be honest so maybe it’s just an arts and crafts project. Then his Sand Snake cousins Nymeria and Obara join him and make plain their intentions. The prince shows courage and tries to fight them but when he steps up to fight Nym, Obara stabs him in the back of the head.

What can I say about the Dornish scenes that won’t sound like bitter book wankery? I’m a very relaxed ASOIAF reader when it comes to the adaptation, but I thought these scenes were stupid. Oberyn would hate these people who are so disloyal to their own family. The Oberyn we’ve seen on the show, I  mean, in addition to the one in the books. I find it hard to believe Areo Hotah could be such a poor head guard, completely unaware of the goings-on at the Water Gardens if an uprising of sorts was in the works. And then killed with one small knife in the back, without fighting back at all. It seems like a waste of Alexander Siddig and DeObia Oparei and I’m left shaking my head at it.

If anyone doubts that Areo Hotah is dead, you can see the confirmation in the HBO Viewer’s Guide which has a 100% track record so far for death reporting accuracy. I also found it odd that it wasn’t until I looked at Trystane’s entry that it explained why he was still on the ship. What a confusing mess:

It didn’t work, and it felt almost like the writers were unhappy with last year’s Dornish storyline and so they decided to wipe out several players to simply clean the slate. I would not be surprised to see the rest of the Dorne group dispatched quickly this year, leaving behind hardly any effect on any plot.

Moving on…

Over in Meereen, Tyrion and Varys walk the streets of the city, giving money to a starving mother and coming across the infamous “Kill the Masters” graffiti now added to (in the common tongue again) with “Mhysa is a master.” The people are not happy- Daenerys has vanished and the Sons of the Harpy are still around. A red priest preaches to the people, and as Tyrion and Varys wander through the city, they review politics- Varys’s little birds are on the hunt for the Harpies’ leader.

Remember last year when Daario acquired a fleet of ships and we thought that these were replacement for the Iron Fleet? Apparently not. Tyrion and Varys discover the fleet of ships, the ones meant to bring Dany and her army back to Westeros, have been put to the torch.

Meanwhile Daario and Jorah’s search for Daenerys has led them into the Dothraki Sea, with the men able to track Drogon’s trail of scorched bones leftover from his meals. Jorah’s greyscale is spreading, which is inconvenient because both he and Daario would like to grow old and see Dany rule the world. (I’m guessing they’re both doomed now that they’ve had this conversation.) Jorah, naturally, finds the ring left behind, and he recognizes the patterns in the grass of a Dothraki horde.

Held captive by the khalasar she encountered in season 5, Daenerys is forced to walk along- well, we don’t know where.  The Dothraki riders Qhono and Ahko talk like a couple of frat boys about the woman they don’t realize can speak Dothraki. Once the khalasar makes camp, the men present Daenerys to the leader, Khal Moro.

This is not the Daenerys who first met the Dothraki in season 1. Faced with a new khal who treats her like property, she rattles of her list of titles. Very impressive, Dany. And then everyone has a good laugh because there’s just something about that ridiculously long list of titles.

Daenerys finally drops the magic words: Khal Drogo. Khal Moro’s demeanor changes as he respects her as a widow of a khal. Accordingly, she will be brought to Vaes Dothrak to live out the remainder of her life. Even the Dothraki wives agree that sounds terrible, but compared to the snarky sexual harassment that was on the menu earlier, Vaes Dothrak is a step in the right direction. From there, among the widowed women, Dany can choose her next step with more control.

Further west, on the edge of Essos, blind Arya is currently playing the role of beggar in the streets of Braavos when she’s paid a visit by the Waif. Despite her blindness, it seems her lessons are continuing, as the Waif throws her a stick and forces Arya into a rather one-sided fight. The sparring is very reminiscent of early scenes in kung-fu movies, when the harsh master beats on the student. I suppose eventually we’ll see Arya earn her grudging respect? Or maybe Arya’ll just hit her with a stick a lot. That seems like Arya’s style.

Back at the Wall, Alliser Thorne approaches the room where Davos and the loyal few are still guarding Jon, and tries to negotiate amnesty for them if they’ll open the door. Davos stalls for time- he knows damn well that Thorne isn’t going to let any of them live. They can’t go anywhere until Dolorous Edd returns with help from the wildlings. There’s always the possibility of the Red Woman lending a hand. Though the other Night’s Watchmen don’t understand how she can help, Davos knows what she is capable of.

So he thinks. He doesn’t even know the half of it.

Alone in her room, Melisandre studies her youthful, beautiful reflection, her face covered in sorrow. She disrobes, takes away the fiery gem at her throat. Looking into the reflection once again we see that the illusion, the glamour has fallen away. Melisandre has become a wrinkled, very old woman. Her red hair now white and sparse, her body loose and wrinkled, we see this is what she looks like without her magic disguising her.

She sadly turns away from the mirror and slips into bed.

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A few more assorted thoughts:

Highlights

The scenes with Davos were very strong. I like how he is expanding- it’s as if Davos is developing his owner leadship abilities, now that he’s stepping out of Stannis’s shadow.

Alliser Thorne is just a royal ass, isn’t he, but Owen Teale is a wonderful actor. You can really see how Thorne believes his own bull.

The music for Theon and Sansa’s dash through the woods and river was a particular highlight for me.

Brienne and Sansa’s moment had me in tears, both times I watched it. Beautiful work from Sophie Turner and Gwendoline Christie.

Melisandre’s glamour confirmed and comes down- Mel’s advanced age is alluded to in A Dance with Dragons, but to actually see her glamour fall away was pretty amazing. Well done, and good work by Carice van Houten throughout the episode.

Misses

Dorne is a big miss, and I’m not sure there’s a way to come back from it, in regards to this storyline. It’s a disappointment, as I was incredibly excited by Alexander Siddig’s casting and I’ve always been a fan of Indira Varma’s work.

The overall tone of the episode was somewhat erratic, with several very good scenes that didn’t quite fit together as one flowing episode. That said, as a season premiere to set up the season ahead it certainly works and it kicked things off in an exciting way.

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