Star Carice van Houten talks about the shocking reveal in the season opener that changes the way we see her character.
- Apr 25, 2016
AceShowbiz - Melisandre often uses her body to make people succumb to her, but now we've got to see her real self. In the "Game of Thrones" season 6 premiere, [SPOILER ALERT!] the sorceress disrobed and removed her ruby necklace, which is apparently the source of her power. Fans, thus, for the first time saw a very much older Melisandre.
Carice van Houten who plays the character hinted back in season 2 that Melisandre is 400 years old, but showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss only told the actress for certain about her character's age while shooting last season.
"I was really happy when I read that we were going to reveal that this year," Houten tells EW of the shocking reveal. "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."
As the necklace seems to be source of her power, people now don't see Melisandre as mighty as she appeared to be. "She has no idea how she does it," van Houten says of Melisandre's magical abilities. "A magic necklace? Wow."
As for fan theory that Melisandre would save Jon Snow, that didn't happen. Well, at least it hasn't happened in the first episode yet, if you still want to keep your hope alive.
In the next episode titled "Home" that will air Sunday, May 1, Bran appears to have visions, some guards sent by King Tommen block Cersei's way, Sansa asks Brienne of Tarth about where Arya is, and Arya herself is fighting The Waif. Jaime is threatening the High Sparrow, Ramsay suggests to his father that they should attack Castle Black, while a fight is about to break in Castle Black.
