"Game of Thrones" (GoT) Season 6 premiere titled "The Red Woman" surprised many viewers. In the episode that aired on April 24, the titular character Lady Melisandre unveiled that she has been keeping a very big secret since her first appearance on the show.
As seen in the final scene, Melisandre has been disguising her appearance all along. Her true countenance is not that of 39-year-old actress Carice van Houten since she is greatly older.
The revelation in "GoT" Season 6 premiere makes viewers to reflect on the earlier scenes, including that of Melisandre seducing Stannis Baratheon in Season 2 and the attempted seduction of Jon Snow in Season 5. It is an example of magic taking a center stage in "GoT" as the series moves towards the end. Showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss said via Watchers on the Wall that the series has only two seasons to go.
The main concern is whether Melisandre's magic is sufficient to raise Jon Snow from the grave. This week's episode did not give the answer, but Snow's body is still intact and in good condition for some magical reasons.
Generally, the twist will not come as a surprise for most avid fans of the show. It was established clearly in George RR Martin's books, and van Houten actually indicated in 2012, that her character was more than 100 years old.
Melisandre managed to change her countenance because she is a witch. In Martin's books, fans are treated with more details on the type of magic - "glamor" - possessed by Melisandre.
Immediately, Melisandre's glamor powers were introduced in "A Dance with Dragons," where there were speculations that the character was disguising her countenance. There was a big hint that she was indeed older than she appeared in a chapter narrated from her won point of view, whereby she believes that she had practiced her magic for many years.
Melisandre featured in the "GoT" series the following year and Houten must have been told about her character's advanced age to help inform her performance. Houten became loose-lipped about the secret when she said in an interview with Access Hollywood that she does not know how old Melisandre is but she is way over 100 years.
Shortly thereafter, an actor with a role in Season 2 tried to poison Melisandre, but she was not affected. The incident is an indication that Houten had informed the actor on set that she was 400 years old.
Houten said in the interview, "In between takes, I said to her, 'I'm not quite up to speed on this, why don't you die?' And she said, "I'm 400 years old." And I thought, oh, well, fair enough, that's a lesson learned. If you're trying to poison somebody, check first that they're not 400 years old."
With regard to the great display of magic helping her resurrect Snow, viewers will have to wait until next week. Watch the clip below to have a glimpse of what transpired in "GoT" Season 6.