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93-433: " The Red Woman " is the sixth season premiere episode of HBO 's fantasy television series Game of Thrones , and the 51st overall. The episode was written by series creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss , and directed by Jeremy Podeswa . In the episode, the lifeless body of Jon Snow is discovered by Ser Davos Seaworth and loyal members of the Night's Watch protect it; Melisandre has begun to lose her faith in

186-401: A red gold choker set with a large shiny ruby . She rarely sleeps or eats, possesses magical abilities that can cast glamour and manipulate fire and shadow, has prophetic visions by looking into fire, and takes an aggressively militant stance against the other religions of Westeros. Melisandre is introduced in the prologue of the second book, A Clash of Kings (1998), and reappears in

279-457: A cryptic prophesy: "I see a darkness in you, and in that darkness eyes staring back at me. Brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes you'll shut forever. We will meet again." Melisandre uses Gendry's blood in a ritual to kill Stannis' rivals. However, before Gendry can be sacrificed, Davos helps him escape. Davos staves off his own execution by showing Stannis a letter from the Night's Watch, claiming that

372-439: A group of religious fanatics, impose their views upon the city, imprisoning Margaery, her brother Loras, and Cersei for committing various sins. Jaime travels to Dorne to take back Myrcella Baratheon. However, Oberyn Martell's lover, Ellaria, and his bastard daughters kill Myrcella as revenge for Oberyn's death. In Winterfell, the new seat of House Bolton, Baelish arranges Sansa's marriage with the now-legitimized son of Roose Bolton,

465-524: A murder-suicide, but although Melisandre drinks most of the poison, her powers allow her to survive. When Stannis' brother Renly also declares himself king, Melisandre has a vision of Renly defeating Stannis' host at King's Landing. She convinces Stannis to impregnate her, giving birth to a shadow demon that kills Renly. She also births another demon that kills Storm's End's castellan, Ser Cortnay Penrose, when he refuses to yield Storm's End. Ser Bryce Caron convinces Stannis to leave Melisandre at Dragonstone during

558-521: A new promo named "March Madness", with new footage. After the screening of the season premiere, "The Red Woman", HBO released a second official trailer. In July, HBO released a blooper reel online. After the Thrones , a live aftershow in which hosts Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan discussed episodes of the series, aired on the stand-alone streaming service HBO Now on the Monday following each episode of

651-412: A raiding party led by Ramsay Bolton burns their supplies, he gives in and allows her to burn Shireen at the stake . The blizzard lifts, but half of Stannis' army deserts and Selyse commits suicide out of guilt for Shireen's death. Melisandre flees to Castle Black, where her distraught demeanour leads Davos and Jon to realise that Stannis and Shireen are dead. Still reeling from Stannis' defeat, Melisandre

744-399: A real person rather than a complete [computer generated] creation. Because what does a 400-year-old person look like? We don't know. So if you try to create that, then you're creating something that looks beyond our known reality. Here you feel like she's very old without putting a number on it." "The Red Woman" was viewed by 7.94 million American households on its first viewing, which

837-444: A tool -- that's all very deliberate. She presents herself in this way as this beautiful woman because she knows the effect that that can have on people. She knows the effect that that has on Stannis , and that can make men do unadvisable things. So the fact that she did that and she uses that power in that way to have this influence on people. That puts her into context as somebody who really does know what she's doing." "The Red Woman"

930-579: A traveling theater troupe located in Braavos that stages a play called "The Bloody Hand", about the events that have taken place in King's Landing since the beginning of the series, is included in the sixth season. Filming for the sixth season began in July 2015 and ended on December. The budget for the sixth season increased compared to the previous seasons as each episode cost over $ 10 million, totaling over $ 100 million for

1023-561: A wooden staff. Arya fails, and the Waif promises that she will return the following day. Jorah Mormont and Daario Naharis search for Daenerys Targaryen and discover she has been taken captive by a Dothraki horde. Daenerys is presented to Khal Moro, who has taken her prisoner. Daenerys explains that she was Khal Drogo 's wife and asks Moro to escort her back to Meereen, but he refuses, as widows of khals must live out their lives in Vaes Dothrak,

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1116-399: Is further shocked when Jon is assassinated by his officers since she had had a vision of him fighting at Winterfell. In shock and suffering a crisis of faith, she returns to her sleeping chambers. She removes her ruby necklace while undressing, proving that the necklace is a magical glamour, as she is revealed to have a physical body countless years older than she normally appears. Following

1209-493: Is getting older. But it's not dead, yet." NPR praised the season for "reaching new heights", and "setting up its endgame in spectacular, meticulous fashion". The season finale had 8.89 million viewers on its initial airing on HBO, up 10 percent from the previous season's finale, the previous most-watched episode. The average gross viewing figure per episode for the show, which includes streaming, DVR recordings, and repeat showings, reached over 25 million for this season, and it

1302-639: Is imprisoned. She travels to the Riverlands to meet up with the Brotherhood without Banners, who have taken on Robert Baratheon's bastard Gendry as a blacksmith. During her meeting, Melisandre is astonished when the Red Priest Thoros of Myr reveals he has resurrected the Brotherhood's leader Ser Beric Dondarrion six times. Melisandre purchases Gendry from the Brotherhood, much to the fury of Gendry's friend Arya Stark. Before parting ways, Melisandre leaves Arya with

1395-447: Is not a point-of-view character in the first four novels. Her actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of other characters, such as Davos Seaworth and Jon Snow . In the fifth novel A Dance with Dragons , she has a single point-of-view chapter. George R. R. Martin stated she will return as a viewpoint character in future novels. In the HBO television adaptation, Melisandre

1488-524: Is portrayed by Dutch actress Carice van Houten who received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her performance. Melisandre was born an unknown number of years before the start of the series, possibly with the name "Melony". As a child slave, she was sold to the Red Temple and trained for the priesthood. Believing Stannis Baratheon to be

1581-425: Is revealed to have a physical body many years older than she normally appears. "The Red Woman" was written by the series' creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss . Some elements in the episode are based on the sixth novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter , which author George R. R. Martin had hoped to have completed before the sixth season began airing. It also contains elements from

1674-411: Is slightly lower than number of viewers for the fifth-season premiere , 8.00 million, marking the first time in the show's history a season premiere received less ratings than the premiere and finale of the season that came before it. HBO notes that two replays later in the night and early figures from HBO Go and HBO Now push the total to 10.7 million viewers, a same-day record for the show, meaning that

1767-545: Is troubled, as she had experienced a vision of Jon fighting at Winterfell. The loyalists lock themselves in from the mutineers, while Eddison sneaks out of Castle Black to get assistance from the Wildlings. Ser Alliser Thorne convenes the Night's Watch and takes responsibility for Jon's assassination. Thorne and the other mutineers surround the storeroom and threaten to attack if the loyalists do not surrender by nightfall. Melisandre goes to sleep in her bedroom. As she undresses, she

1860-930: The Castle of Zafra in Guadalajara , the Bardenas Reales Natural Park in Navarre, the Alcazaba in Almería, and the Castle of Santa Florentina in Canet de Mar . In August 2015, HBO announced that for the first time since season 1 the show would not be filming any scenes in Croatia. The Croatian city of Dubrovnik has stood in for King's Landing since the beginning of season 2; nearby cities such as Klis , Split and Šibenik have been used to depict various other locations. Contradicting

1953-493: The TCL Chinese Theatre two weeks before the premier of the episode on HBO . There was a lot of speculation prior to the episode regarding whether the character Jon Snow would remain dead or return to life. Fans speculated that Melisandre would be the one to bring back Snow to life, after and before the title of the first episode was revealed to be "The Red Woman". Liam Cunningham, who portrays Davos Seaworth, spoke about

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2046-475: The fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones premiered on HBO on April 24, 2016, and concluded on June 26. It consists of 10 episodes, each of approximately 50–60 minutes long. Much of the season's storyline is derived from content not yet published in George R. R. Martin 's A Song of Ice and Fire series, although a significant amount of material from A Feast for Crows , A Dance with Dragons and

2139-689: The fifth season episode " Hardhome ", many of the previous seasons' highlights, and voice-overs from Max von Sydow as the Three-Eyed Raven and Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark . The first footage from the season was revealed in a new promotional video released shortly afterward by HBO highlighting its new and returning original shows for the coming year, showcasing scenes involving Daenerys Targaryen , Ramsay Bolton , Cersei Lannister , and Tommen Baratheon . On December 28, 2015, Entertainment Weekly released its "Exclusive First Look" issue, featuring an image of Bran Stark, who had shorter hair and

2232-514: The "gloriously brutal moments" in the premiere episode. Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times praised some of the humorous moments in the premiere . The Boston Globe called the premiere a "busy hour, leaping from place to place to catch us up with the Game of Thrones gang and set the stage for the sixth season... But fun was afoot." Vulture gave the premiere a score 4 out of 5 and found

2325-537: The "prince that was promised" and suggests that Daenerys summon Jon to Dragonstone to hear of his experiences fighting the White Walkers. When Jon and Davos arrive on Dragonstone to meet Daenerys, Melisandre avoids them and decides to return to Volantis. Although Daenerys' advisor Varys warns that Melisandre will not be safe if she ever returns to Westeros, she declares that she will eventually make one final journey to Westeros to die. Melisandre returns to Winterfell as

2418-478: The Australian record as the most watched show on pay TV, with 721,000 viewers in the overnight figures and 1.1 million in the final tally. Over a million had downloaded the episode within 12 hours of airing, with Australia having the most illegal downloads of the episode by a single nation. Reviews for "The Red Woman" were very positive. The episode was praised for its humor, Brienne's reunion with Sansa and Theon, and

2511-751: The Battle of the Blackwater, which ends in Stannis' defeat. During the battle, Ser Garlan Tyrell dons Renly's armor and leads the Tyrell-Lannister vanguard, thus fulfilling Melisandre's earlier prophecy. Stannis' advisor Davos Seaworth blames Melisandre for Stannis' defeat and plans to assassinate her, but Melisandre sees the plot in her flames and has him arrested. She attempts to persuade Stannis to sacrifice his bastard nephew Edric Storm to awaken stone dragons beneath Dragonstone. Stannis only allows her to leech him and burns

2604-452: The Dorne storyline. For io9 , Charlie Jane Anders called it "the absolute worst" part of the episode, and criticized the Dorne storyline in general for giving Doran Martell "a grand total of ten minutes' screentime" before suddenly killing him off, given that he is alive in the novels and his major subplot from the books - that he was simply feigning a desire for peace while planning to betray

2697-643: The Dothraki Grasslands, and Larrybane Quarry and Ballintoy Harbour, both used for scenes in the Iron Islands. For the siege of Riverrun, the small village of Corbet was used. As in previous seasons, some of Castle Black was set at the abandoned Magheramorne quarry. During September and October, the show also filmed in Spain, specifically in Girona , Navarre , Peniscola , and Almería . Specific locations included

2790-605: The Dothraki's sacred city. Tyrion Lannister and Varys walk through the deserted streets of Meereen. Varys promises that his spies will find the leader of the Sons of the Harpy. The two discover that all of the ships in Meereen's harbor have been set ablaze, and Tyrion realizes that Daenerys' forces will be unable to sail to Westeros. The loyalists take Jon Snow's body into a storeroom. Melisandre

2883-623: The Faceless Men, a guild of assassins. In Essos, Tyrion becomes an advisor to Daenerys. Ser Jorah saves the life of Daenerys against a revolt of slavers, who flees Meereen on Drogon's back. The recurring actors listed here are those who appeared in season 6. They are listed by the region in which they first appear: The writing staff for the sixth season includes executive producers and showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss , producer Bryan Cogman , and Dave Hill . Author George R. R. Martin , who had written one episode for each of

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2976-466: The House of Black and White. Later that month, HBO released 16 character posters of both deceased and living characters and two official posters featuring various characters. A behind-the-scenes video of the sixth season was released at the end of February, focusing on camera operators working on the show. The first official trailer for season 6 was released on March 8, 2016. Another behind-the-scenes video

3069-491: The Iron Islands, so she and Theon ally with Daenerys. Varys secures an alliance for her with Olenna and the Dornish. Game of Thrones features a large ensemble cast , including Peter Dinklage , Nikolaj Coster-Waldau , Lena Headey , Emilia Clarke , and Kit Harington . The season introduced new cast members, including Max von Sydow , Pilou Asbæk , and Essie Davis , and returned Isaac Hempstead Wright and David Bradley to

3162-659: The Khals, emerges from the flames of their temple alive leading the surviving Dothraki to pledge her their loyalty. At King's Landing, Margaery Tyrell capitulates to the High Sparrow , who becomes more powerful by influencing King Tommen . The imprisoned Cersei avoids her trial by destroying the Great Sept with wildfire, killing the Sparrows, her uncle, and the Tyrells. Tommen commits suicide in

3255-539: The Lannisters - was not introduced at all before his departure. Alan Sepinwall from HitFix also disliked the Dorne scenes and summarized, "I'll settle for not needing to audibly groan every time the story returns to Dorne, frankly." For Vulture , Nate Jones wrote an op-ed piece specifically criticizing the Dorne storyline in seasons five and six, culminating in the changes in the season six premiere, which it felt to be bizarre and illogical - purely relying on shock value when

3348-459: The Lord of Light. Melisandre joins Jon in his march on Winterfell to confront Ramsay Bolton. Although Jon forbids her from resurrecting him again if he falls, Melisandre says she will at least try, as the Lord of Light might still need him. In the aftermath of House Stark's recapture of Winterfell (which validates her vision), Melisandre is confronted by Davos, who has discovered that she burned Shireen at

3441-460: The Lord of Light; Sansa Stark and Theon Greyjoy flee Winterfell; Ellaria Sand and the Sand Snakes seize control of Dorne; Jaime Lannister returns to King's Landing with the body of his dead daughter; and Daenerys Targaryen is taken prisoner by the khalasar of Khal Moro. For filming of the episode's closing reveal, the director used similar technique to the body double of Cersei Lannister in

3534-487: The Seven, drawing the ire of Stannis' maester Cressen. Cressen attempts to poison her in a murder-suicide attempt; despite drinking the poison, Melisandre is unharmed. She convinces Stannis to impregnate her, giving birth to a shadow demon that kills Stannis' brother Renly, a rival claimant to the throne. However, Stannis' advisor, Davos Seaworth, counsels Stannis to leave Melisandre on Dragonstone when he attacks King's Landing; when

3627-616: The United Kingdom with an average audience of more than 5 million across all platforms and in Australia with a cumulative average audience of 1.2 million viewers. ^1 Live +7 ratings were not available, so Live +3 ratings have been used instead. For the 32nd TCA Awards , the series was nominated for Program of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Drama. For the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards ,

3720-506: The Wall while Stannis marches on Winterfell. Noting that her powers are stronger at the Wall, she asks R'hllor for a vision of Azor Ahai, but only sees "Snow". She also warns Jon of having seen "daggers in the dark". Jon ignores her warnings and is later stabbed by mutineers led by Bowen Marsh. Melisandre is introduced during a beachside ceremony on Dragonstone, where she burns the statues of the Faith of

3813-451: The Wall with them, claiming that the Lord of Light has use for her. Melisandre presides over Mance Rayder's burning. She attempts to seduce Jon Snow, but he rejects her advances. She later joins Stannis and Davos on their mission to take Winterfell from the Boltons. When a large snowstorm delays their march, Melisandre suggests that Stannis sacrifice Shireen. Stannis initially refuses, but after

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3906-487: The White Walkers have returned. After burning the letter in the flames, Melisandre corroborates Davos' story and declares that Stannis will have need of Davos in the future. Melisandre begins burning members of Stannis' court alive at Dragonstone. Melisandre accompanies Stannis, Davos, and their army to the Wall. Before the Baratheon forces sail north, she convinces Selyse Baratheon to bring hers and Stannis' daughter Shireen to

3999-571: The attack fails, Melisandre claims that Stannis' defeat was a result of not bringing her to the battle. Stannis attempts to strangle Melisandre in a fit of rage before she makes him understand his role in Renly's death and assures him that his betrayals will be worth it in the end. Davos is taken aboard Sallador Saan's pirate ship where he hears that Stannis will not see anyone except Melisandre, who has started burning men alive. Davos, blaming Melisandre for Stannis' defeat, tries to assassinate her but fails and

4092-515: The baby to perform fire magic. When Stannis orders Mance Rayder to be burned alive for deserting the Night's Watch, she uses her magic to secretly switch Mance's identity with Rattleshirt's, another wildling raider, resulting in Rattleshirt being burned instead. She later reveals this to Jon Snow and sends Mance to Winterfell with six spearwives to rescue "Arya Stark" (actually Sansa Stark's handmaiden Jeyne Poole) from Ramsay Bolton. Melisandre remains at

4185-520: The back of the head. Margaery Tyrell remains imprisoned by the Faith . She is visited by the High Sparrow who insists she must confess, saying she's on the right path but has a long way to go. Ellaria Sand and Tyene Sand kill Doran Martell and Areo Hotah . Ellaria vows that "weak men will never rule Dorne again". Arya Stark , now blinded, is sent to beg on the streets and train her hearing senses. The Waif appears and forces Arya to duel her using

4278-408: The chapters "The Sacrifice" and "The Blind Girl" from A Dance with Dragons . With this episode, Jonathan Pryce (High Sparrow) is promoted to series regular. The episode has the introduction of new recurring cast member Joe Naufahu, who plays Khal Moro. It was the first episode followed by After the Thrones , HBO's after-show hosted by Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan. The episode had a premiere at

4371-449: The characters' actions don't make sense upon closer analysis. Jones was also critical of how it was altering the female characters in Dorne, saying that they were changed from the novels to be "the kind of violent, scantily clad women that emerge when creators want to pay lip service to feminism, but don't have the time or inclination to create actual three-dimensional female characters." Game of Thrones season 6 The sixth season of

4464-610: The continuing struggle among the noble families of Westeros for the Iron Throne . The Starks and allies defeat the Bolton forces in the " Battle of the Bastards " reuniting Sansa Stark and Jon Snow , who is proclaimed the King in the North, while Ramsay Bolton is killed. In Essos , Tyrion Lannister rules Meereen while Daenerys Targaryen is held captive by the Dothraki, after which she burns

4557-551: The episode more "compelling" than season 5 , while Observer.com praised the episode for not "overly-rushing". The Orlando Sentinel eulogized the show for "playing by its own rules", and not "pander for fans' affection and take easy storytelling routes" like other shows. Slate gave the premiere a positive review and stated, " Game of Thrones is finally off book, having lapped George R.R. Martin's slowly gestating A Song of Ice and Fire series. Finally, it seemed, anything could happen." Matt Zoller Seitz of Vulture gave

4650-499: The episode received an increase in viewerships. The episode also acquired a 4.0 rating in the 18–49 demographic, making it the highest rated show on cable television of the night. In the United Kingdom, the episode was watched by 2.19 million viewers according to overnight ratings (2.289 million viewers over 7 days and 2.554 over 28 days), a record for the pay channel Sky Atlantic . The UK viewing figures reached an all-time high. The 2am simulcast attracted 60,000 viewers. Similarly it broke

4743-419: The episode; "The most recent episode of HBO's Game of Thrones largely evaded the two major questions from the previous chapter, and instead lined up its sixth season to gravitate around the heroics and cunning of its female protagonists." Tim Surette of TV.com wrote that Melisandre is one of his favorite characters. In isolation from the rest of the episode, many critics were baffled by the drastic changes to

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4836-472: The first four seasons, did not write an episode for the sixth season, as he chose to resume working on the sixth A Song of Ice and Fire novel, The Winds of Winter . The directing staff for the sixth season was Jeremy Podeswa (episodes 1 and 2), Daniel Sackheim (episodes 3 and 4), Jack Bender (episodes 5 and 6), Mark Mylod (episodes 7 and 8), and Miguel Sapochnik (episodes 9 and 10). Sackheim and Bender were first-time Game of Thrones directors, with

4929-415: The forces of the living prepare to do battle with the White Walkers and their army of wights and sets Daenerys' Dothraki horde's arakhs on fire before they charge the dead. She is confronted by Davos as she enters Winterfell but assures him she will be dead before dawn. When Daenerys is unable to see Davos' signal to light a defensive trench, Grey Worm escorts Melisandre outside to use her abilities to ignite

5022-622: The full season and setting a new high for the series. The season filmed in five different countries: Northern Ireland , Spain , Croatia , Iceland , and Canada . Like the previous seasons, a large amount of production took place in Northern Ireland, mainly in Belfast and on the Causeway Coast , including film locations in the Binevenagh , Magilligan area, which was used to film scenes for

5115-489: The full season, setting a new high for the series. For the closing reveal involving Melisandre, the director of the episode stated that a similar technique to the body double of Cersei Lannister in " Mother's Mercy " was used, with Carice van Houten wearing prosthetic makeup for the face that was then transposed onto the real body of an old woman. Podeswa stated, "The idea is there's an indefinite indeterminate quality that she could be ancient. We were limited by choosing to use

5208-462: The imprisonment of the mutineers by the wildlings, Davos persuades her to attempt a resurrection of Jon, which, to her shock, is ultimately successful. Melisandre comes to believe that the "prince that was promised" was not Stannis but Jon and dedicates herself to his service. Realizing that her constant meddling had done more harm than good, Melisandre works no magic without Jon's permission, nor does she try to convert anyone – including Snow – to worship

5301-460: The leeches to curse Stannis's rivals: Balon Greyjoy, Robb Stark, and Joffrey Baratheon. All three die in various circumstances soon after. Davos smuggles Edric to Lys to prevent his sacrifice. Melisandre then accompanies Stannis and Davos to the Wall to defeat Mance Rayder's wildling host. Jon Snow swaps Mance Rayder's baby son with Gilly's baby and sends the baby with Gilly, Samwell Tarly, and Maester Aemon to Oldtown to prevent Melisandre from burning

5394-513: The most nominations for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards , with 23 nominations, and won 12, including that for Outstanding Drama Series for the second year in a row. U.S. viewership rose compared to the previous season, and by approximately 13 percent over its course, from 7.9 million to 8.9 million by the finale. At this point in Game of Thrones , Margaery has married the new King Tommen Baratheon, Joffrey's younger brother, in King's Landing. The Sparrows,

5487-555: The novels. Other members of House Tarly that were introduced were Randyll Tarly , played by James Faulkner ; Melessa Tarly, played by Samantha Spiro ; and Talla Tarly, portrayed by Rebecca Benson . Veteran actor Max von Sydow was cast to play the Three-Eyed-Raven, Bran's trainer, previously played by Struan Rodger in the fourth-season finale, " The Children ". David Bradley confirmed in August 2015 that he would be returning to

5580-588: The people of the countryside. A young Ned Stark was portrayed by Sebastian Croft in a flashback scene. The sixth season also included a traveling theater troupe located in Braavos that stages a play called "The Bloody Hand", about the events that have taken place in King's Landing since the beginning of the series. Essie Davis and Kevin Eldon joined the cast in this theater troupe, portraying actors playing Cersei Lannister and Ned Stark, respectively, while Richard E. Grant

5673-428: The premiere positive review and stated, "The world the characters inhabit is still a hugely dangerous one, but at no point did I feel as though the writers were showing us beautiful butterflies in preparation of pulling their wings off." Entertainment Weekly gave the premiere a score of 'B' and stated, "Few shows on television look better than this one, but it's coming up on great-drama retirement age. Game of Thrones

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5766-481: The previous episode. The episode title is an allusion to the epithet used to describe the Red Priestess Melisandre. This episode marks the final appearances of Alexander Siddig ( Doran Martell ), DeObia Oparei ( Areo Hotah ) and Toby Sebastian ( Trystane Martell ). "The Red Woman" was positively received by critics, who found the episode to be a satisfactory launching point for the season, and praising

5859-637: The reincarnation of Azor Ahai , a mythic messiah prophesied by her faith, she travels to his island stronghold, Dragonstone , during the events of A Game of Thrones . Tywin Lannister indirectly mentioned her as "a shadowbinder from Asshai" during a private conversation with Tyrion Lannister after the Battle in the Whispering Wood. Also known as "The Red Woman", Melisandre is described as an exotically beautiful and voluptuous foreign woman with red eyes and red hair , always dressing in red robes and wearing

5952-494: The rest each having directed two episodes in the previous season. With the end of the fifth season, the plot has reached the most recent novel in Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Dance with Dragons . Season 6 director Jeremy Podeswa said in August 2015, "Right now in season six, what we're shooting currently isn't based on anything in the book. It's fully based on discussions the writers have had with George Martin, because

6045-414: The revelation regarding Melisandre's true age. Rotten Tomatoes gave the episode an approval rating of 86% based on 59 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5.4/10, and the consensus reading: "A solid season opener, The Red Woman balanced its ongoing mysteries with a bit of humor and featured Sansa's touching reunion with Brienne of Tarth." James Hunt of What Culture wrote in his review of the episode; "It

6138-523: The sadist Ramsay. Stannis's unsuccessful march on Winterfell, which leads to his death, allows Sansa the opportunity to escape with Theon. At the Wall, as the newly elected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Jon Snow forms an alliance with the Wildlings to save them from the White Walkers and their army of reanimated corpses. However, Jon is stabbed to death by some brothers who see him as a traitor. Arya arrives in Braavos, where she finds Jaqen H'ghar whom she had previously helped escape and begins training with

6231-465: The scenes involving Sansa and Brienne, as well as the closing reveal with Melisandre, although the Dorne storyline was criticized for feeling too abrupt and deviating greatly from the books. In the United States, the episode premiere achieved a viewership of 7.94 million in its initial broadcast, and a same-day total including the streaming services HBO Go and HBO Now of 10.7 million viewers, a record for

6324-440: The series has now surpassed the books in terms of what's available." Actress Natalie Dormer , who plays Margaery Tyrell , later added that the show's writers "know where it's got to go and what [George Martin]'s intentions for the characters are. But they are just filling in the gaps." The season premiere starts off right where the fifth season ended. Material from an excerpt of The Winds of Winter , published online, regarding

6417-421: The series received 23 nominations, the most of any series. It won 12 awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for "Battle of the Bastards", and Miguel Sapochnik for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for "Battle of the Bastards". For the 7th Critics' Choice Television Awards , the series won for Best Drama Series. The season

6510-570: The series. Roose Bolton warns Ramsay Bolton that they could face retribution from the Lannisters for Ramsay's marriage to Sansa Stark and must therefore retrieve her to ensure the support of the North. Brienne of Tarth and Podrick Payne rescue Sansa and Theon Greyjoy from a squad of Bolton soldiers. Jaime Lannister arrives in King's Landing bearing Myrcella's body and promises Cersei that they will have revenge against all who have wronged them. Obara and Nymeria Sand infiltrate Trystane's ship and Obara kills him by stabbing him through

6603-516: The series. The sixth season saw the return of Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark , Kristian Nairn as Hodor , Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed , Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy , and Rory McCann as Sandor "The Hound" Clegane , who did not appear in the fifth season. Clive Russell , Tobias Menzies , Patrick Malahide , Richard Dormer , and Paul Kaye also returned to the show as Brynden Tully , Edmure Tully , Balon Greyjoy , Beric Dondarrion , and Thoros of Myr after not appearing since

6696-415: The series. Additionally, Rory McCann returned to the series after his character, Sandor Clegane , was presumably left for dead in the fourth season . The season also marked the final appearances of Iwan Rheon , Michael McElhatton , Kristian Nairn , Natalie Dormer , Jonathan Pryce , and Finn Jones . Critics praised its production values, writing, plot development, and cast. Game of Thrones received

6789-458: The show as Walder Frey after last appearing in the third-season finale, " Mhysa ", but he did not confirm when. After the second official trailer was released, it was confirmed that Bradley would appear in the sixth season. Danish actor Pilou Asbæk joins the show as Theon Greyjoy's uncle, pirate captain Euron Greyjoy . Ricky Champ played Gatins, an outlaw in a band using religion to extort

6882-507: The show's sixth season. The season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on November 15, 2016. The set includes extra background, behind-the-scenes material, and deleted scenes . Blu-ray exclusive : Melisandre Introduced in A Clash of Kings (1998), Melisandre has come to Westeros to propagate her faith in the Red God. She subsequently appeared in Martin's A Storm of Swords (2000) and A Dance with Dragons (2011). Melisandre

6975-422: The sixth season has an approval rating of 94% from 667 critics with an average rating of 8.25 out of 10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Bloody and captivating as always, Game of Thrones plunges back into the midst of a world touched by grief, dread, and precarious sexuality." New York Daily News wrote about the premiere episode, "It's finally back - in all its gory grandeur." New York Post praised

7068-454: The sixth season, picturing several of the main characters during the season and confirming the fates of Theon, Sansa, and Myrcella, while Jon Snow was notably absent. HBO released a teaser trailer on February 14, 2016, that shows the faces of a number of living as well as deceased characters such as Ned Stark , Robb Stark , Catelyn Stark , Joffrey Baratheon , Tywin Lannister , Stannis Baratheon , Ygritte , and, controversially, Jon Snow in

7161-427: The stake. Jon Snow exiles her from the North, threatening to have her executed if she ever returns. Melisandre protests that she is now dedicated to Jon's cause of defeating the White Walkers, but ultimately agrees to leave, and rides south. Melisandre arrives on Dragonstone, which is now occupied by Daenerys Targaryen . Melisandre claims that both she and Jon (who has been crowned King in the North since her exile) are

7254-579: The statement by HBO, filming took place in Dubrovnik, where the cast of the show were seen in costume in October 2015. Only a very small portion of the season was filmed in Canada (north of Calgary, Alberta ): the scenes featuring Jon Snow's wolf, Ghost (played by animal actor Quigly). However, some of the special effects were created at Montreal's Rodeo FX studios which has won Emmy Awards previously for its work on

7347-666: The third book, A Storm of Swords (2000), as a background character and is mostly narrated through the viewpoints of Davos Seaworth and later Jon Snow . She becomes a point-of-view character in A Dance with Dragons (2011) with a single viewpoint chapter. Author George R. R. Martin at that time confirmed that Melisandre would return as a viewpoint character in the upcoming sixth book The Winds of Winter . Melisandre converts Stannis's wife Selyse to her religion, along with several other members of Stannis' court. Stannis' maester Cressen, fearing Melisandre's power and her influence over him, tries to assassinate Melisandre with poison in

7440-518: The third season. Jonathan Pryce as the High Sparrow was added to the series main cast after appearing in a recurring role in the previous season. Across the Narrow Sea, Melanie Liburd plays a red priestess from Asshai who is in R'hllor 's service. At the Reach , House Tarly is introduced, with Freddie Stroma joining the cast as Samwell Tarly's brother Dickon, a character so far only mentioned in

7533-402: The track from the season finale "Light of the Seven" reaching No. 1 on Billboard ' s Spotify Viral 50 chart. Season 6 (2016) : Percentage of positive critics' reviews tracked by the website Rotten Tomatoes On Metacritic , the season (based on the first episode) has a score of 73 out of 100 based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes ,

7626-506: The trench. The wights ultimately make their way into the castle, and Melisandre takes refuge in the Great Hall, later joined by Arya, Sandor Clegane , and a mortally wounded Beric Dondarrion. Melisandre tells Arya that Beric was resurrected for a purpose that has now been served, and reminds her of her prophecy that Arya would "shut many eyes forever", emphasizing the blue eyes of the wights and White Walkers. Arya realizes that her third victim

7719-441: The upcoming sixth novel The Winds of Winter , which Martin outlined to showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss , was used. The series was adapted for television by Benioff and Weiss. HBO had ordered the season on April 8, 2014, together with the fifth season , which began filming in July 2015 primarily in Northern Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Iceland and Canada. The season cost over $ 100 million to produce. The season follows

7812-530: The wake of the blast, and his mother is crowned Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Ellaria Sand and Oberyn Martell's daughters kill Doran and Trystane Martell and seize control of Dorne. Arya Stark finishes her assassin training and returns to Westeros to resume her revenge list. Bran Stark becomes the Three-Eyed Raven , escapes the White Walkers, and returns to the Wall. Yara Greyjoy fails in her bid to be queen of

7905-412: The writing of the episode following its airing, and revealed how he reacted to the scene, saying "It was initially shocking. You know what I thought was my favorite bit, and I said it to David and Dan, it was at that moment when the reveal comes and you kind of go, 'Oh my God,' it puts things into context with Melisandre. It doesn't explain or blah, blah, blah. … It's confirmed like, she's a witch, but there

7998-445: Was simulcast around the world by HBO and its broadcast partners. In some countries, it aired the day after its first release. By the end of 2016, the sixth season of Game of Thrones became the most-pirated TV series of the year. In November 2015, a teaser poster displaying Jon Snow was released on the official Game of Thrones Twitter account. A 41-second teaser trailer was released in early December, featuring Jon Snow from

8091-443: Was a good return to the Seven Kingdoms (and beyond), one that was filled with tension throughout, and set about re-establishing the pieces on the board." Ellen Gray of Philadelphia Daily News noted in her review of the episode; "First episodes are always difficult. So many people to check in on. Or kill. Or swear vengeance upon. Still, things are off to several promising starts." Mark W. Pleiss of PopMatters wrote in his review of

8184-558: Was cast as the troupe's manager. Members of Icelandic indie band Of Monsters and Men appear as the musicians of the Braavos theatre group. The soundtrack for the season was digitally released in June 2016, and on CD late the following month. The album reached No. 27 on the Billboard 200 , No. 1 on Soundtrack chart and No. 79 on the Canadian Albums chart on its digital release, with

8277-410: Was described as the last consensus show on television. The figure went up by 25 percent compared to the previous year, and viewing figures of the show for this season on its on-demand services HBO Now and HBO Go went up by over 90 percent, new records for HBO. Almost 40 percent of viewers watched this season on HBO digital platforms. The show also broke records on pay television channels in 2016 in

8370-472: Was directed by Jeremy Podeswa . Podeswa previously directed the fifth season episodes " Kill the Boy " and " Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken ", the latter of which received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series . The budget for the sixth season increased compared to the previous seasons as each episode had an average cost of over $ 10 million, totaling approximately $ 100 million for

8463-476: Was noticeably older from his last appearance in season four . In January 2016, three teaser trailers were released, with each teaser depicting the banners of the houses Targaryen , Lannister , and Stark and which included voice-overs by Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Bolton, Jonathan Pryce as The High Sparrow , and an unknown character speaking in Dothraki . The following month, HBO released 28 exclusive photos from

8556-501: Was released almost a month later, focusing on the creative process of prosthetics, specifically the White Walkers . The video also contained new footage of White Walkers from the sixth season. On March 24, Entertainment Weekly revealed a series of new issues titled "Dame of Thrones", featuring six of the female lead characters from the series and a focus on the sixth season. Shortly afterward, HBO released new photos from season six and

8649-413: Was such a touch of humanity. When she went to the bed and got into the bed and covered herself up… it was like a really striking moment in this weird madness of humanity." John Bradley , who portrays Samwell Tarly , also spoke about the scene, saying "And what I like about that, and seeing her like that is you know then that her sexuality over the course of the last few seasons, we've seen her use as such

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