Game Of Thrones Season 6: 10 Big Questions We're Asking After 'The Red Woman'

2. How Old Is Melisandre?

Game of Thrones Melisandre
HBO

The episode's titled The Red Woman, and the Big Moment came at the end, when Melisandre took off her necklace and, in a move that felt like it was taken straight from a Brothers Grimm fairytale, revealed her true self: not a beautiful woman, but a withered crone,

This prompts the obvious question, then, of how old Melisandre is?

Her age being greater than her looks suggest is something that has been alluded to before, especially in the books, and even members of the cast (including Carice van Houten herself) have said in the past that she is over 100 - perhaps even 400 - years old. Nevertheless, seeing it play out on the show in such a visual fashion makes for a shocking reveal.

If she is centuries old, then what else has she done in her time, what else has she seen, what else does she know? It makes her presence feel all the more pertinent, and right now it's more pertinent than ever.

Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.