Game Of Thrones Season 6: 7 Things You Might've Missed In 'The Red Woman'

Wait, Melisandre looks like that? And she's how old? WOAH!

That was the general reaction to the big twist of this episode, and it's an understandable one. Now that the shock has died down, talk can turn to just how she's able to manage it. The obvious answer is the ruby necklace she's always wearing, as when she takes it off that's when the transformation begins.

That's very likely, because of what we see and also as, in the books anyway, rubies are used for glamour magic, such as with Mance Rayder and Rattleshirt. However, as has been pointed out since, there was a scene in Season 4 where she was in the bathtub without the necklace, but didn't appear any older. How?

There's the idea that we're seeing that scene throughout someone else's eyes, rather than Melisandre's, but it still doesn't explain how the glamour remains in place. In that scene she's pouring some sort of liquid or potion over herself. In this episode, we see what appears to be the same potion, but she leaves it untouched, allowing the transformation to take place.

It's still not fully clear what it is, but it seems Mel's glamour comes from a combination of the necklace and the elixir.