BWW Recap: GAME OF THRONES Has Us Asking, 'Who Is The Red Woman?'

One of the biggest shows in the world is back on television after a season full of shocks, surprises, and a lot of criticism. The premiere episode entitled 'The Red Woman' picked up right where we left off, answered a few questions, but mostly succeeded in creating many more. All that being said, it flew by and certainly didn't feel like an hour of television!

We open up on Castle Black to Jon's dead body lying in the snow. One might ask the question, why has no one done anything with his body? Had no one heard the treasonous murder happening right in their walls? Overlapping the camera zooming in on his corpse we hear the heartbreakin g howls of Jon's direwolf, Ghost, who seemed to be mysteriously absent from last season's finale. Apparently he was locked up somewhere, but we didn't learn about it until now. You might be asking, howling? In the books Ghost is said to never make a sound, unlike the other direwolves, hence his name. Well, maybe the death of Jon forced him to find his howl? Or maybe Jon just called him that because he has white fur.

First to find his corpse, however, is Davos. After the punch in the chest he just endured from learning about Stannis and Shireen's death, he must have thought he would have some relaxing time to revel in his thoughts and emotions while at Castle Black. Unfortunately, his time his cut short as he discovers the 998th Lord Commander of the Nights Watch stabbed to death in front of a hand painted sign that reads 'traitor'. Poor Davos must be having the worst week.

Davos and the few good men left in the Nights Watch (including everyone's favorite Dolorous Edd!) work together to defend Jon's body and make a plan, some of which includes finding out what allies they have within these walls. Who can be trusted? Wildlings, Ghost, and Melisandre. What a dream team!

The Red Priestess comes in, shocked and confused. "I saw him in the flames fighting at Winterfell," she utters. The episode, titled "The Red Woman," begins to explore Melisandre's doubt within her faith. Also, if the prevailing fan theory and BELIEF is correct, as much of our evidence seems to p oint towards, could that truly be some heavy handed "foreshadowing" for the future? While many fans were upset that Melisandre didn't revive Jon this episode, hoping that the title gave hint at the answer to everyone's most asked question, perhaps it confirmed it in other ways. For, judging by the end of the episode and Davos' faith in Melisandre's powers, we know she misinterprets, but she is never completely wrong.

Alliser Throne somehow empowers the rest of the Nights Watch to be on his side after a miraculous speech attempting to defend his ultimate treason (killing his Lord Commander). Without a real catalyst, their acceptance of traitorous actions seems quite out of place. While the anger and frustration at Jon's empathy for the Wildlings was at an all time high, they also just had a massive horde of men witness what horrors truly await them at Hardhome. Without a certain letter that arrives in the book, without Jon making a decision that ultimately would be breaking his vow and furthering the theme of his struggle to abandon his identity as a Stark, all of this seems rather unmotivated.

We then turn to Ramsay Bolton, whom we see "mourning" over his miraculously intact plaything Miranda. He seems to be summoning up some sort of feeling of remorse out of no where, but then turns to his guard, replying that instead of burning the body, it should be fed to the hounds, for it is "good meat". What just felt like a bit of personality whiplash there, is probably meant to be the moral ambiguity that Thrones seems to love.

Just outside of Winterfell, we join Sansa and Theon running from the Bolton hunting party, with the barks of the hounds heard just off screen. There once again seems to be an astounding lack of agency here for Sansa. She needs encouraging every step of the way from Theon, who gives her an empathetic hug to comfort her. Theon, in an attempt at pushing a redemption arch for his character, tries to sacrifice himself to save her, but the plan falls through. The Boltons catch them. However, in a predictable turn of coincidence that is BECOMING more and more common in this show's method of storytelling, Brienne of Tarth somehow knew Sansa escaped Winterfell and jumps in to save her.

In a moment many fans were waiting for, Brienne pledges her sword to Sansa. In a very strange development, however, Sansa cannot seem to remember all of the words that are said to induct a knight into your service. Podrick Payne is there to catch her slip. This seems very odd and hints at a scattered characterization of Sansa that could be in store for us once more. While yes, she is in a terrible situation, escaping near death, she seemed to remember her "courtesies" as a lady last season while in that room with Ramsay enduring true horrors. That is part of Sansa's strength and character. She survives Kings Landing because of her ability to play the perfect lady that she grew up learning and hoping to be. Her courtesies are her strength. That seems to have escaped the minds of the writers when it comes from a place of empowerment and not a place of necessity. Remember the Sansa who calmed a room of panicking ladies at the Battle of the Blackwater? The Sansa who survives the snake pit that is Kings Landing alive? She's "A pretty little talking bird, repeating all the pretty little words they taught [her] to recite," and that is her power. As her Septa taught her, "Courtesy is a lady's armor."

All the way south, in Kings Landing, we are greeted with an overjoyed Cersei, excited at the thought of seeing Myrcella again. Suddenly, her "joy turns to ash" as she is greeted with a solemn Jaime and the corpse of her daughter. You have to feel quite bad, for if there's one thing the show conveys about Cersei, it's her apparent love for her children.

In a moment of grief, Jaime and Cersei bond. Jaime comforts Cersei, assuaging her fears about the prophesy she heard when she was just a little girl. "f prophesy. f fate. f everyone who isn't us. We're the only ones who matter, the only ones in this world. And everything they've taken from us we're going to take back and more," Jaime promises her. With that, Jaime's redemption arch seems to have been thrown out the window, as is his journey of ridding himself of their toxic relationship. Their relationship seems to be the most intact one we've seen on the show and considering it's identity as incest between brother and sister, and the past scenario of rape in season 4, it just seems to be a very peculiar and unchallenging direction to take it.

Poor Margaery Tyrell is still in a cell, dirty and asking after the wellbeing of her brother who, by the sound of it, is not doing to well. Her husband Tommen seems to be just as concerned about her, however, for it appeals to the High Sparrow's heart, and he wishes her to confess to purge herself of her sins. Margaery doesn't relent, and so the High Sparrow leaves, telling her she still has "miles and miles to go."

We are surprisingly brought back to Dorne, the unanimously panned storyline from last season. Here's where the plotline unsurprisingly goes south. They just can't seem to get Dorne right. Gout ridden and wheel chair bound Prince Doran, always played wonderfully by the incomparable Alexander Siddig, is miraculously walking with the aid of Ellaria Sand. After reading a letter about Myrcella's death, it all kicks off and Sand Snake Tyene (of the infamous "bad puss y" line last season) stabs legendary badass Areo Hotah, Ellaria stabs Prince Doran (leading ruler of Dorne), and Tyene then also kills the Maester who delivered the message. Doran, killed for his, inactiveness apparently? It's a shame to see an incredible actor wasted like this, but this craziness doesn't stop there. Nymeria Sand and Obara Sand are aboard the ship Trystane is on, which magically is leagues behind Myrcella's ship, and Obara shoves a spear right through him. It looks like the writers way of fixing their Dornish mess from last season was to pretend they never adapted it at all and just kill everyone off. Problem solved.

No need to worry that all of the remaining claimants of the Dornish throne have just been killed or the massive amount of kinslaying and kingslaying that just went on! One must wonder where this storyline will go and if a dead prince's bastard-born paramour and bastard children could possibly have a claim for the Martell throne.

Tyrion and Varys walk around Meereen, unprotected in the streets that the murderous Sons of the Harpy roam, but they're fine for some reason. All of Meereen's ships have been set on fire, so they appear to be literally stuck in the Meereenese knot. There's also some R'hollor, the Lord of Light, faith based information being worked in here. Perhaps pointing towards the possibility that Dany is the prophesied Azor Ahai?

The dynamic duo Daario Naharis and Jorah Mormont are on their trip, talking about their love for their Queen, when Jorah inconspicuously checks his greyscale, which is progressing at a rather fast rate. He stops, however, when they get to a circle ridden into the dirt by the Khalasar that took Dany. Rather than explaining away the happenstance of the impossible bread trail Dany left behind with her ring by finding it in the center of the circle, Jorah finds the tiny ring in a random patch of field. Clearly he wa s meant to be a detective, not a knight.

Speaking of our Targaryen queen, Daenerys is captive of a Dothraki Khalasar. She is being whipped, berated and threatened with assault. When brought in front of the Khal, she is also threatened with the prospect of rape. The Dothraki this season oddly enough don't seem very Dothraki. They just feel like actors playing Dothraki, not a race and culture of people. It is not until she tells them that she is the widow of Khal Drogo do they relent on the crudeness. Then she is told she must be taken where all widows of Khals go, to Vaes Dothrak to join the Dosh Khaleen. Seeing as she was a Khaleesi herself, embracive of the Dothraki way of life, you would think she would know about this by now. You would also think she might have mentioned that she was a Khaleesi in order to avoid all the whipping.

Last but not least, the scene that will have everyone talking. We are shown Melisandre, looking worse for wear and very conflicted while staring at herself in the mirror. She disrobes and then proceeds to remove her necklace, and confirming the theories that she is far older than she appears, we see Melisandre as an elderly woman. Melisandre's crisis of faith seems to be a major story point to explore this season and I do think her small time onscreen this episode, despite it being titled "The Red Woman", was the most effective and compelling part of the plot. There is a small continuity error with this reveal, for in past seasons, we've seen her without her necklace and she appears to look like Carice Van Houten, but perhaps it was just a production inconstancy. Melisandre has always been a fascinating character but delving into her background that has been hinted at in the books but is still shrouded in mystery is incredibly intriguing, and Carice Van Houten gave a stand out and deeply layered performance. We can only hope to explore more of this in the future, for much of Melisandre comes from her surety within her faith so to see that start to be questioned, to see her start to break down a little, would be riveting. Not to mention if fan theories are true and she is the one to revive Jon, having people call on her to use these powers she is beginning to doubt would be an interesting complexity.

Hopefully next week will be a little less jumbled, a little less nonsensical and a little more compelling as we get our first look at Bran in quite a while! Check out the preview of next week's episode below and be sure to share your thoughts and reactions to this weeks episode in the comments!

Photo Credit: HBO

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