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Melisandre

Melisandre, also known as Melisandre of Asshai or , is a fictional character in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels. She is a red priestess devoted to R'hllor, , hailing from the enigmatic eastern city of Asshai in Essos, and is depicted as a tall, strikingly beautiful with and eyes, clad in flowing red robes—though this youthful appearance is maintained through magic via a ruby choker at her throat—who wields apparent supernatural powers tied to fire magic and . Introduced in the second novel, A Clash of Kings (1998), Melisandre arrives at the island fortress of Dragonstone as a mysterious advisor to the claimant to the Iron Throne, Stannis Baratheon, whom she believes to be the prophesied messianic figure Azor Ahai reborn, destined to combat the existential threat of the Others. She influences Stannis and his wife, Queen Selyse Florent, to convert from the Faith of the Seven to the worship of R'hllor, overseeing rituals such as the burning of religious idols to symbolize this shift, while demonstrating her abilities by surviving a poisoning attempt through the protective enchantment of a large ruby choker at her throat. Throughout the series, Melisandre's role expands as a shadowbinder and advisor, employing her gifts to scry visions in flames—foreseeing events like battles and betrayals—and to birth shadowy assassins that serve R'hllor's will, such as the creature that kills to clear Stannis's path to power. Her fanaticism and manipulative counsel often create tension with Stannis's retainers, including the smuggler-turned-knight , who views her as a dangerous sorceress. In later installments like (2011), she relocates to the Night's Watch at , where she aids against northern threats and continues her flame-gazing rituals, revealing glimpses of broader cosmic struggles between light and darkness. In the television adaptation (2011–2019), based on Martin's novels, Melisandre is portrayed by Dutch actress , who imbues the character with a mix of seductive charisma and zealous intensity, expanding on her book counterpart through additional scenes involving resurrections and final confrontations with the .

Character overview

Origins and background

Melisandre hails from the shadowed city of Asshai-by-the-Shadow in the far east of Essos, where she was sold into as a young girl under the name Melony and designated "Lot Seven" at auction. She recalls a harsh childhood marked by cold, hunger, and chains, before being purchased by the red temple dedicated to R'hllor, the , which freed her from bondage but bound her to a life of service. Within the temple's enigmatic halls, Melisandre underwent intensive training as a red priestess and shadowbinder, apprenticed under masters who taught her to read visions in the flames, perform blood magic rituals, and wield glamours drawn from ancient Asshai'i arts. These disciplines shaped her into a formidable sorceress, emphasizing the dual paths of fiery devotion and shadowy illusion, with daily observances involving fire sacrifices and meditative trances to commune with her god. Though she appears youthful and vital, Melisandre is implied to be far older than she looks, her extended lifespan attributed to R'hllor's blessings and the magical properties of the fire she reveres. Central to her power is the enchanted choker at her throat, which maintains her vitality and apparent beauty. Guided by early visions in the temple flames, Melisandre first interpreted the ancient prophecies of Azor Ahai reborn—the warrior who would wield against the Great Other—as a divine mandate to seek out the promised in the wider world.

Appearance, abilities, and beliefs

Melisandre is a tall woman regarded for her striking beauty, with very long hair the color of deep burnished copper that flows down to her waist and eyes of a lighter hue, almost matching the flames she reveres. Her skin is pale, and she dresses in flowing robes with plunging necklines that reveal her throat and the upper swells of her breasts, accented by jewelry including a tight of gold set with a large at her throat. She relies on shadowbinding magic to maintain her youthful allure. As a shadowbinder trained in the shadowed city of Asshai, Melisandre possesses potent magical abilities rooted in darkness and illusion, including the creation of glamours to alter appearances and the binding of into tangible forms for assassination. She wields fire magic to divine visions in flames, glimpsing future events, threats, or truths that guide her actions, often interpreting these sights as divine messages from R'hllor. Additionally, she practices , employing rituals such as infusing leeches with the blood of kings to curse enemies and invoke destructive forces. Melisandre's unwavering beliefs center on R'hllor, the Lord of Light, whom she views as the one true god embodying fire, heat, and life in an eternal struggle against the Great Other, the god of ice, darkness, and death. She preaches that the world is locked in this cosmic war, with R'hllor's followers destined to triumph through faith and sacrifice, dismissing other deities as demons or falsehoods. Central to her ideology is the ancient prophecy of Azor Ahai, the promised prince reborn amidst smoke and salt to wield against the darkness, a savior she interprets through her visions to identify and support in the battle against encroaching night. Her powers, while formidable, have notable limitations; they appear amplified by proximity to king's blood, which she deems essential for rituals of great potency, such as awakening stone dragons or cursing pretenders to the . Without her enchanted ruby necklace, which serves as a for her magic and , Melisandre becomes physically vulnerable and her spells weaken dramatically.

Role in A Song of Ice and Fire

Melisandre arrives at Dragonstone prior to the outbreak of the War of the Five Kings, where she quickly establishes herself as a influential advisor to by promoting the worship of R'hllor, . She converts Queen Selyse Florent and a substantial number of Stannis's supporters, known as the queen's men, to her faith, leading to the destruction of the sept at Dragonstone and the public burning of its statues of before the castle gates. Salladhor Saan, the Lysene pirate captain whose fleet bolsters Stannis's naval forces, witnesses these rituals upon his arrival at the island but remains skeptical of Melisandre's claims, particularly regarding the flaming sword she presents as . Her conversion efforts intensify tensions within Stannis's camp, dividing followers between traditionalists like Maester Cressen and the growing faction of R'hllor devotees. Convinced through her fire visions that Stannis is the prophesied hero Azor Ahai reborn, Melisandre employs her shadowbinding magic to assassinate Stannis's rival, Renly Baratheon. During a parley outside Storm's End, she births a living shadow in Stannis's tent that slips unseen into Renly's pavilion and slits his throat, an act that shocks witnesses like Catelyn Stark and allows Stannis to absorb much of Renly's army. To consolidate control over Storm's End, Melisandre later persuades Stannis to send Davos Seaworth to smuggle her beneath the castle walls in a secret cove, where she births a second shadow assassin to kill the holdfast's castellan, Ser Cortnay Penrose, who refuses to yield the castle without Princess Shireen. These acts demonstrate her pivotal role in eliminating obstacles to Stannis's claim, though they fuel Davos's growing distrust of her sorcery. As Stannis launches his assault on King's Landing, known as the Battle of the Blackwater, Melisandre remains at Dragonstone at the king's insistence, lest the commons attribute any victory to her witchcraft rather than his command. From afar, she prays fervently to R'hllor for Stannis's triumph, but the attack fails disastrously due to Tyrion Lannister's use of to incinerate much of the fleet and the timely intervention of Tywin Lannister's forces allied with the Tyrells. The defeat devastates Stannis's cause, with heavy losses including four of 's sons, prompting —now elevated to Hand of the King—to blame Melisandre for misleading Stannis with false prophecies and to plot her arrest and execution upon the fleet's return to Dragonstone. Though 's efforts to imprison her are thwarted by her supporters, the episode underscores the deepening rift between the pragmatic smuggler-turned-knight and the enigmatic priestess.

A Storm of Swords

In , after receiving a plea for aid from the Night's Watch against Mance Rayder's wildling host, Melisandre travels north with Stannis Baratheon's forces to . Her presence bolsters Stannis's claim to divine right, as she continues to proclaim him Azor Ahai reborn amid the hardships of the march through the storm-lashed lands. Upon arrival, Stannis's host decisively defeats the wildlings in the Battle of the Wall, capturing Mance Rayder and scattering his army. Melisandre participates in the judgment of the defeated wildlings, addressing them in the shadow of and invoking R'hllor's fire to compel their submission to Stannis as the true king destined to unite all against the darkness. Prior to the journey north, at Dragonstone, Melisandre conducts a blood magic ritual using three leeches engorged with the blood of Edric Storm, Stannis's royal nephew, to curse the usurpers challenging his throne: , Balon Greyjoy, and . Stannis, guided by Melisandre, names each foe while casting the leeches into a fire, with the priestess claiming the act binds their doom through R'hllor's power. The subsequent deaths of all three—Joffrey by poison, Balon by apparent accident, and Robb in —are hailed by Melisandre as proof of the spell's efficacy, strengthening Stannis's faith in her magic despite skepticism from advisors like . At the Wall, Melisandre seeks to harness similar by demanding the sacrifice of Mance Rayder's newborn son, whose king's blood she believes essential for awakening stone dragons from the heart of the world. Unbeknownst to her, has swapped the wildling prince with Gilly's son to protect the innocent child, allowing Gilly to flee south with the true heir while leaving the craster's boy—deemed less potent for the ritual—in harm's way, though the sacrifice ultimately does not occur. Melisandre's interactions with Jon Snow begin with their meeting at the Wall, where she escorts him to Stannis and, despite sensing no king's blood in him, supports the king's offer to legitimize Jon as Jon Stark, Lord of Winterfell, in exchange for his aid in rallying the northern clans against the Boltons, viewing him as a potential instrument of R'hllor's will due to his Stark blood and position within the Night's Watch. Jon's refusal underscores the growing rift, yet Melisandre's influence facilitates a brief alliance between Stannis's forces and the Night's Watch, redirecting Stannis's campaign from southern conquests to defending the realm against the wildlings and, ultimately, the Others. Throughout her time at the Wall, Melisandre issues dire warnings drawn from her visions in the sacred flames, foreseeing a cold and endless night and an encroaching darkness that threatens all life. She emphasizes the growing peril of the Others as the true enemy, urging Stannis to prioritize this existential threat over earthly thrones, a prophecy that aligns with the Night's Watch's desperate reports of unnatural horrors stirring in the Haunted Forest. These revelations, combined with echoes of her earlier shadowbinding prowess against Renly Baratheon, affirm her role as both advisor and mystical harbinger in Stannis's northern endeavors.

A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons

In and , Melisandre resides at alongside Stannis Baratheon's host after his defeat of Mance Rayder's wildling army beyond it. She employs her shadowbinding magic to disguise the captured wildling leader Mance Rayder as the Thenn Rattleshirt, while glamouring Rattleshirt to appear as Mance, thereby deceiving Stannis and the Night's Watch. This ruse allows her to send the real Mance, accompanied by six spearwives disguised as the maidens of his "queen," on a covert mission to Winterfell to abduct and protect the girl wed to , whom the North believes to be . Melisandre oversees of the glamoured Rattleshirt, presented as Mance Rayder, as a sacrificial offering to R'hllor to ensure victory for Stannis's campaign. Her proselytizing efforts among the Night's Watch, including appeals to Lord Commander to embrace over the old gods, meet with resistance and failure, as the black brothers view her rituals with suspicion and maintain their ancestral faiths. Through her pyromantic visions in the flames, Melisandre seeks glimpses of Stannis's march but instead foresees his army imperiled by endless snow and darkness, alongside colder omens of the Others stirring in the far North. When seeking Azor Ahai in the flames, she perceives only shadows and ice around Jon Snow, fueling her wariness of him. She interprets portents of betrayal and death encircling Jon Snow, including a vision of a knife in the dark threatening him, though she attributes it erroneously to wildling treachery rather than internal mutiny. Overwhelmed by a prophecy of the Wall's collapse—ice cracking like thunder, dead hands clawing through—she privately dreads its fall as the gateway for ancient evils, all while reaffirming her unyielding faith in R'hllor and the rebirth of Azor Ahai. As Jon Snow negotiates the passage of surviving wildlings south of the Wall to bolster defenses against the Others, Melisandre encounters Tormund Giantsbane amid the evacuations, greeting him with a touch to his face and an invitation to the light of R'hllor. Tormund recoils from her advances, deriding her as the "red witch" and rejecting her overtures, underscoring the wildlings' deep-seated mistrust of her sorcery during the tense relocation.

Adaptation in Game of Thrones

Casting and portrayal

, a actress known for roles in films like and , was cast as Melisandre in July 2011 for the second season of HBO's . She had initially been approached to audition for the role of during the first season's casting but was unable to due to scheduling conflicts with the BBC miniseries Intruders. Van Houten's selection for Melisandre was announced by , highlighting her as a fitting choice for the enigmatic red priestess from Asshai. Her Dutch heritage influenced the portrayal, as producers opted to retain her natural accent to convey an exotic, otherworldly quality befitting Melisandre's far-eastern origins, rather than imposing a standard British dialect common in Westeros characters. The physical design of Melisandre drew inspiration from George R. R. Martin's book descriptions of a tall, voluptuous woman with striking and flowing crimson robes, which van Houten embodied through custom red wigs and elaborate layered dresses in fiery hues. These elements emphasized the character's seductive and ritualistic presence, with the wardrobe crafted by costume designer to symbolize her devotion to the . In later seasons, particularly season 6, van Houten underwent extensive aging makeup transformations to reveal Melisandre's true elderly form beneath her glamour; this process took approximately six hours per session, involving prosthetics, wrinkles, and a hunched posture, complemented by an 80-year-old for wider shots. In interviews, van Houten described her approach to Melisandre as balancing the character's intense with underlying sensuality and vulnerability. She portrayed the priestess's zeal through physicality, noting that embodying Melisandre made her "back straighten" to project unyielding conviction in her prophecies and rituals. The sensuality was depicted as a calculated tool for , such as in seductive encounters to extract "king's " for , while later seasons allowed exploration of doubt and frailty, inspired by van Houten's recent motherhood, which informed scenes of emotional transparency and fear of failure following Stannis Baratheon's downfall.

Key differences from the books

In the television adaptation of Game of Thrones, Melisandre's portrayal emphasizes her sensuality far more than in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels, introducing romantic and sexual tension with characters such as Davos Seaworth and Jon Snow that is largely absent from the books. For instance, she attempts to seduce Jon Snow in a bid to sway him to her cause, a scene that heightens her manipulative allure but has no direct parallel in the source material, where her interactions with Jon are more focused on prophecy and subtle influence through his direwolf, Ghost. The show omits several intricate elements of Melisandre's magic and backstory present in the novels, such as her use of to disguise Mance Rayder as the Lord of Bones (Rattleshirt) to save him from execution, allowing him to survive in secret for later missions at Snow's request. Additionally, her detailed training as a shadowbinder in the shadowed city of Asshai—where she learned arts like conjuring shadow assassins through intimate rituals—is simplified in the adaptation, with her powers primarily depicted through fire visions and less emphasis on her eastern origins and potion-dependent maintenance of her youthful . Adaptation changes also alter her alliances and narrative role; the conversion of Stannis Baratheon's court to the faith of R'hllor occurs more rapidly and dramatically on screen, with Melisandre wielding overt influence from her arrival, whereas portray a more gradual infiltration influenced by Stannis's wife, Selyse, who arrives already devoted. Her involvement in Arya's storyline is expanded in the show through a direct encounter where she prophesies their future meeting and exchanges eyes for sight, tying into Men's training; in contrast, the novels feature no personal interaction, only a distant vision in the flames prompting Melisandre to advise Stannis against pursuing the fleeing Arya. Melisandre's arc in later seasons extends beyond the published novels, culminating in her explicit use of resurrection magic to revive after his stabbing, a pivotal act that confirms her powers but diverges from the books' ambiguity at the end of , where Jon's fate remains unresolved and her potential role in any revival is only theorized.

Seasons 2–5

In season 2, Melisandre establishes a close alliance with Stannis Baratheon at Dragonstone, advising him on his claim to the Iron Throne and converting many of his followers to the worship of the Lord of Light through public rituals, including the burning of the Seven's statues. She demonstrates her magical abilities by seducing Stannis and giving birth to a shadow creature in a hidden cave, which then assassinates his rival brother Renly Baratheon during a parley, allowing Stannis to absorb much of Renly's army. As Stannis's fleet approaches King's Landing for the Battle of Blackwater Bay, Melisandre remains behind at Dragonstone, leading fervent prayers and chants to invoke the Lord of Light's favor for victory, though the battle ultimately ends in defeat due to Tyrion Lannister's wildfire trap. Following the loss at Blackwater, Melisandre's influence over Stannis intensifies in season 3, where she orchestrates a blood magic ritual using leeches filled with the blood of Robert Baratheon's bastard Gendry, whom she identifies as having king's blood; she throws the leeches into a fire while naming the usurpers Joffrey Baratheon, Robb Stark, and Balon Greyjoy, cursing their deaths to prove Stannis's destiny. Convinced by her visions that greater threats lie beyond the Wall, Melisandre departs Dragonstone with Gendry, intending to sacrifice him in a ritual to summon power, but Davos Seaworth intervenes by smuggling Gendry to safety via a boat, leaving Melisandre to continue northward alone toward the Wall without completing the sacrifice. In season 4, Melisandre's role shifts toward supporting Stannis's northern ambitions. She participates in ongoing sacrifices at Dragonstone, such as the burning of Selyse's brothers and captured Northern lords who refuse to convert, to bolster Stannis's forces and appease the . Accompanying Stannis's army, Melisandre arrives at Castle Black shortly after the wildling attack on the , where she observes the devastation and begins counseling on the true enemy in the North. During season 5, Melisandre remains at Castle Black, urging Stannis to prioritize the fight against the White Walkers over reclaiming the North from the Boltons, emphasizing the existential threat of the Long Night through her prophetic interpretations of flames. As Jon Snow leads a ranging party to Hardhome to negotiate with the wildlings, Melisandre stays behind but her warnings about the undead army underscore the mission's urgency; following the massacre at Hardhome, where Jon barely escapes with survivors, she confronts the growing despair at the Wall, attempting to rally support for Stannis's campaign with displays of fire magic to inspire the beleaguered defenders.

Seasons 6–8

In season 6, Melisandre's confidence waned as her visions proved unreliable, culminating in the tragic sacrifice of Shireen Baratheon to appease the and aid Stannis Baratheon's faltering campaign against . Despite the ritual, Stannis's forces were defeated at the , leading to his death and exposing the failure of her counsel. Confronted by , who had discovered evidence of Shireen's burning through a letter from Selyse Baratheon, Melisandre admitted her role in the act but offered no defense, prompting to exile her from the North as punishment. Earlier in the season, however, she had successfully resurrected using her red priestess magic after his murder by the Night's Watch, an act that restored her faith in her abilities and shifted her allegiance toward him as the potential Prince That Was Promised. By season 7, Melisandre reemerged at Dragonstone, seeking an audience with Daenerys Targaryen to forge alliances against common threats. She advised Daenerys to summon Jon Snow north, emphasizing his importance in the fight against the White Walkers and interpreting her visions to suggest he embodied the prophecy of the Prince or Princess That Was Promised, correcting her earlier belief in Stannis. This counsel indirectly facilitated Jon's journey south and the eventual revelation of his true parentage as Aegon Targaryen, the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, through Bran Stark's visions and historical records, aligning with Melisandre's prophetic guidance. Her intervention helped unite Jon and Daenerys, enabling their combined forces to confront the Lannisters at the Battle of the Goldroad, though she did not participate directly in the combat. In season 8, Melisandre returned to Winterfell amid preparations for the Battle of Winterfell against the , offering her assistance despite her prior exile. She employed her fire magic to ignite the arakhs of the Dothraki horde, transforming their curved swords into flaming weapons to bolster the initial assault beyond the castle walls. As the undead overran the defenses, she ignited the defensive trench with her powers at Arya Stark's urging, creating a fiery barrier that temporarily halted the wights' advance and allowed the living to regroup inside Winterfell. During a private moment with , she confessed her advanced age by removing her enchanted ruby necklace, revealing her withered, elderly form—a secret she had hidden since her youth through glamours—and acknowledged fulfilling her purpose. After Arya slew the , ending the Long Night, Melisandre walked into the snowy dawn, removed her necklace once more to revert fully to her true appearance, and collapsed dead, as she had foreseen.

Reception and legacy

Critical analysis

Melisandre serves as a potent symbol of religious zealotry in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and its television adaptation , illustrating the perils of prophecy-driven actions that fuel and conflict. Critics argue that her devotion to R'hllor, the Lord of Light, compels her to interpret visions in ways that justify extreme measures, such as , thereby critiquing how religious conviction can distort reality and incite violence in a polytheistic world. This portrayal underscores the series' broader exploration of faith as a double-edged , where Melisandre's unyielding belief in the battle against darkness mirrors historical and contemporary instances of ideological . Scholarly discussions on gender dynamics highlight Melisandre's strategic use of sexuality as a source of power, allowing her to navigate and influence a male-dominated political landscape. By leveraging her allure to seduce figures like Stannis Baratheon, she subverts passive female stereotypes, positioning herself as an active agent whose mystical authority amplifies her agency. Comparisons to historical figures like Joan of Arc emphasize this dynamic, portraying Melisandre as a visionary prophetess whose religious ecstasy grants her command over men and events, though it often reduces her to an object of fear or desire in patriarchal narratives. Debates over Melisandre's moral ambiguity center on whether she functions as a villainous manipulator or a necessary savior against the Others, with her actions revealing the blurred lines between piety and cruelty. While some interpretations condemn her as a charlatan whose deceptions lead to tragic outcomes, others defend her as sincerely motivated by apocalyptic prophecy, making her indispensable to the narrative's survival theme. Her complexity suggests interpretations that consider her genuine intent to combat existential threats. For instance, the burning of Shireen Baratheon exemplifies this tension, as an act of desperate faith with devastating consequences. Post-finale reflections contrast the television series' closure of Melisandre's arc—culminating in her sacrificial death during the Battle of Winterfell, which offers partial redemption—with the books' unresolved trajectory, where her visions and alliances remain poised for evolution in . As of November 2025, has not been released, leaving fan and critical discussions of her book role speculative based on Martin's occasional teases in interviews, such as those emphasizing her ongoing prophetic importance. Critics contend that the show's resolution streamlines her ambiguity into heroic finality, potentially diminishing the source material's emphasis on ongoing doubt and fanaticism's unresolved costs. This divergence has sparked discussions on adaptation's impact, with the TV version providing cathartic closure absent in Martin's open-ended mythology.

Awards and recognition

Carice van Houten received a for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Series in 2019 for her portrayal of Melisandre in the eighth season of , marking her first Emmy recognition for the role after self-submitting her performance due to HBO's initial oversight. In fan polls and rankings following the series finale, Melisandre frequently appeared among the most memorable characters; for instance, she garnered 4.6% of votes in Entertainment Weekly's 2019 ultimate character poll, reflecting her enduring appeal as a complex antagonist-turned-ally. Melisandre's enigmatic presence has permeated pop culture through widespread memes, particularly those satirizing her age-revealing scene in season six, which sparked humorous discussions about and . Cosplay of the character remains highly popular at conventions and marketplaces, with intricate red gowns and ruby necklaces commonly replicated for Halloween and fan events. Merchandise featuring Melisandre, including trading cards from the 2021 Rittenhouse Iron Anniversary series and replica chokers, continues to sell steadily, underscoring her iconic status. The character's depiction as a seductive yet fanatical priestess has influenced modern fantasy tropes, subverting traditional portrayals of mystical women by blending religious zealotry with shadow magic and moral ambiguity, as seen in analyses of her role in challenging archetypes. Post-finale retrospectives have highlighted Melisandre's sacrificial death in the "Long Night" episode as a poignant closure. Van Houten's sensual yet vulnerable portrayal contributed to this acclaim, emphasizing the character's humanity beneath her otherworldly facade.

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