WILL MELISANDRE SACRIFICE HERSELF? AND 9 MORE GAME OF THRONES SEASON 6 QUESTIONS 

We take a look into the flames and review the biggest questions from the Season 6 premiere, \'The Red Woman\'

ended with a surprising reveal — to book readers and TV viewers alike — that confirmed that Melisandre wasn’t who she appeared to be. In fact, the Red Priestess is much, much older. That may have been the biggest shock of the episode, but it was hardly the only one. As

nears its end (don’t worry, there’s still more than 20 episodes left), characters are starting to make their moves — and “The Red Woman” set the pieces into place perfectly.

While it cleared up a lot of the questions left after the Season 5 finale, it also left us with a lot of new ones to ask going forward. How long will Jon Snow remain dead? Will Melisandre resurrect him? How long must Daenerys suffer through this patriarchal bullshit? Here are the biggest questions that left us spinning from the Season 6 premiere.

MELISANDRE HAS BEEN HINTING AT HER REAL AGE ON GAME OF THRONES ALL ALONG

The question of Jon Snow’s fate permeated the pop culture zeitgeist for nearly an entire year, and after the Season 6 premiere, I’m convinced that it’s no longer a question of “if” but rather “when.” He’s dead. It is know. But for how long? That’s the question currently looming over Season 6. Everything at Castle Black is escalating quickly; Allister has given Ser Davos until nightfall to surrender Jon Snow’s dead body, which doesn’t give the show a lot of time to resolve the current stand-still at Castle Black. It’s no coincidence that Melisandre returned to Castle Black the same day that Jon Snow was killed. As a Red Priestess, she has the power to resurrect someone from the dead — we saw Thoros of Myr bring Beric back to life in Season 3 — but given her current state, I’m not entirely convinced she can do it. Of course, this leads me to my next question…

Will Melisandre sacrifice herself to bring Jon Snow back?

Melisandre will most certainly play a significant part in Jon Snow’s resurrection. The only other prominent theory out there is that he’ll Warg into Ghost, which is a plausible theory in George R.R. Martin’s

series. But the HBO drama has yet to lay the groundwork for Jon Snow’s Warging abilities, and it feels like something that decidedly Bran’s thing in the show. (Although, given the fact that Ghost had never made a single noise until Jon Snow’s death, I won’t rule out that theory completely.) The only theory? The Night’s Watch tries to burn Jon’s body in a pyre and he’s resurrected in the flames because of his parentage. (You can read about that here.) As cool as this would be, it just doesn’t seem like that’s where the show is headed.

The premiere episode of Season 6 was titled “The Red Woman,” which means the show is setting up Melisandre as a major player in the events of the season. In that final scene of the premiere, Melisandre is broken. When she removed her ruby necklace, thereby revealing her true self as a centuries-old woman, she had lost her faith in the Lord of Light. She’s vulnerable. However, as we know from Thoros of Myr when he went through a similar crisis of faith, the only way to restore it is to do something divine… like bringing someone back from the dead. But we also know that every time Thoros resurrected Beric, he lost a part of himself. Given Melisandre’s weakened state, it’s possible Melisandre would knowingly sacrifice herself to bring Jon Snow back — so that he can defeat The Other.

Honestly, does anyone really care about Jorah right now? The poor guy can’t catch a break. I do think it’s pretty telling that Dany dropped her ring in the middle of the horde; she knew Jorah would find it. Not only is he an expert tracker, but he’s also completely in love with her. This wouldn’t be the first time he stalked her. That being said, Jorah doesn’t have long before the Greyscale spreads to his entire body. (Although, to be fair, it will take years for Greyscale to eventually kill him.) Will he be able to find Dany and work things out before he turns into one of the Stone Men? Or will he find a cure à la Shireen Baratheon? Again, does anyone really care?

Now that Ellaria has all but decimated the Martells, does this mean that she assumes the Dornish throne? Most likely, yes. It was a brilliant coup on her part. Prince Doran never stood a chance. Ellaria is nothing if not power hungry, and with her deadly Sand Snakes behind her, the Dornish throne is hers for the taking. But what’s her next move? Seeing as King’s Landing is currently fractured, now’s the perfect time to strike. Expect Dorne to declare war on King’s Landing and set sail toward the Iron Throne sometime this season. Finally! Dorne is back in the game. (Weak men really do get nothing done.)

How will Daenerys break free from Khal Moro and the Dothraki bros?

Daenerys was taken captive by the Dothraki at the end of Season 5, and despite her distinct features — white hair, purple eyes, etc. — no one seemed to recognize her as Khal Drogo’s Khaleesi. In fact, she had to remind Dothraki leader Khal Moro that she was Drogo’s widow in order to get him to stop threatening to rape her. When Moro did realize who Daenerys was, he sentenced her to stay in the windowless temple of Vaes Dothrak along with the other Khaleesi widows. Stripped of The Unsullied and with Drogon seemingly AWOL, could Daenerys be set for a Cersei-sized downfall this season? Nah. She’ll set fire to Moro and all of those obnoxious Dothraki bros sooner than you think — and I wouldn’t be surprised if she freed the Dothraki’s slaves and took them with her. Khaleesi’s got an army to build.

What are the four other best things in life, Khal Moro?

If seeing a beautiful woman naked for the first time — and only the first time — is one of the five best things in life, then what are the other four? OK, so we know that killing another Khal is one of them. But what are the other three? Enjoying a nice, warm cup of coffee in the morning? Conquering a city and taking her people as slaves (yes)? A mother’s embrace? Breaking a wild horse and forcing it to submit (yes, of course)? Football Sunday?! If this isn’t solved by the end of Season 6, I will be so sad.

Are Sansa, Brienne, Theon, and Pod headed to Castle Black?

THEY BETTER BE. After Brienne and Pod swooped in and saved the day, the knight swore her loyalty to Sansa, which is one of her favorite things to do. Now that Sansa knows Jon Snow is Lord Commander at Castle Black, it would appear that the squad will head north. It’s the safest bet for Sansa at the moment. (Although, I’d hate to think that she arrives before Melisandre and Davos find a way to bring Jon Snow back from the dead.) But will everyone follow suit? With the Greyjoys getting back into the action this season, it would be interesting to see Theon go back to the Iron Islands and potentially team up with his sister Yara. As for Brienne and Pod, I have a feeling that Sansa will be sending them on their own mission — perhaps to the Riverlands to get some much-needed revenge on the Freys? — after they reach Castle Black.

His daughter is dead. His lover is devastated. And Jaime feels like it’s all his fault. So what’s a Kingslayer to do now? Confront the High Sparrow, of course! The High Sparrow and his Faith Militant humiliated Cersei at the end of Season 5 by stripping her naked and forcing her to atone for her sins in the streets of King’s Landing. Jaime’s clearly not happy about it, but what can he actually do about it? Now that the Lannister’s alliance with the Martells is over, that leaves them vulnerable for the first time in the show’s history. Will Cersei put aside her pride for the good of the House and send Jaime on a mission to find more allies?

Will Arya spend the entire season in Braavos learning how to become No One?

Yes, she will. It’s a bummer for those of us who want to see Arya join the action, but if she has to spend the entire season learning how to become a badass assassin, then so be it. As long as she grabs Needle and gets the hell out of Braavos by the season’s end, we’ll be good. Arya needs to get to the point where she’s unbeatable, and right now, she’s still vulnerable to her surroundings. There’s still a lot she needs to know. Now’s not the time to be cocky. There’s a war coming, and Arya has to be prepared for the battle ahead.