The One We've Got
In Game of Thrones, one gets the idea that none of the gods are the TRUE god(s). If some of them are right for certain regions, they're certainly not right for other people. In the books, this can be a pretty complex thing. We know certain people to be true believers, devout believers, even though we find their actions and beliefs to be pretty sketchy. On the show, they've simplified things . . . most of the religions and the people who practice them are agenda driven and fairly evil.
Of course, 'agenda driven and fairly evil' is a label that can be applied to a lot of characters, religious or not. However, religious fanaticism is a darkness we, as an audience, understand all too well. It's something we see as one of the main causes of suffering in our own world. We know the damage it can do. Perhaps for this reason. in Season Six identity and faith are often mixed with a good, long dose of humility. The gods, whether they manifest or not, speak the most clearly through the humbling of their servants.
Humility is certainly the lesson for Melisandre this season. This is really a new thing too. Before this season, Melisandre has never really had her own story arc. She's always just been part of someone else's. She was the villain in Davos's story or the temptress/witch in Stannis's story. Stannis is dead and Davos still views her as the villain (especially by the end of the season), but in her own way, Mel steps up as a main character in the various stories that are told this season. We see things from her perspective and watch as her story has a beginning, a middle, and an end to it.
Her story is all about her relationship with her god, R'hllor. Even though Mel is often presented as a Very Bad Person, it has always been questionable if she saw herself that way. It was clear she had power. She wasn't faking that. But was she really seeing things in the flames? Was it really needful to burn innocent people to reach her goals?
For most people, the answer to that would be no. Mel always said she was doing the will of her god and that R'hllor was trying to save the world from the Long Night. Were this true, what are a few deaths compared to millions? If Mel really believed her own propaganda, then from her POV, she really was on the good side of things.
At the end of season 5, Melisandre had a crisis of faith. She'd burned Princess Shireen, an innocent little girl, to help Stannis win a war. While the snows had cleared enough for them to move their army, things were falling apart. Their mercenaries had left. Stannis's wife killed herself. There is this moment when Mel realizes she's made a lot of mistakes. Instead of staying there to die, she rides back to Castle Black, the only place she knows may be safe for her.
When this season starts, she is at her lowest point. She sees Jon Snow's dead body and feels like she's gotten absolutely everything wrong. She'd seen visions of him fighting for Winterfell. She'd seen herself walking on Winterfell's battlements. None of that seems possible. Mel's reaction is one of the most human reactions one can have. She's depressed and in a deep crisis. She decides to crawl into bed.
Before she does, she lets all of her glamours fall. She reveals herself to be a very old woman, probably centuries old. She looks worn out, defeated, and weak. Stripping away all the illusions is Mel's first step in this path to humble herself. She is naked and stripped of all pretense in front of her god. Many people have talked about this scene and why she did it. For me, it is a moment of laying herself firmly in R'hllor's hands.
It's really a great scene because it plays so well into the polarizing nature of this character. We see how deeply deceptive she CAN be. An ugly old crone pretending to be a beautiful woman is one of the oldest 'beware the witch' tropes around. At the same time, she's also her most honest. “This is what I am. This is ALL I am.”
Another great moment of dualities is when she resurrects Jon. Bringing someone back from the dead is a massive display of power to everyone else. It's proof of what she is capable of. For Mel, though, it IS her most humbling moment. If I ever had any doubts about her belief in her god, they are erased when she closes her eyes and whispers a very quiet, “Please.” She knows he is real. She is a believer. All the burning people and kingmaking and weird sex/leech rituals haven't just been the products of some deranged mind.
When Jon wakes up, Mel's story moves to the background, but we do witness it continue. She now believes Jon is the one R'hllor wants her to follow. She now believes she's back on the right path. She's more reserved that she was with Stannis. When Jon and Sansa go to ask the bannermen to follow them, she doesn't come with them. She is humbled enough to know they won't listen. When Jon has war discussions, she doesn't attend. She knows she has nothing of value to add.
This is so different than how she was with Stannis. Unless he would not LET her be with him, she was. She was part of everything going on, always keen to remind him of her importance, and always ready to make R'hllor's will known. Even when Jon goes to privately talk with her, she's more reserved. She admits she doesn't know all the answers and can't help him very much. When he asks him what kind of god would do the things R'hllor does, she doesn't leap to defend him. Her only answer is 'the one we've got.'
So this is Mel's story. She is at a breaking point with her faith, but in that moment and at her most humble, she performs her biggest miracle. She stays humble and continues to keep a low profile as the episodes pass by. She doesn't try to be in the middle of things. She doesn't try to turn the tide of the war. She does all she can to be in the background as an adviser when needed. In the end, despite all odds, her side wins. Jon fights his battle at Winterfell and she finds herself standing on the battlements.
The humbling doesn't end there. Just as we see her winning, and just as we see the Earlier Mel coming out again, willing to chide Jon for feeling sorry for himself, another blow is dealt. Davos confronts her about killing Shireen. Jon banishes her from the North. Suddenly, despite her best efforts, she finds herself in a position to be even further humbled. Whatever else the Lord of Light wants from her, her meekness is still a part of it.
While this analysis is part of the larger Faith and Identity part of my thoughts on the season, I'd like to point out that how Mel was handled is one of the explanations why this season was so strong. Her story arc is a nice little short story that stands well, even on its own. They did a lot of that this year and it's really made the show better.
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