Game of Thrones Season 6: The Red Woman – a roundup

After the year-long wait for the first episode unknown to millions of Game of Thrones fans around the world, many agree it did not live up to the hype. With too many unanswered questions, many fates still remain unknown after the season premiere.

Christopher Hooton of The Independent felt cheated out of an explanation in his assessment of the long awaited season opener:

“The last season of Game of Thrones didn’t so much end on a cliffhanger as a splat on the beach below. Jon Snow is unequivocally dead, so we’ve been repeatedly told in the intervening months since we saw him stabbed to death. Tonight’s episode was expected to clear this up once and for all, but instead kicked the stone down the road a little.”

Similarly, Ed Powers of The Telegraph agreed that some major cliff hangers were left unresolved:

“Was this a sadistic riposte to fans who have spent the best part of a year constructing elaborate conspiracy theories as to when and how the grumpy heartthrob will return? Or a sleight-of-hand intended to make his eventual reappearance all the more dramatically satisfying?”

On the other hand, James White of Empire gave The Red Woman four stars for Melisandre’s dramatic and enlightening transformation:

“It’s not often you feel true sympathy for someone who has done terrible things, but sometimes this show can make it happen. A great way to end a strong season opener, with the promise of much more to come.”

Michael Calia of The Wall Street Journal addresses the pivotal cliffhanger, the fate of Jon Snow:

“At the Wall, the show doesn’t waste much time getting an answer about the fate of Jon Snow. He is dead, a bloody, cold mess in the courtyard of Castle Black. His few remaining friends, including faithful direwolf Ghost, begin mourning him, and Ser Davos, adrift without a leader with Stannis dead, is concerned for his own future.

But right from the beginning, there are strange signs. Does Jon’s blood puddle look like a dragon? Did Davos see something in the pattern? And when Melisandre visits the body, she wistfully proclaims that she saw Jon in her flames, fighting at Winterfell.”

Overall, the latest instalment of game of thrones leaves much to be desired, but, despite its lack of resolution, it certainly built more suspense for the fate of the dwellers of Westeros. It instilled GoT fans with the hope that their questions will soon be answered, and in an entirely unexpected fashion.

Dominique Perrett