Jon Snow was dead. For an entire year, that was the only thing anyone talked about. We sat through a grueling hiatus, dissecting every frame of Kit Harington’s hair length and his sightings in Belfast. Then, April 24, 2016, arrived. Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 1, titled "The Red Woman," had the impossible task of answering the biggest cliffhanger in television history. It didn't just answer it; it shifted the entire DNA of the show.
Honestly, the atmosphere was electric. Most of us expected a resurrection within the first ten minutes. We didn't get it. Instead, Jeremy Podeswa, the director, gave us a slow-burn entry that felt more like a funeral procession than a season premiere. It was a cold, unforgiving start to a season that would eventually become the show's most explosive.
The Body at Castle Black
The episode opens exactly where we left off. Snow is a corpse on the frozen ground. Ghost is howling. It's haunting stuff. When Davos Seaworth finds him, there’s no grand speech. Just the grim reality of betrayal. The mutiny led by Alliser Thorne wasn't just a plot point; it was a fundamental breakdown of the Night’s Watch.
Thorne's pragmatism is almost more chilling than his cruelty. He doesn't hide what he did. He stands before his brothers and basically says, "Yeah, I killed him, and I'd do it again for the Watch." It's a heavy moment because, in his twisted logic, he thinks he's the hero. This is classic George R.R. Martin territory—even if the show had started to outpace the books by this point. The tension at Castle Black in Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 1 sets a ticking clock. Davos and a handful of loyalists are holed up with a dead body, waiting for a miracle that feels further away with every passing second.
Sansa’s Long-Awaited Break
While things were bleak in the North, the escape of Sansa Stark and Theon Greyjoy offered the first real glimmer of hope we’d had in years. They are freezing. They are desperate. They wade through an icy river that looked legitimately miserable to film. Sophie Turner and Alfie Allen sell the sheer exhaustion of that moment perfectly.
Then come the hounds.
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Just when you think they’re headed back to the psychopathic clutches of Ramsay Bolton, Brienne of Tarth arrives. This is arguably one of the most satisfying beats in the entire series. When Brienne finally kneels and offers her sword to Sansa, and Sansa—after years of abuse and being a pawn—accepts it, the shift in power is palpable. It’s the moment Sansa stops being a victim. Podrick Payne's awkward but earnest help during the fight adds that bit of humanity the show usually lacks. It’s a messy, bloody, beautiful rescue.
The Dornish Disaster
Look, we have to talk about Dorne. You can't discuss Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 1 without acknowledging the "Dorne plot." It remains one of the most polarizing aspects of the show's middle years. In this episode, Ellaria Sand and the Sand Snakes execute a coup, murdering Prince Doran and Trystane Martell.
It was jarring.
Many fans felt it was a clunky way to trim the narrative fat. Prince Doran, played by the incredible Alexander Siddig, was a master strategist in the novels. Seeing him taken out so easily felt like a betrayal of the source material to some. But from a pure pacing perspective, the showrunners were clearly trying to streamline the board. They wanted the pieces moved into place for the final sprint, even if the movement felt a bit forced.
The Secret of Melisandre
The episode’s title refers to Melisandre, and the final scene is what everyone remembers. It’s the "water cooler" moment. Up until now, we’ve seen her as this untouchable, seductive, and terrifying force of nature. She’s burned children and birthed shadow demons.
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But in the privacy of her chambers, the mask slips.
When she removes her enchanted necklace and her true form—a withered, centuries-old woman—is revealed, it’s a gut punch. It’s not just about the shock value of the prosthetics. It’s about her crisis of faith. Her "Prince That Was Promised" is dead on a table. Stannis is gone. She’s staring into a mirror at a broken, tired old woman who has been wrong about everything. Carice van Houten plays this with such quiet devastation. There is no dialogue. Just the creak of the floorboards and the heavy weight of failure.
Why the Premiere Matters Now
Revisiting Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 1 reveals how the show handled the transition from being an adaptation to an original work. Since The Winds of Winter still hasn't hit bookshelves, this episode was the first time readers and show-only fans were on the same level playing field. No one knew what was coming next.
The episode also reinforced the theme of "identity."
- Arya is "No One," begging on the streets of Braavos, blind and beaten.
- Daenerys is back to being a "Khaleesi" in the eyes of the Dothraki, stripped of her titles as Queen of Meereen.
- Melisandre is an ancient priestess hiding behind a glamour.
Everyone is at their lowest point. It’s a "reset" episode that forces the characters to find out who they really are when everything else is stripped away.
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Key Takeaways for Your Next Rewatch
If you’re planning to dive back into the series, keep an eye on the smaller details in this premiere.
- The Lighting: Notice how the lighting in Melisandre’s room is almost entirely amber and shadow, contrasting with the harsh, blue-white light of the Wall. It mirrors her internal flickering flame.
- The Dialogue: The scene between Jaime and Cersei Lannister after Myrcella’s death is crucial. It’s the moment they decide it’s "us against the world" again, setting the stage for the wildfire explosion later in the season.
- The Pacing: This isn't an action-heavy episode. It’s a psychological one. It’s about the silence after the storm.
To get the most out of your rewatch, pay attention to the musical score by Ramin Djawadi. The way he uses the "Red Woman" theme—usually triumphant and eerie—and turns it into something somber and fragile in the final scene is a masterclass in motifs.
Next Steps for Fans:
- Compare the opening scenes of Season 6 with the ending of Season 5 to see how the cinematography shifts to a more "handheld" and urgent style.
- Track the "Prince That Was Promised" prophecy mentions; they hit differently once you know the reveal at the end of this episode.
- Listen to the History and Lore features on the Blu-ray if you want to understand the deeper backstory of the Night’s Watch mutiny that the show only hints at.
The premiere was a somber, necessary bridge. It didn't give us the immediate satisfaction of Jon Snow opening his eyes, but it gave us something better: a reason to care about his resurrection. It showed us a world that was falling apart without him, and a priestess who had lost the will to bring him back. That tension is what made the rest of Season 6 so legendary.