juss bc disqus=broked

Disqus is suddenly detecting comments as spam when there's nothing remotely spamlike about them, so I'll just save these couple because they were so good. "Thanks, we'll work on getting this corrected," my foot.

• CvH's EW interview re: The Long Night

I wanted to translate this back into fruitspeak, but Google doesn't offer it--blasphemy!!! Lovely interview nonetheless. ;]

Well, I’m indebted to this show for, among other things, introducing me to my new all-time favorite actress. Carice may rightly be a Dutch national treasure and swimming in awards there, but it’s high time she gets proper global recognition. There could have been no finer portrayal of Melisandre, doing greater justice to the part--but as I check off as much of her filmography as I possibly can (including 20 films so far), I’m repeatedly struck by her immense talents and versatility. Just sensational! Phenomenal. And her gorgeous singing voice? Forget about it. Unfair how vastly overpowered she is in every category—talent, beauty, adorable sweetness, etc...gah. Can’t wait for Domino (with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) at the end of the month, and I look forward to all future projects of hers. The world needs to be blessed by witnessing the extent of her powers. ;) That she nevertheless always seems to be so shy, nervous, and insecure makes me want to cry, and wish I could hug her. ;;

Originally she was offered the role of Cersei, but prior commitments prevented her from accepting. That’s curious. It would’ve been interesting to see her approach to that part. Would she have perhaps succeeded in making me feel sympathetic towards Cersei? I’m unsure she could’ve pulled off the [female-dog] face as well as Lena does, at any rate. xD Mel was difficult enough for her.

So exactly how old IS Melly? 300? 800? 1000 or even more? The GoT prequel I most want is one that includes a Melisandre-backstory plot (especially since Carice is up for playing her as an adult!) She was told early on that the character was ancient, but wondered for a long time whether they'd ever return to that and what significance it would have. Mel didn't necessarily start out as one of my favorite characters, but she certainly became one somewhere along the line as I intuited an understanding of what she was about. (Yeah, I wrote a whole bloody essay about her and her wonderful contributions to the Battle of Winterfell on the recap...) She's such a fascinating, complicated character, and I knew that she'd prove heroic in the end. That's what she always wanted--not even to actually be a hero herself, but to aid them in, essentially, guarding the realms of men. All she did, she did not for own sake, knowing that in the end she wouldn't be sticking around for thanks or to enjoy the saved land if they were successful--but purely due to the desire to see it saved.

I also expected her to live a bit longer--indeed I'd anticipated the war expanding over more than one episode, giving everyone time to do more. (Still hoping for some juicy deleted scenes; I understand there are supposed to be a great many?)
I loved all the people who died in that episode (well, except for the Night King, though I still wish he'd been taken down an episode or two later.) But Melisandre's beautiful sendoff hit me the hardest. I can hear R'hllor saying at long last, "Well done. You can come home now."

"I get cold in the summer." Well, that's no wonder!!

• nerdist ep 3 recap

AMEN to that!!

She told Varys she was going to Volantis, so one must assume she was powering up there? I expected her to return leading an entourage of red reinforcements to help take on the NK, but for some reason only she could be bothered to turn up for the fate of humanity when it counted most, I suppose... ;p Guess she's the most powerful one and everybody else thought they'd be useless anyway so they all just said, "Nah you go girl, we'll just pray from the temple here..." Was she like, "Nah I got this y'all, stay here in Essos and keep doin' what yer doin'...proselytize 'bout Dany the savior without coming to help her actually save..." You'd think they'd want as many soldiers as they could possibly get, particularly ones with magical-fiery capabilities against the fire-vulnerable enemy, but...y'know...  #COWARDS (Does make you wonder what the rest of them were doing or not doing...the whole series, even...was Mel kind of a rogue? Did anyone else also believe themselves to be hot on the trail of an Azor Ahai? Was she the only one truly, actively seeking the world's salvation?) Well, anyways...
...And of course the eye color list only became relevant to the undead+NK when the writers decided a few years back that they wanted to be "surprising" and have Arya kill him.

Anyhows, I'll just copy/paste my "little" essay about her...

The use of Melisandre was probably my favorite single thing in the episode. She has always been among the most easily redeemable characters, doing wrong things for the right reasons. Unlike other murderers/attempted murderers with redemption arcs, she had only the purest and noblest of motives. Intent matters. It actually angers me when people are so lazy and dim as to see only the "wicked witch" that GRRM deliberately and explicitly did not create. While I'm not one to blame everything on misogyny, methinks I doth detect the stench.

Everything she's done has been ultimately aimed toward humanity's salvation. She did what she genuinely believed was needed to achieve that end. Her gaze has always been elevated. She knew what was coming. She's long been this warrior of light on the frontlines of the war between the gods of life and death. She's also lived for centuries; when you've been around that long, individual sacrifices seem less drastic relative to the big picture, and the apocalypse. Yes, she's a fanatic--but not an evil one. Not malicious or sadistically cruel. Not a charlatan duping people into worshiping a false god. Not lacking in evidence to support her beliefs like so many of the religious people in our world. She carries no anger, hatred, or personal vendettas. Burning of sacrifices and enemies of R'hllor? From the perspective of such a character, so steeped in this faith, they can only be great blessings. When delivering someone into the sacred, purifying flames and R'hllor's warm embrace, there is no question that screams of horror will give way to screams of ecstatic joy in the beyond. It's a glorious thing in the red priest's worldview. They must cleanse the world and save souls--sometimes in a very tough-love sort of way. As a child slave sold to the Red Temple, Mel essentially underwent an extreme form of Stockholm Syndrome--discovering strength, stability, structure, guidance, refuge, meaning, and purpose in life by devoting herself utterly to the service of the Red God. The god of love, light, life, truth, joy, goodness. He must have become her only comfort. She's in truth one of the more altruistic characters, serving not herself but her Lord, faithfully and painstakingly and tirelessly. She considers herself a mere vessel, a conduit for his power and will. Her faith is in him rather than herself. He is the supreme being, she the fallible & imperfect human striving to be more--a worthy vessel capable of diving and servicing his will. Supporting Stannis and going as far as she did with him was a most grievous error; no one knows it better than she. It went unrewarded. Her entire foundation seemed to fall away beneath her when she thought she'd been deluded all along, & she was bereft and depressed for quite a while, even after resurrecting Jon. But she's also sincere--she'll own up to having made mistakes, no matter how awful, can plainly admit when she's been wrong, and then learns from it. She softens, moderates, reconsiders and adjusts her hard-line fanatical stances.
The only GoT prequel I strongly want is one that involves Melisandre's backstory. She's such a mysterious, fascinating, complex, intriguing character. (The one about the original Long Night would be good too, though that might well show up this one.) For one thing I'd like to know why she was so thoroughly convinced of Stannis for so long.

Melisandre helped bring the right groups of people together and ensured they'd stay united. She brought Jon back despite (or perhaps thanks to?) her brokenness. She gifted the Dothraki with fire (and the audience with illumination)--not her fault the horselords were (mostly? totally?) doomed. That's all on their strategist(s.) It's inevitable that their charge with regular arakhs would've been exponentially less effective without her. Mel bought the living crucial time by saving their trench plan. I like how her incantations tend to work when she's desperate, teary, shaky, pleading. The Lord of Light really makes you work for your miracles. That obviously used a ton of strength, and the unsuppressible self-doubt that's plagued her since Stannis' defeat was still present. Hope she also managed to summon some Dany-esque faith in herself at last--I see her & the LoL as partners, and ideally there'd be both. Every shot of her in this episode is stunningly gorgeous (actually, I should just change "this episode" to "ever.") But that iconic fire in her eyes...yeah. That wonder, amazement, gratitude..;0; And Arya wouldn't have attacked the Night King without her revelation & prodding.

And then, Mel's death scene. Poignant, dignified, beautiful. (And Mother Gothel-esque.) One of the multiple death scenarios I'd envisioned for her, though it happened too early for my liking. I don't want her gone yet. She strides silently through the corpse-littered field, discards her necklace and lets the ruby glow its last, walks on...and gradually transforms into the super-elderly her, finally disintegrating and blowing away into the wind. I'm just so glad that the episode ended so poignantly on her. She showed up early on to do her part, and she closed it out. Walking willingly into the overdue rest for which she's been ready a long time. Having fulfilled her purpose, she heads straight into her beloved Lord's embrace as the sun begins to rise. Reuniting, hopefully, with any whom she's loved and outlived. The weight of the world has lifted from her shoulders at long last, and she can finally sleep, after this long lifetime spent fighting with darkness. Remaining driven and focused and committed to her raison d'etre 'til the end. No more need to fear the dreams. She beautifully bookended the BoW, a true highlight of the season.
Ugh, I cry. Other time was "Hold the door." And Maester Aemon's death/funeral, the second time through. (Nearly on the demises of Sers Barristan & Jorah.)

Anyway, Mel is my MVP, Lightbringer, Azor Ahai, Princess Who Was Promised, the one before whom the darkness fled--regardless of whatever the heck the show ends up doing. (Maybe she's even Nissa Nissa too?) If it never addresses the prophecy despite that having been mentioned so many times, well, at least I know to be prepared for disappointment now. But one of my favorite theories was that it had been her all along, yet she never considered that as a possible interpretation of her visions. [abridged version of this]
"Melisandre...you're a good woman. Thank you." 
Thank you for being one of the greatest shields to guard the realms of men. 
You'll never be forgotten.

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• curtain call  
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• one mo'