Although I released a post last night addressing Game of Thrones season 6, episode 2 (which aired last night), I needed a bit more time to prepare myself to talk in more depth about Jon Snow's resurrection. There was just something about this particular scene that warranted a bit more time, a period with which to understand and connect with it on a deeper level. Perhaps this is exactly the point that the showrunners/director wanted to get across to the viewer by shooting and editing this scene in such a particular way; that there is something excruciatingly satisfying in the delayed arrival of a long anticipated moment.

I think that this particular scene was expertly shot and edited. Clearly Jon Snow's death was a symbol to many characters of the loss of something significant (even though that "something significant" would likely be defined differently depending on the character or fan you ask). For some it was the end of hope against the whitewalkers, for some the end of order on the wall, and for some, perhaps, the virtual end of the honorable House Stark. For all of the meaning it may have had, I believe there was a general consensus among the fan community that death would not be the end for Jon Snow. I, for one, have been waiting with bated breath and an unhealthy feeling of anxiety throughout both of the last two episodes just waiting to know how and when Jon would be resurrected.


In the age of the internet where binge watching makes no one wait and the answers to just about any questions are hiding behind our smartphone screen, the writers and director of this episode certainly made the fans "sweat it." This episode certainly brought it back to the fine art of delayed gratification, where every passing second made the reveal just that much more sweet. I am not going to lie, with every departure from that room and every millisecond that passed between Melisandre's completion of her sorcery and the moment Jon's eyes finally gaped open, I found myself yearning more and more for the satisfaction of Kit Harrington delivering any expression or sign of life in exponentially frantic fashion. It was almost as though I was playing a game of "are we there yet?" except my questions were, "Is he alive? Is this happening? Is he alive? Is this HAPPENING?...."


The directors and show-runners were clearly and easily playing with the emotions of a generation of viewers that are not  obliged to wait for anything. Until the last second I was wholly convinced that Melisandre was not the answer to the return of Jon Snow, that he would cease to be resurrected (at least for another episode), and I would have to rest my hopes on another resurrection possibility. But I must say the delayed gratification of this moment made the entirety of the event that much more sweet. I am sure that my poor neighbors could hear my exultation through the walls when it finally happened.


Perhaps after so much anticipation for Jon Snow's return, we the audience have been served a sweet lesson in the art of waiting. Although I do not anticipate ending my unhealthy binge-watching habit anytime soon, I am certainly convinced that stepping back from the constant onslaught of immediate satisfaction from time to time, taking a moment to enjoy the moment, and allowing a bit more time to build toward a more satisfying end might, in fact, be worth every excruciating second of the wait.

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Proceed with caution. Major spoilers ahead!


I cannot speak on behalf of all academics but sometimes I feel like my scholarly career is a dubious combination of imposter syndrome and leaps of faith. I am sure that this paradigm is not exclusive to those in academia, however. In fact, I would almost put money on the idea that this experience affects many merely as a result of growing older and taking on more and far greater responsibilities. That being said, these leaps of faith are often the means by which people are able to understand their strengths and weaknesses; they raise you up or tear you down. At least that seems to be how it works for me.

I find that Season six, Episode two of Game of Thrones appears to be applying this idea of uncertainty and leaps of faith to the story arcs of several characters through "go big or go home" moments that will either move them forward in the game or ultimately cause their fall. I would like to chat about two of these instances from this week's episode as, I believe, they will have vast implications on the greater narrative as it moves forward.


Tyrion is often presented as confident in his political know-how. As he professes in this episode "That's what I do: I drink and I know things." I am sure many of my colleagues would reply, "Touche, Tyrion... tou-freaking-che."

However, with Daenerys still missing, the people of Meereen becoming increasingly more difficult to control (i.e. the masters have re-taken the city), and both Rhaegal and Viserion, Dany's captive Dragons, refusing to eat in their mother's absence, Tyrion is practically at his wit's end. Tyrion understands that both of these situations are dire. Through both the lack of control of the Meereenese people and the potential loss of her dragons, Dany's rule is placed in a particularly precarious situation. In Dany's absence, Tyrion must find a way to reassert control and although he has no reason to believe that he holds any sway over the behavior of Dany's dragons, he takes a leap of faith by unchaining them in the hopes that this action will assist in solving his biggest problems. Of course, we have no way of knowing at this point how this act will pay off for Tyrion,  but the potential pay-off is huge. The presence of the Dragons has the potential for inspiring a renewed sense of fear (and thus loyalty) among the people and will, hopefully, also ensure the health of the dragons (in that they will begin to feed again). Tyrion, of course, is completely aware of the danger he put himself in to appeal to the Dragons and unchain them, leading him to speak one of his most memorable lines of the night to Viserys:

"Next time I have an idea like that, punch me in the face." - #TyrionLannister #GameOfThrones #GoTSeason6

— Marilyn Lorch (@TheNerdBoutique) May 2, 2016

As an additional small point to make regarding the chance that Tyrion takes with the dragons, they react to him in a similar way as they do Daenerys. There are fan theories that suggest Tyrion is actually a Targaryen. Are the Dragon's reactions a hint at Tyrion's true parentage?


This episode also presented a fairly large leap of faith on the part of Ser Davos. It is no secret to those who have been loyal viewers for the past several seasons (or those who have read the books) that Davos has been one of Melisandre's biggest skeptics. However, he has come around in the last season or so to at least recognize that Melisandre has some kind of power. I am unconvinced that he sees her power as rooted in "good" but he certainly has come to understand that she has abilities to make things happen. He asks her in this episode to try her hand at resurrecting Jon Snow. For Melisandre, this request comes in a time where she is clearly experiencing a crisis of faith (hello imposter syndrome!). She was incorrect in thinking that Stannis was Azor Ahai and was thrown off guard when Jon died, for she saw him in the flames fighting at the wall (clearly he would not be able to do that if he were dead). Melisandre, even though she admits she has never performed a resurrection, makes an attempt at the ritual. The end of the episode clearly demonstrates that her magic has served the purpose Davos was hoping it would, but we have yet to know how this leap of faith, on behalf of both Melisandre and Davos, will impact the remainder of the season.


I am quite interested in seeing how these leaps of faith play out in the future episodes. Will Tyrion's release of the Dragons allow him to retake power in Meereen? Will Jon Snow's return mean a return of "business as usual" at the wall?...or will all of these leaps of faith mean that death and/or destruction will befall those who took them? I suppose we loyal viewers will have to wait and see. In the meantime, however, I will just go ahead and convince myself that my life in academia is not so different from the lives of the Westrosi after all.
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So the first episode of season six has come and I feel like I have more questions than answers... Jon Snow has yet to come back to life (seriously...I am still convinced this is going to happen), Tyrion looks as though he is failing miserably in Meereen (I still believe in you Tyrion!), Sansa has fianlly accepted Brienne (FINALLY!), and Daenerys seems to be in a lot less danger than the season five close lead viewers to believe (of course if you read the books you probably were not all that worried...).

But even through all of the turns from last night's episode of HBO's Game of Thrones, all I really want to talk about is Melisandre's old, wrinkled, and naked body.

Of course Game of Thrones is no stranger to nakedness, not an episode goes by that viewers are not meant to endure several instances of nakedness. Of course the typical display is young, toned and, what most would consider, classically beautiful. The media is largely guilty of acting as a visual gate-keeper. Only those who meet specific aesthetic criteria are usually deemed worthy of being seen on screens both large and small. These exclusionary practices are particularly brutal for women.


I would be remiss not to give credit where credit is due, however. Efforts have been made in recent years to center women with varying body-types and allow them starring, rather than co-starring, roles, but I would argue that these women are still relatively young, have some degree of classic beauty in their facial features, and are typically white (e.g. Melissa McCarthy, Rebel Wilson). Even with a degree of flexibility in the body shapes present there is little movement to be inclusive of "women of a certain age" unless they are already well established celebrities. Even then, several of these well established female celebrities are refused roles by casting agents for being "too old" to play opposite males of similar, if not older ages. For example, just last year, Maggie Gyllenhaal cited an instance when she was turned away as a potential love interest for a man nearly 20 years her senior. Gyllenhaal's claim triggered an influx of Hollywood's women to share similar stories.


In addition, older bodies are very rarely seen naked. For a show that has notoriously been criticized for its generous use of nudity, even causing critic and academic Martin McNutt to coin the term "sexposition" to describe its over-use in scenes of plot exposition, the ending scene of "The Red Woman" episode (S1.E6), in which Melisandre bares both her true age and the body that corresponds, certainly feels like something different from the nudity that has been seen thus far. And let's be honest, in the wake of Melisandre's big season six reveal, the twitterverse was BRUTAL. Here are just a few tweets:

And I dunno why, but #Melisandre looks a bit like #Kreacher.

— Navpreet Singh (@navpreet_tweets) April 25, 2016

Rules for dating Melisandre. At the risk of sounding superficial, the necklace stays on!

— Linden Ashby (@lindenashby) April 25, 2016

#Melisandre without her necklace
"The night is dark and full of terrors"#GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/Nrq1HFuwJq

— Jorge Barragan (@designgeorge24) April 25, 2016

I'm sure a lot of ladies will want this as birthday gift #GameofThrones #Melisandre pic.twitter.com/JNo1lwDm0D

— Andrés Díaz (@newandrewayne) April 25, 2016

I will not argue that this turn in Melisandre's physicality will not have a more narritorial purpose in the future of the show (how would I know now that they are off book), but there is arguably something to be said about this bodily display from a cultural standpoint (especially considering some of the more cruel reactions). What I think is important about this scene is that it speaks loud and clear to a culture that is obsessed with youthful beauty and the, often, unobtainable bodies that correspond with these cultural ideals. People age and bodies will inevitably show signs of this process. Melisandre's aged body in all it's nude glory is clearly a stark reminder to viewers that physical beauty is fleeting and even those who seem to possess it may be flaunting bodily falsehoods.


I am a firm believer that it is only through naturalizing diverse bodies (age, size, race, ability etc.) through media outlets that we can begin to disillusion ourselves from some of the more culturally prominent and destructive notions of beauty and worth to which we so often find ourselves beholden. Regardless of the direction that Melisandre's character takes in future episodes, I find myself grateful for a reprieve from the usual onslaught of the homogeneous female body type that Game of Thrones typically has on fully nude display. There is nothing unnatural about aging or the body showing signs of wear and only through showing this in the media can we disabuse ourselves of the notion that the aging body (especially the aging female body) is something to be feared and thwarted at any cost.
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