So the Game of Thrones season 6 premiere is finally almost here: The show premieres on Sunday, April 24 at 9 p.m. In commoners’ parlance, that’s today. With it, we can finally put to rest the question of whether Jon Snow is dead. He is. And then we can get around to the real question of whether and when he’ll get resurrected. But today I’d like to throw a wrench into the mix: Melisandre shouldn’t bring back Jon Snow. She should resurrect Stannis Baratheon instead.
Melisandre Should Bring Stannis Back To Life
In the show, Stannis is dead— killed sort-of offscreen by Brienne of Tarth, for no reason in particular. It was an ignominious end to a glorious campaign, and it all fell apart after Melisandre convinced Stannis to sacrifice his daughter Shireen to the fire. His wife Selyse killed herself soon after, half his army disappeared over night, and what was left was utterly routed. Thus, dead Stannis.
But this was all Melisandre’s fault. She’s the one who talked Stannis into sacrificing Shireen, instead of sticking to the books and leaving her safely at Castle Black. Stannis made the call, but Melisandre has blood on her hands too. And she thusly cajoled him for a very good reason: She thought that Stannis was The Prince That Was Promised, Azor Ahai reborn, the only one who could defeat the coming darkness.
Well, she’s wrong about that— Jon Snow is probably that prince (if not Daenerys), and Melisandre keeps seeing him in her fires. Still, she sort of left Stannis out to dry. But he could still have a role to play—after all, he’s second in line for the throne after King Tommen.
Melisandre is probably about to get some cool resurrection powers, à la Thoros of Myr. Chances are she’ll use them on Jon Snow to bring him back after a sojourn as a Ghost (the direwolf, that is). But why stop there? Bring Stannis back too. Sure, he’s not right at Castle Black, but he’s not too far away, and this whole mess is partly Melisandre’s fault anyway. And sure, Stannis is a loser now—with no army, the blood of his family on his hands, and few prospects. But Jon Snow couldn’t even keep a few uppity Night’s Watchmen under his thumb. Stannis was a king and could be a king again. Melisandre should give him another chance. It’s the least she could do.
