Why is Melisandre considered evil?

[Martin Rheaume]

But seriously, people treat Aemon like he's the smartest guy in Westeros or something.

I don't know if he's the smartest, but he's the wisest. When Maester Aemon says something, one should pay attention.

Hasn't Melisandre admitted that half her tricks are in fact b.s.? She might think Stannis is AA, but she uses deception to trick everyone else into it. I don't think of her as evil, not in that world. If she were in our world she certainly would be, but she's undeniably a manipulative witch that's using glamours to dupe an entire population to help her achieve her own ends.

[The Imperator]

Yeah, I'm not saying Aemon has the last word on all things magical, but that's an example of why Mel isn't a reliable narrator, and that's because she won't even consider other possibilities of Azor Ahai

If the prophecy is bullshit, then her problem might be that she believes in it in the first place. Anyway, I'm fine with Melisandre as a POV. There's still a lot that we could learn about her. Hopefully, even Euron will get a POV eventually.

[Alayne's Shadow.]

I think Mel will be our central Wall POV. The whole point of adding her chapter in Dance was exactly for that. Even if Jon is alive, I doubt we will see his POV again.

[DamoDega]

I consider her a religious fanatic, so basically kinda evil but innocent at the same time. No, innocent is'nt the word. "Not fully aware" ?

I consider "evil" who do things for self-gainor personal reasons(revenge, envy, rage and so on), she truly seem to believe to be servant of a bigger just cause

Btw voted her as my sidekick

Let's be real

You have this 10/10 big boobed top model witch that can do black magic so powerful that no enemy can hope to defend, you basically can just delete one your opponent from the face of the earth... and the trigger of the trick is fuck her?

I'm sorry Davos, you're nice dude and all but we have a winner :D

[sj4iy]

I think Mel will be our central Wall POV. The whole point of adding her chapter in Dance was exactly for that. Even if Jon is alive, I doubt we will see his POV again.

I think it would be absolutely pointless to have him find out who his parents are without having his POV to see his reaction to it. A complete waste of a dramatic moment. We need his POV.

[Prince of the North]

Melisandre is a an absolutely wonderful character and I'm eager to see what she does next...but she is the very definition of evil. If for no other reason than she has no qualms about killing those who do not worship Rh'llor. And that's to say nothing of her birthing/sending shadow assassins, etc. Yeah, she's evil.

[Impoverished Noble]

I consider her a religious fanatic, so basically kinda evil but innocent at the same time. No, innocent is'nt the word. "Not fully aware" ?

I consider "evil" who do things for self-gainor personal reasons(revenge, envy, rage and so on), she truly seem to believe to be servant of a bigger just cause

Btw voted her as my sidekick

Let's be real

You have this 10/10 big boobed top model witch that can do black magic so powerful that no enemy can hope to defend, you basically can just delete one your opponent from the face of the earth... and the trigger of the trick is fuck her?

I'm sorry Davos, you're nice dude and all but we have a winner :D

Yep, having your essence drained to fuel magic you hope is used to benefit you sure is worth it. She's not using a glamour either right?

[Good Guy Garlan]

I think Mel will be our central Wall POV. The whole point of adding her chapter in Dance was exactly for that. Even if Jon is alive, I doubt we will see his POV again.

Yep, her POV had all the markings of an intro. And good thing too because I enjoyed her POV way more than Jon's

[JonCon's Red Beard]

There is completely and absolutely no way that Jon dies and Mel replaces his PoV instead.

I like Mel but she's, like JoteD said above, trying to force a prophecy to happen. That never ends well. Once Stannis realises she was mistaken, depending on his situation, he's going to kill her.

[Alayne's Shadow.]

I think it would be absolutely pointless to have him find out who his parents are without having his POV to see his reaction to it. A complete waste of a dramatic moment. We need his POV.

But it's still possible to have a dramatic moment without having the POV of said person. Jon might not return the same, so I don't think his POV will be the one used so forth.

Yep, her POV had all the markings of an intro. And good thing too because I enjoyed her POV way more than Jon's

Yeah, I have to say, I've quite liked her POV more than Jon's. And it did have all the signature of a POV that would matter in the next books. George himself said he'd add all necessary POVs until Dance and from that on, no more POVs. And about characters converging and eliminating POVs. Melisandre can't be in just for kicks.

There is completely and absolutely no way that Jon dies and Mel replaces his PoV instead.

I don't think he dies too. But I think her POV might be our eyes from the Wall from now on, even from Jon himself.

[Impoverished Noble]

Double post

[sj4iy]

But it's still possible to have a dramatic moment without having the POV of said person. Jon might not return the same, so I don't think his POV will be the one used so forth.

No, it wouldn't. It would be a waste, because we've been waiting 5 books for this reveal and to only 'see it' from someone else's POV would be a gip. And we know for a fact from Martin that Jon will find out, so we know he won't die (or stay dead). So I see no reason to get rid of Jon's POV.

Yeah, I have to say, I've quite liked her POV more than Jon's. And it did have all the signature of a POV that would matter in the next books. George himself said he'd add all necessary POVs until Dance and from that on, no more POVs. And about characters converging and eliminating POVs. Melisandre can't be in just for kicks.

She has one chapter to Jon's 40+. She's more interesting because she's newer and we don't know much about her. But that doesn't mean she could sustain an entire storyline herself. I don't think she could, even though I liked her one chapter.

I don't think he dies too. But I think her POV might be our eyes from the Wall from now on, even from Jon himself.

...why? Why would Jon live and NOT have a POV? That makes no sense.

[Faint]

Answer: prejudiced point-of-view characters.

The fact is, Maester Cressen, Davos Seaworth and Jon Snow are all very likeable, but they have an incorrect and biased view of Melisandre, which has transferred over to a great many readers.

[Alayne's Shadow.]

No, it wouldn't. It would be a waste, because we've been waiting 5 books for this reveal and to only 'see it' from someone else's POV would be a gip. And we know for a fact from Martin that Jon will find out, so we know he won't die (or stay dead). So I see no reason to get rid of Jon's POV.

She has one chapter to Jon's 40+. She's more interesting because she's newer and we don't know much about her. But that doesn't mean she could sustain an entire storyline herself. I don't think she could, even though I liked her one chapter.

...why? Why would Jon live and NOT have a POV? That makes no sense.

Well, Cat was a point of view who "lived". And we did not have a point-of-view of her from that on. I'm not saying it's certainly the case, but I don't think it's entirely impossible. It wouldn't be a waste because Jon's still knowing. And there were tons of emotional moments that weren't from said character's POVs. But to each their own in this case.

[The Imperator]

I think Mel will be our central Wall POV. The whole point of adding her chapter in Dance was exactly for that. Even if Jon is alive, I doubt we will see his POV again.

I hope so. It would be a nice break from Jon's POV.

[Jane Parallel]

Evil or not evil I like Melisandre and I hope she´d has more POV's... not sure she will replace Jon's but if he dies Mel is the only source of whatever happen at the Wall.

She was really concerned for Jon Snow's safety but the boy refused to listen to her... bad idea!!!

May be she is wrong about Stannis.. but if she does not?

I don't know but I won't neglect what Mel says until proven wrong... that means th last book... that means million light years away until Martin decide to finish end the story :bang:

[Drth Fel]

Yep, having your essence drained to fuel magic you hope is used to benefit you sure is worth it. She's not using a glamour either right?

There are worse ways to go than in the saddle and ignorance is bliss ;D

[TheMysteriousOne]

Seriously, I never understood why. She does what she does because she believes in it. She's not faking it. Sure it may not be the best thing that she burns people, but she believes its what her god wants and that its for the greater good. She believes in Stannis and is trying to save the world. George RR Martin has even said fans misunderstand her (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5_QQreskNI). Yet fans always want to say stuff like "Stannis will realize what a lying bitch she is and kill her" or "Melisandre doesn't know whats coming to her". The thing is, she's not lying. In her viewpoint chapter its clear that she believes what she's preaching and is concerned for Stannis.

I'm sorry, but so?

Genuinely believing in something does not, in anyway, excuse one's actions. I could potentially believe that every person who wears glasses is possessed by a demon and potentially decide to kill everyone on earth with glasses, for the 'greater good'. Would I be right to do so, even though I genuinely believe that people who wears glasses are evil? The answer is obviously no.

[kimim]

Maybe Mel's pov could complement Jon's, but I can't see how it would replace his.

Also, I don't like religious zealots who kill people in the name of god. tbh she's no better than the fuckers who killed James Foley. My family are all Turkish, and Muslim, and religious fanaticism hits home for me.

[Lopsang]

It's really, really hard to defend the act of burning someone alive, let alone burning several people - even if it is for "the greater good." It is not a good act. Dany burning Mirri wasn't a good act either.

What would you have Dany do? Mirri betrayed her, lied to her, and physically harmed her. She killed three men with her bloodmagic (IIRC; it may have been more or less), men loyal to Drogo and Dany. I can't say for certain whether or not it was an entirely moral act but I will say that it wasn't entirely evil. Dany saved her from rape and slavery and Mirri spat in her face, caused an awful lot of unnecessary bloodshed, and lied to Dany.

About burning people, what if they are criminals of some sort? It depends on what they did (the only crime where capital punishment is just is probably murder) but it doesn't necessarily have to be evil. If you're innocent, that's a different story.