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One God, Two Gods, Red God Blue God: Melisandre and the Night's Queen


Durran Durrandon

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I apologize if this has already been pointed out, but does anyone else find it interesting that the "sacrifice" associated with the side typically associated with life, involves literal death of the person (e.g. Mel burning people), while the side typically associated with death seems to involve a sort of eternal life (e.g. The Others turning children into Others, and raising an undead army)?


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I apologize if this has already been pointed out, but does anyone else find it interesting that the "sacrifice" associated with the side typically associated with life, involves literal death of the person (e.g. Mel burning people), while the side typically associated with death seems to involve a sort of eternal life (e.g. The Others turning children into Others, and raising an undead army)?

It has crossed my mind that the people who get burnt for the Red God are what come back as the shadowbabies, and they don't just go away when they dissipate... But that's completely unfounded and I'd be extremely shocked if that turned out to be true.

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I apologize if this has already been pointed out, but does anyone else find it interesting that the "sacrifice" associated with the side typically associated with life, involves literal death of the person (e.g. Mel burning people), while the side typically associated with death seems to involve a sort of eternal life (e.g. The Others turning children into Others, and raising an undead army)?

Ice preserves.

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That's a great O/P.

I'm sure we're meant to see parallels between Melisandre and the Night's Queen, especially if, as I expect, she and Jon become lovers, in TWOW.

My initial view of Melisandre was that she was evil (which is how HBO portray her). Now, i find her more morally ambiguous. Perhaps that was true of the Night's Queen. The legends about her were written by her enemies.

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  • 6 months later...
  • 7 months later...
On 23/11/2015 at 2:14 AM, Durran Durrandon said:

I'll just leave this here: The Longt Night and the Great Summer.

Great post Durran! even if i am over a year late...

I was thinking today of the parallels between the pale skinned melisandre, likely a qartheen, send into r'hllor slavery in asshai, and the sorceress corpse queen of the NK...it did not take me long to find your post.

The parallels are in the story for a reason.

There is not much more i can add to your theory but i can point to a few additional similarities:

 

 

Quote

 

A Dance with Dragons - Davos III

Nor did he find any welcome in the pale blue eyes of Wyman Manderly. His lordship's cushioned throne was wide enough to accommodate three men of common girth, yet Manderly threatened to overflow it. His lordship sagged into his seat, his shoulders slumped, his legs splayed, his hands resting on the arms of his throne as if the weight of them were too much to bear. Gods be good, thought Davos, when he saw Lord Wyman's face, this man looks half a corpse. His skin was pallid, with an undertone of grey.

Kings and corpses always draw attendants, the old saying went. So it was with Manderly

 

Quote

The Sworn Sword

 How many eyes does Lord Bloodraven have? ran the riddle Egg had heard in Oldtown. A thousand eyes, and one.

Six years ago in King's Landing, Dunk had seen him with his own two eyes, as he rode a pale horse up the Street of Steel with fifty Raven's Teeth behind him. That was before King Aerys had ascended to the Iron Throne and made him the Hand, but even so he cut a striking figure, garbed in smoke and scarlet with Dark Sister on his hip. His pallid skin and bone-white hair made him look a living corpse

 

I do not know how they can add to our common thoughts...yet!

 

I will next read The long night and the great summer. Looking fwd to it

I have theorised that Benjen Stark went with some ww on a mission to restore balance. If you are interested it is here.

 

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11 hours ago, Arry'sFleas said:

Great post Durran! even if i am over a year late...

I was thinking today of the parallels between the pale skinned melisandre, likely a qartheen, send into r'hllor slavery in asshai, and the sorceress corpse queen of the NK...it did not take me long to find your post.

The parallels are in the story for a reason.

There is not much more i can add to your theory but i can point to a few additional similarities:

 

 

 

I do not know how they can add to our common thoughts...yet!

 

I will next read The long night and the great summer. Looking fwd to it

I have theorised that Benjen Stark went with some ww on a mission to restore balance. If you are interested it is here.

 

Ah thanks. I had a lot of fun with this essay and the responses to it. So I appreciate that people are still appreciating it a year later.

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