Melisandre's "Prince Who Was Promised" prophecy was actually about Arya Stark

29 April 2019, 11:59

By Emma Clarke

Melisandre's prophecy about the 'Prince Who Was Promised' *finally* makes sense

When Game of Thrones started, it was all about the battle for the Iron Throne. But for the last few seasons, that storyline has taken a backseat while our favourite warriors geared up for the ultimate battle for humanity against the White Walkers.

Last night, we witnessed that epic showdown in the Battle of Winterfell.

And while there was SO much to take in (I don't think I took a breath for the entire hour and a half), one key thing that stood out for viewers was THAT appearance from Melisandre.

**SPOILER ALERT: LOOK AWAY NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN SEASON 8, EPISODE 3**

The Red Woman plays a big part in this week's Game of Thrones. Picture: HBO

Who is Melisandre, AKA, The Red Woman?

Melisandre has been a bit of a mysterious figure throughout Game of Thrones. At first, many took a strong disliking to the Red Woman because of her questionable methods of fulfilling the Lord of Light's will.

As you'll remember, she first appeared on our screens in season 2, when she was backing Stannis Baratheon's claim to the Iron Throne.

She gave birth to some strange shadow baby in a cave, which Ser Davos bore witness to and was understandably like 'WTF?'.

Then, after winning Stannis' heart, mind and body, she managed to convince him it would be a good idea to burn his daughter Shireen (Ser Davos' fave), on a pyre as a sacrifice for the Lord of Light.

As it turned out, Stannis was not the "Prince Who Was Promised", and Shireen's death was in vain.

It is for this very reason that Ser Davos can't stand the sight of her, and even after she brought Jon Snow back from the dead in season 6, she was banished from Winterfell when Jon found out.

Season 6 was when it was revealed that Melisandre is much older than she appears. Taking off the ruby amulet from around her neck, we saw the red-headed beauty morph into an ancient figure.

In a chilling scene with Varys in season 7, when they both stood on the cliffs at Dragonstone, Melisandre warns their deaths are imminent and will take place at Winterfell.

Season 8, episode 3, then saw the Red Women riding on a horse as she approached the Dothraki army and the Unsullied, who were lined up outside the fortress.

Saving our eyes and allowing us to see what the hell was going on, Melisandre then cast a spell which set all the Dothraki's swords and blades on fire, similarly to how Beric's sword Lightbringer sets alight when he draws it from its sheath.

Melisandre knew Arya was capable of defeating Darkness, she just didn't know how. Picture: HBO

What was Melisandre's prophecy about Arya?

Melisandre's time-old prophecy about the "Prince Who Was Promised" has been creepin' up left, right and centre throughout the hit HBO series, but it's likely that some viewers overlooked it.

As author George R. R. Martin's novels explain in more detail, the "Prince Who Was Promised" was all about the person destined to defeat the Night King and his Army of the Dead.

When Melisandre rocks up at Dragonstone in season 7, she stands in front of Daenerys Targaryen and explains that she must meet Jon Snow, that "ice and fire" must come together to defeat the common enemy.

During this speech, Melisandre speaks in her native tongue, Asshai'i. Dany misinterprets a key element of what the Red Woman is saying, but according to Missandei's translation, the word which Dany believed to mean "prince" has no gender, and could apply to both a man and/or woman. This seems to cheer her up a bit, as she's believed herself to be the rightful heir to the Iron Throne all her life.

As we saw in the latest episode, however, neither Jon nor Dany were the ones to kill the Night King: it was Arya Stark.

Before Arya lets rip on the Night King, though, she has a pep talk from Melisandre, who reminds Arya of something she once said to her back in season 3: "I see a darkness in you. And in that darkness, eyes staring back at me: brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes you’ll shut forever. We will meet again."

Little did we know back then that the Red Woman was actually talking about Arya killing the effing Night King himself.

Thanks to Missandei, we learnt the true translation of THAT prophecy. Picture: HBO

Where else has the Red Woman's prophecy appeared?

As touched upon earlier on in this article, Melisandre backed Stannis Baratheon's claim to the Iron Throne, because of what she saw in the flames (this is how the Lord of Light communicates with her).

Aware of the White Walkers and the Long Night, which descended on Westeros 8,000 years before when Game of Thrones is set, Melisandre tells the Brotherhood Without Banners that "great power requires great sacrifice", in reference to the great battle.

Thoros of Myr also recounts Melisandre's prophecy in the show, saying: "According to prophecy, our champion will be reborn to wake dragons from stone and reforge the great sword Lightbringer that defeated the darkness those thousands of years ago. If the old tales are true, a terrible weapon forged with a loving wife's heart. Part of me thinks man was well rid of it, but great power requires great sacrifice. That much at least the Lord of Light is clear on."

Within the old texts of Melisandre's religion, the lines "the dead shall rise in the North" appear, and the ancient books also state that "it's written that a warrior will draw a burning sword from the fire. And that sword shall be Lightbringer."

What else could Melisandre's thoughts about Arya mean?

In addition to prophesying that Arya Stark would kill the Night King, some Game of Thrones fans believe it also could refer to Cersei Lannister and predict her downfall.

While pretty much everyone in the Seven Kingdoms is fighting for humanity, Cersei is back in King's Landing, sippin' on wine and lapping up the sunshine in the south.

But, as we still have three more episodes to go in the final ever season, we're guessing the focus will shift back to the original task at hand: sussing out who's meant to sit on the Iron Throne.

Now, as well as mentioning "blue eyes", Melisandre utters something about "green" and "brown" eyes, too. The Night King had blue eyes, so there's that, but who has green eyes? None other than Cersei fucking Lannister.

We already know that she's on Arya's list of names, so there's motive. But it's also a popular theory among fans that Jaime will be the one to kill his sister and lover.

While Arya appears to have forgiven both The Hound and Beric Dondarrion, we highly doubt that Arya's going to turn around to Cersei and be like "water under the bridge."

Only time will tell...

When is episode 4 of Game of Thrones, season 8 on?

You can catch the fourth episode of Game of Thrones on Sunday night at 9pm on HBO if you live in the States, or you watch it from 9pm on Monday if you're in the UK.

In the UK, it airs on Sky Atlantic, or you can stream it via NOW TV.