Where Does Melisandre's Power Come From? A Song of Ice and Fire Theories Podcast 

Here I am after season 8 and I’m still mad at how Stannis character arc ended

Her power comes from a counsel of her friends, they just met up and decided she would have power because she had the best story

I can listen to Quinn talk about nearly anything dealing with ASoIaF all night long....honestly, I'd love it if you'd start narrating the series chapter by chapter in order, you've got a great voice for it

These guests are awesome! They have such a wonderful and different perspective from the usual crowd. I hope for more collabs with them!

I'm surprised that you didn't mention that magic was way harder to do until Dany's dragons were born and the Other's returned. The warlocks of Quarth are mentioned to suddenly have become much more powerful

I always thought Mel was a green seer because she had red eyes like Bloodraven. Also, the Ghost of Highheart had red eyes. I thought maybe Mel had come from Westeros originally. There were some wildings taken as slaves many years ago. It was at Hardhome when the volcana erupted many were taken from there to become slaves.

i need the next book ....to wash the taste of the tv show outta my head......im finding it hard to be happy about GOT at the moment.

Her power comes from Robert Baratheon’s breastplate stretcher

I was not prepared to hear “my period as volcanic”.

I was expecting for her to come with an army from Volantis during the battle of Winterfell.

Melisandre is a shadowbinder. Shadows are all about manipulating perception.

This is really interesting...cuz I've been wanting more Melisandre content and theories (she's my 3rd favorite character) but I couldn't find much. Now we get over an hour of her! Thank you!!!

Book content! Thank the seven!

One of my fav characters. I loved her on tv as well

16:53 in fact in a prior Jon POV when hes fighting/sparing with mance/rattle shirt. When rattle shirt puts on armour jon comments on how he looks larger. Bigger and taller. Internally just says somthing like "it's just the armor. It makes the man" so yeah jon for sure could see through it once the familiar or personal item "the bones" were obscured

I was like #666. The night is dark and full of terrors.

So glad to be back to ASOIAF videos. The GOT videos were killing my interest in these channels.

I find Melisandres ending odd... she just came out of nowhere and it felt a little out of place.

I really liked her ending on the tv show, it really felt like she regained her faith when lightning the pyre and the acting was top notch coupled with the music. Probably one of the best shots in the show when the flames alighteth and the fire reflects on her eyes. It does seem a bit of wasted potential that they didn't really explore what she went to do in essos etc. The whole long night episode feels like a redemption arc for her character that should have lasted longer.

Did anyone notice that Melisandre lighting up the Dothraki swords meant that they weren’t made of dragon glass? This also brings in a new plot hole because why would all these characters put the Dothraki on the front lines if they didn’t have dragon glass?

Three of my favs! Excellent discussion folks. Still mad Mel didn't muster Kinvara and The Fiery Hand from Volantis, but meh. Waiting patiently for the books now. Also, kudos for bringing up Hugh Quinn.

I am almost sure her power comes from within her own will rather than from R'hllor. She is just a naturally gifted sorceress.

I'm a simple man; Quinn uploads a video, and I hit "like" 👍 Also wasn't Carice Van Houten perfect casting?! Right down to her "heart-shaped face"!

Melisandre is one of my favourites as well. I’ve always rooted for the darker female characters, like the Wicked Witch, and Maleficent, Cruella de Vil, etc. So to see someone else appreciate Mel makes me feel good. She’s such a mysterious, powerful character. However concerning her powers, I like to think her powers are innate. I know GRRM has gone so far as to say that his gods aren’t real, they won’t make any sort of physical appearance in the books. I think that the magic that exists in the world is used by their religions to claim divinity.

Great vid love the colab. Keep up the great work can't wait till the next podcast with grey area.

Stoked to tha tilt Quinn your take brings clarity to story lines and outlooks of ice and fire.Worth my time brada.

Great discussion guys. Excellent and relevant ideas, very interesting guests. Congrats to all of you.

Your content has been filling the empty inside, thanks Quinn!

Love these guests! Such a profesh session! Loved them

I love your channel and I also love Girls gone cannon. Thank you for having them on. Great video 👍

I'm just listening to this. I listened to the Obsidian Nights podcast about Stannis this week and finding this was a great continuation of that theme. This is a wonderful discussion! Thank you all so much!

Love these episodes when you bring other people into the conversation. Thank you.

background music got really suspenseful at 22:08 😯

Great work! What an intelligent, enjoyable convo. Thank you.

Good little stream. Keep the ASOIAF hype going FOREVER!

I didn't think I would enjoy conversation between three people about got but I really liked it. Actually, I found out it was an our long after I finished it. It seemed much shorter. I guess it was because all of you knew what you were talking about. Good job

really great conversation everybody!

Do more podcasts with these girls! I loved you all together.

Can you please do a video that explores the connection between Martin's depiction of visionary drinks with the visionary plants used in indigenous shamanic practices. Shade of the morning, weirwood paste... there are connections to Ayahuasca and San Pedro/Peyote cactus - people take the potion in the context of a ritrual and it ushers in a state that involves visions and dream states. I've listened to a lot of videos in which the commentators didn't seem to understand that Martin was clearly using these potions as an analogue for real world practices. The same way the weirwood trees represent the sacred oaks that villages traditionally would perform their rituals and ceremonies beneath.

0:07 I kinda noticed that Stannis looks like Radovid of redenia :P

I discovered your channel and have been listening for hours in a row XD Love your take on things, I'm seriously geeking out over it all :-D

I was hoping you'd do another one of these.

So, since the Starks live a second life as (their) wolf (pet)...could it be that Danny is now (literally) Drogon? Would explain Drogon's reaction after Jon killed her.

That was a wonderful video, thank you.

Wonder what happened to The Fiery Hand. I've read her POV chapter SO many times, trying to deduce anything. I hope there are more of her chapters in WOW💕📚

Yo amazing discussion. Melisandre’s magic and morality are two of the most interesting parts of the series and I love how you guys really dove into that and the origins/implications of magic more broadly.

Loved these lore videos keep em coming

Her power is from Starbucks coffee

GRRM has left the GoT world in an agnostic state; there really isn't a statement that the gods do or don't exist, and he's left that open-ended (on purpose, I believe). So it's quite plausible that the Lord of Light perhaps does exist in some manner.

Thanks for restoring my faith in GOT and not just left with the crap we were given in the last 2-3 seasons. GRRM is without equal when it comes to story telling and world building.

That Stannis art is badass.

She’s my favorite character in the whole series!👌

I was always wondered about it. By the way greetings from Ukraine

Very interesting conversation

Great podcast guys! 😊👍

Another great video, thanks!

She caused an eagle in the sky to combust...that's super powerful, we don't even know how the fuck she could do that.

Easily best ASOIAF youtuber! After watching your videos I was inspired to start to read the books after game of thrones was over

Hey dude, love the channel! As a big book fan, I was wondering if you could put together a short video discussing the editions of each of the series in the books? Do you own any true first editions?

Could you do a video about Quaithe? I know you've done at least one already, but maybe in this format?😊I also want to know what "The Shadow" is. Asshai by The Shadow...🔥🔥🔥

How have I never come across Girls Gone Cannon? I thought I'd found the few really good analysts of the book series, but apparently not. Thanks for introducing me them - now subscribed to their podcast.

Melisandre's death scene was making me teary.

You should make a video about Bran... what up with him. He will become king I wanna know more cause the writers of got gave us nothing about his power.

The religion of R'hollor is an interesting one to talk about. The worship of the Lord of Light probably best corresponds to the Cathar heresy of the Middle Ages. This was a actually a "Christian" heresy widespread in parts of southern France and northern Italy (just like how the worship of R’hllor is mostly found in parts of Essos in ASOIAF), which had its ultimate origins in the East, in Manichaeism and "Zoroastrianism". Zoroastrianism is the actual father of all monotheistic faiths philosophically speaking. All three Judaism, Christianity and Islam respectively came out of the philosophy of Zoroastrianism which ruled Ancient Persia. Proposed by the ancient priest Zoroaster, the same prophet who wrote Zend Avesta. The Cathars believed that there were two gods - one good and the other evil - and that the good god was creator of the spiritual world while the evil god was creator of the physical. They believed in renouncing the evil present in the world, just as do the followers of R’hllor and their own duothestic religion. The Cathars also had women serving as priests and administrators of their tradition’s own sacrament (called consolamentum), just as the faith of R’hllor has red priestesses like Melisandre among his servants. In Westeros, there appears to be some rivalry between the dominant Faith of the Seven and the followers of R’hllor, just as in the real world there were suppressions of the Cathars by the Catholic Church (one example of this being the Albigensian Crusade).

She needed a line like: "The Lord of Light is here. But HE is not alone. . . . . This night is Dark and FILLED with Terrors."

Wow this was such an awesome video

A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.

"It's Picard so of course" Should of had Janeway running the experiment.

Thanks! Mel is one of my favs too

The tag, Ex opere operato, definitely applies to the "bad priest" Thoros.

Lucy Lawless auditioned for the show... Who you think she would have played

Why did she go to Volantis?

The battle of winter fell was meant to be epic... Nymeria and her wolf army vs the ice spiders, dany in fire vs the night king in ice, Melisandre and her red priests vs the wights, Jon snow vs the NK’s bastard children...... wtf wtf wtf

I like the thought of Melisandre being something akin to the one true priestess, the true vessel of the god, while the religion organised around the formal worship of the Lord of Light has long since become a political and social construct, lacking the true conviction and supernatural power of R'hllor worship. I think

HEY, IDEAS OF ICE AND FIRE! Check out my alternative ending for the series: This is one way I think it could have gone down. • Cersei’s armies march North attempting to surprise the enemy who was facing another threat. • The Northern army stayed put thanks to Bran. They were able to counter the attack. The North prevails and the beaten forces are added to their numbers. • Against his most precious desire, Jamie kills Cersei proving that his duty to the realm outweighs the madness in his heart. He threatens to attack Jon and poses a duel in an attempt to earn a knight’s death. Jon, reluctant, kills Jamie and commends him as an anointed knight of the realm. . • The army of the living makes their final stand against the dead. The battle takes place at Last Hearth. • Many die! It’s awesome and terrifying! • Bran reaches the ultimate state of his transformation into the three-eyed raven and is now able to converse with The Night’s King. The ice demon SPEAKS to him and explains that his people are creatures of darkness and cold. Exiles from an extinct world that had exhausted all available resources in it. They must feed on death by praying on the living. When all froze and died, they were left with nothing and fled their world through their deep caves and tunnels. When they emerged, they were at the Northern edges in the Land of Always Winter and there they settled. This was their second attempt to dominate this new world. They had been driven away by a fierce fire-wielder who commanded an army manned by all kinds of creatures: big and small, hairy and naked. They were unprepared at the time and so they retreated. They studied the enemy and multiplied. Lurking and spying they awaited until the time came again to take the life out of the living. This was his people’s last chance of continuing… of being. • During their encounter Bran is able to enter the enemy’s mind and undo his spell which prevented him from fully accessing the past memory of how the prophecies came to be. In doing so he realizes that both Danny and Jon are the prophecy fulfilled. However, the spell requires that either one bathes in the blood of the other so that The One mentioned in the prophecies can, through Blood Magic, be armed against the Night’s King. He passes on the information to Jon and Danny just before he is cut down by the ice blade. • Danny and Jon are the next target. They are aware of it and know they must comply rapidly. Danny, astonished, turns to Jon but before she can utter a word Jon approaches her, sword in hand and with tears in his eyes. “I love you, Danny…” he says to her, “Please forgive me.” With both hands on the hilt he raises Longclaw. The blade aiming at his own heart. “No! Never!” She thinks the words but can’t say them in time… Drogon reacts faster, however. He senses Danny’s feelings almost simultaneously as she does herself. His gentle muzzle knocks Jon down just before he can pierce his own chest. Jon, recovering from the blow, sees Danny picking up longclaw. She has tears streaming down her face but they stop at a kind smile. Her gentle voice goes to him: “Geros ilas, Jon Snow. Avy jorrāelan!” The spell-forged steal pierces her so swiftly that her heart still manages two more heartbeats even after being cut in half. • Jon Snow is lost. He can’t stomach the travesty that fate has presented him with. He had found love again and again there she was, lying lifelessly on the ground. He cradles her silver locks one last time. “Not again… I really thought this time I would be able to save her. I’m no king … nor am I a commander.” At their king’s bidding, the gelid demons charged. Seven of them, all eager to deliver the final blow. Amidst the madness of his misery Jon sees Longclaw, drenched in Danny’s blood. “It didn’t even work. Nothing even happened!” He reaches for it so he can throw it away. His grief giving way to anger. “Damn you, Bran! Damn you!” But as he touches the hilt one more time the blade starts to glow. More and more it glows as if it had just come out of a smith’s forge, red, orange and yellow. It is like looking directly into the dawning sun. Such glare makes him look away. He looks back to it with narrowed eyes and realizes his eyes are adjusting though the brightness from the blade only grows more intense. He sees the walkers sent to end him. They have halted about five feet from him. Their hands covering their eyes as they produce noises of agony and pain. “They are blind.” Jon acknowledged. He kisses Danny on the forehead and stands up. His anger is still very much afire! As Jon leaves to fight the enemy, Drogon goes to his fallen mother. He lies around her in a circle, still as a rock. • The air changes. It thickens and heats up. Hot heavy gusts of wind swirl around Jon as he paces towards his victims. The walkers are on all fours now. They struggle to breathe as he swings the ember-bright blade onto their necks. One by one their severed heads fall on steamy puddles that are no longer snow. The last one, somehow, even manages to raise his weapon to block the strike, but it is futile. The blade breaks off easily and the last head hits the puddles. Its charred eyes staring deadly at its king. Suddenly the Night’s King starts screaming and shouting noises and shrieking sounds supposed to be words. He runs as an enraged beast. His eyes locked at Jon. As the winter monster approaches Jon assumes his stance. “The heat and the glare are nothing to him, but that changes nothing!” • Jon evades the first blow too easily. “A bait!” The second blow is faster but Longclaw stays it in time. Again, and again from all directions they come. Each more violent than the last. “Pace yourself! Watch his feet!” Sir Rodrick’s voice speaking clearly in his mind as if his father is watching from the balcony back at Winterfell. “Don’t let anger overcome you! Pace yourself! Watch his feet! He will falter!” Sir Rodrick’s words proved true at last. Jon sees the opening and strikes downwards. The creature is caught off guard and can barely stop the blazing blow. The deadlock brings the Night’s King down to one knee as Jon presses down unforgivingly. As Jon looks down, he sees his foe’s eyes meet his own. Though he cannot understand them, his foul words feel like a curse. Jon replies with the most savage battle cry. He lifts Longclaw unexpectedly and throws his foe off balance. The Valyrian Steel blade burning at its brightest comes down with all the fury of the Gods, slices through the ice blade and gets the Night’s King from shoulder to gut. Bright white flames come out instantly. Living fire pouring from mouth, earholes and eye sockets alike. Bright as torches in the pitch-black night! The remaining walkers start to flee disoriented. Some fall down never to get up again. “Just as bees without a queen.” • Jon dissolves the realm back into seven kingdoms. The Night’s Watch becomes an overall military force that watches over Westeros. It will hence preserve the peace and meet with lords and kings to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.

Hey Quinn great video as always. I know you have done videos with LML in the past I was curious of your thoughts on what's been going the past week or so with hom and some other creators. I understand if you dont wanna talk about it or get into it. Was just curious heard about it the other day

I’m dying for that necklace to fall off of her while she’s in a room full of people, in the book. Hahaha.

You know what I’ve been wondering since reading the books. If you need to kill someone in order to pay for life, why can thoros bring back Beric without giving up anything. With the wights, they come back to life but it’s not a real life, they are just puppets being controlled. Why is beric completely normal if a bit changed from being killed.

Can't find you guys on my usual podcast app or even anywhere with Google. Are these only on RU-vid?

GRRM has all but said the extended world (Lovecraftian references) are done so for fun and in no way tie into the main story. Persistent* agony

Very interesting video. I always thought that Mel doesn’t actually kill Varamyr’s eagle at the wall and that she just took credit for it to make herself seem more powerful. It’s my belief that the eagle just flew too far over the wall and the wall’s magic got him. Idk why Mel wouldn’t set things/ people on fire with her mind more often if she really could... just a thought. Thanks for the content. Excellent as always.

Someone please link the mentioned Dune T-Shirt available on Amazon.

That's a beautiful illustration. Who's the artist ?

Oh, her Red God is just this gigantic otherwordly worm that was brought back to life through Valyria's destruction and is acting through priests by injecting small parts of itself into them so that it can wrestle against a similar being hidden in the Lands of Always Winter for complete control of the world. ... Not claiming this is true, but it kinda would be cool. :P

Anyone else get angry when the TV show gets mentioned

I think the "Magic is dying out" theory was definitely put to rest by the ending of the show, specifically Bran being king, and the revelation that this was George R.R. Martin's idea. Bran's only qualification is magic, so his rulership in a post-magic world is an absurdity. This may just be a rebirth of magic, or another turn in a cycle of magic fading and being reborn.

Where do you get your illustrations?

ha i had the same reaction to the wizard of oz as a kid. dark female sorceress archetype for the win!

51:45, the Baratheons have Targaryean blood, Orys Baratheon was one of Aegon the Conqueror's cousins, remember?

Great video. Mellisandre's ending in the show was great, though I wish she should have internally combusted as she walked out of the castle.

Can you do a Rickon video?🙏

at 7:05, kind of like on the show Lost, with Locke and the Island/Smoke Monster?

I want to know how Orell's eagle was set on fire. Was it the Wall or was it Melisandre? I've heard theories that it's the Wall that blocks skin changing and that Orell flew his eagle too close to the Wall. But surely they'd know that. Surely they'd know not to send their animals so close to the Wall. But if it were Melisandre, where did this power suddenly come from?

Good night guys 🌚

Sorry I know this vid is Melisandre but you brought up Dany which got me thinking. I dont want to give season 8 any credit whatsoever BUT just to give a take on the Mother Archetype, IF (big IF) Dany witnesses her children slaughtered or even in the books Missandei is taken and enslaved, I could see Dany lay waste to the land if she takes on the Goddess Demeter's mantle. Demeter makes the Earth wasteland and barren out of grief for her stolen child. Missandei is a child in the books, she could represent the maiden archetype for Dany but it also could be all of Danys children who follow her to Westeros but ultimately die. This is also starting to be seen in ADWD. This isnt Dany being genocidal this is Dany protective Mother

A shadow must be cast by something... the Shadow near Asshai must be near something great and terrible that blocks out light

@0:56 Well now we know what Quinn gets off to.

Hey, I started reading the books and trying to forget the tv show canon now. So it would be cool if you made more vids like this. Maybe not in podcast form but different theory videos

let a red priest pls res dany in the books

"Don't think about it." -Tyrion