In a show full of harrowing moments, the moment sweet Shireen was killed stands out as one of the most brutal Game of Thrones twists of them all. Shireen was a complete innocent, and her own father handed her over to Melisandre to sacrifice to R'hllor. The scene was violent, heartbreaking, and marked a point of no return for Stannis and Melisandre. Stannis understood there was no coming back for him and accepted death at the hands of Brienne, but Melisandre fled to the Wall where she failed to tell Ser Davos what she did to his little princess. After finding Shireen's toy stag in a pile of ashes, though, Davos now knows what Melisandre did — and the season-long wait for the confrontation between Davos and the Red Woman he allied himself with for Jon Snow's sake is coming in the Season 6 finale.
In an interview with Tech Insider, Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham hinted at Davos' state of mind now that he knows what Melisandre did. "It's a punch to the chest. Especially after what happened in the first couple of episodes of this season, when he's almost trying to repair the relationship between the two of them," Cunningham told Tech Insider.
Davos is a character whose heart has always been pure. He looked after both Stannis' interests and his soul, he saved Gendry, and now he has joined the good fight with Jon Snow. How Jon chooses to deal with Melisandre if Davos does indeed force her to confess though, could decide what happens next for Davos and Melisandre.
The trailer for the Season 6 finale "Winds of Winter" features a scene where Davos appears to be forcing a confrontation with Melisandre in front of Jon. In the scene, Davos insists Melisandre tell Jon what she did to Shireen, and it is by far the most angry Davos has ever been in the history of the show. He has every right to his anger, of course. Melisandre burned an innocent little girl alive because of her beliefs, and that is unforgivable.
However, Jon is in an unfortunate position. Melisandre brought him back to life, so sentencing her to death would not be an easy decision to make. The most I see him doing is giving Melisandre her very own cell in Winterfell's dungeon — but that may not be enough for Davos.
Without a doubt, Davos is going to be feeling some serious guilt over not being there to stop Melisandre from murdering Shireen, and for actually trusting her in the wake of Jon's death. Even though Melisandre has been far less cocky in Season 6 than she has in the past, her crisis of faith and newfound humility should not buy her a get-out-of-jail-free card. While I would like to see her pay for what she did to Shireen, or at the very least admit how wrong she was, I would hate to see Davos' need to punish her cost Davos his soul or life even more.
Besides, now that it has been revealed Melisandre is actually ancient, it is hard to say if she can be killed. Davos may try and find Melisandre cannot die. She could even kill him for trying to end her run as the Red Priestess to her new chosen one. Even worse, if Davos defies Jon's decision, whatever it may be, Jon could be the one to pass judgment on Davos by either sending him away or executing him for murder or the attempted murder of Melisandre.
One thing is certain, Davos will not be able to let Shireen's death go unavenged. Shireen was like a daughter to him, and she died a horrific death at the hands of a fanatic. Davos has never been overly interested in who sits on the Iron Throne. He stood by Stannis because he believed Stannis was a fair man, and he gave Davos an opportunity for a better life.
Given all that Davos has lost: his king, his son, and Shireen, he may feel as if he no longer has anything left to lose. If that is the case, then a major showdown is going to happen between Davos and Melisandre, and Davos may not make it out alive. Even if he doesn't, I suspect he will die as he lived, fighting to prove people like Gendry, his son, Shireen, and Jon matter just as much as any throne in King's Landing or a prophecy that may or may not be fulfilled.
Images: Helen Sloan/HBO; Giphy (3)
