Did “Game of Thrones” take all the criticism about misogyny to heart? The plot of its season premiere would suggest so. While Season 6 kicked off with about the same level of crushing gloom and gratuitous violence, little of it was directed at the show’s female characters, who for once collectively seemed to triumph over the odds.

This is the first season that will go beyond the books, so the show’s writers have more leeway now with how they treat these characters. Who knows — maybe they’ll take this opportunity to reboot. “The Woman in Red,” in any case, felt that way. Many scenes refrained from nudity or violence to women, in which they could very easily have indulged. The fact that I’m impressed by that restraint probably speaks to how low the bar is currently set. Incredibly, there was even a stab or two at humor, which other than the “gallows” variety, is generally in pretty short supply on this show. Let’s look at what the show included (and omitted) that felt different.

First of all, Brienne. I mean, finally. She spent what felt like a whole season in surveillance mode in a cut-rate castle room somewhere, waiting to come to Sansa’s rescue, so watching her be able to pull it off — slashing down Ramsay’s men to rescue Sansa and Theon as they were on the cusp of being taken prisoner again — was immensely satisfying. As was seeing Sansa finally accept Brienne’s dogged offer to be her lifelong bodyguard. Here’s what didn’t happen: Nobody beat the shit out of Sansa before Brienne rode in to save the day. Which has her character faring better than she did over the past handful of episodes, for sure.

Then there’s Daenerys, who was taken prisoner by a horde of the Dothraki who, apparently, have not heard a word about the Mother of Dragons. She’s jeered at by her captors and threatened by the new Khal — until she tells him who she is. He quickly apologizes, though he’s not so into sending her back to Meereen. Here’s what didn’t happen: Nobody tore her dress off, leaving her standing in front of them all naked (or a stunt double, anyway; Emilia Clarke has been critical of the show’s approach to nudity and sex scenes). Instead, the episode went for a laugh. The Khal rhetorically asked what was better than seeing a beautiful woman naked for the first time, at which his hangers-on started coming up with various thoughts (a good horse, conquering a city, etc.), to his annoyance. It was a strangely funny moment. I wouldn’t mind if there were more like it.

Meanwhile, in Dorne, the Sand Snakes just took everyone apart, staged a coup, and murdered Prince Doran, along with the captain of his guards and his son, Trystane. Ringleader Ellaria Sand hissed something along the lines of, “No more weak men will be ruling this city.” They seem sort of terrible, but their ruthlessness is certainly refreshing in a world where so few women are capable of fighting back.

And finally, the Red Woman herself, who’s the subject of the big “reveal” that had everyone talking (spoilers ahead). Seemingly defeated by the sight of Jon Snow’s (maybe, but probably not totally) dead body, she took to her room, where she removed her dress and that magical choker she’s always got on. Suddenly she transformed from a young hottie into a withered crone. Maybe I was already buttered up by the whole wisecracking Dothraki meatheads scene, but I found the scene to be an amusing slap in the face for everyone who tunes into “GoT” for the boobs. Age, just like winter, is coming for everyone — even porcelain-faced actresses.

All in all, not a bad way to start, relatively speaking. The Rotten Tomatoes score on the premiere has risen to 92 percent, and audience reaction was certainly robust, with HBO’s standalone streaming service breaking records.

Still, there are a couple of key factors to remember here that don’t bode well for the future of this season or the show as a whole, as far as women are concerned. #1: There are no women directors, once again, just like last season. #2: There are no women writers this season. Not one. And you’d think, given the sheer volume of criticism over the show’s treatment of women onscreen, HBO would have seen fit to hire ONE female director or writer. You know, just for window dressing purposes.

But no. Because “Game of Thrones” (both onscreen and behind the scenes) is all about lifting your hopes up and then smashing them to gory little bits on the ground. So while I’m fairly convinced all this triumph is just a setup for lots of heartbreak and terror and gratuitous sexual violence — let’s savor the moment anyway.