In this week's episode, Arya gets to Braavos and finds the House Of Black and White, AKA the home of the Faceless Men. Brienne and Podrick meet up with Sansa and Littlefinger. Spoiler Alert, it doesn't end well, or at least not in the way Brienne would have liked. Cercei receives a threat from Dorne (that I would love to see carried out to be honest) and sends Jaimie to bring their daughter home. But not without help from a certain former associate of Tyrion's. Cercei also fills the Small Council with yes-men, her uncle is most displeased. At the wall, Stannis tempts Jon with an offer he can't refuse, until Jon Snow is elected Lord Cammander of The Night's Watch. In Meereen, when a Son Of The harpy is caught, Daenerys learns a horrible truth from Ser Barristan. She takes a different approach to justice, but when one of her own council decides to take matters into his own hands, she must take yet another different approach to justice, one that will prove most unpopular. And she receives a visit from a familiar face.
Warning: Spoilers (including from the books) Ahead.
So last season, Arya got on a ship heading for Braavos. In last night's episode, she finally reaches Braavos. We got a small glimpse of Braavos last season when Stannis visited, most notably the Titan of Braavos. Which still looks pretty damn good. Now we get to see much more of Braavos, which looks stunning. We also get to see the House of Black and White, which again, looks great. The man, who I'm assuming is supposed to be the Waif from the books, denies her entry in a great little exchange ending with,"You have everywhere else to go". I'm not even sure what to say to that. But Arya ain't one to quit so easily, sitting there for what seems like days, until she finally says, "Fuck this" and leaves. She goes back to her street rat ways back in season 1, and also runs into some assholes who want her sword. Maise Williams delivers a confident threat back to them that shows just how much her character's grown. But before she can cut some more holes in their asses, the Waif comes along to scare them off. The Waif then pulls his face off and reveals himself to be Jaqen H'ghar. I love that this actor is back, he's just too cool not to bring back.
In the Riverlands, Brienne has her second run-in with a Stark daughter, when she and Podrick cross paths with Sansa and Littlefinger in a tavern. This is yet another meeting that never happened in the books (same with Arya), but it is yet another that I really wish did. Brienne just hopelessly tries to gain Sansa's trust, but Littlefinger cunningly points out all her past failures, such as failing to protect Renly and Sansa's own mother. Poor Brienne, always getting blamed for things that were beyond her control. But the nail in the coffin for Sansa was seeing Brienne bow to Joffery at the purple wedding, she rejects Brienne's service. Realising it's hopeless and that Littlefinger will probably want to tie up loose ends, she fights her way past the Vale knights and in a great chase scene, she kills Podrick's attackers and her own. She decides to just follow Sansa, since she feels she isn't safe with Littlefinger.
In King's Landing, Cercei receives a gift from Dorne. A symbolic threat in the form of a dead Viper, a reference to Oberyn Martell being called the Red Viper, holding her daughter Myrcella's Lion Pendant. Cercei vows to burn Dorne's cities to the ground if they touch Myrcella, and exclaims loudly that she's Jaime's daughter. When Jaime reminds her that nobody can know she's their daughter, Cercei points out that for all his caution Joffery was murdered at his own wedding, Myrcella was shipped off to Dorne, and Tommen has to, as Cercei puts it, marry that 'Smirking whore from Highgarden'. Poor Jaime, just like Brienne, he's getting blamed for things that were far and beyond his control. But instead of doing what I would do, verbally and literally bitchslapping Cercei, he decides to go to Dorne and bring Myrcella back. But not before bringing Bronn along for the ride. Once again, total deviation from the books, but I'm digging it. Anything involving Bronn is gold, and it'll be interesting to see where this goes. Cercei meanwhile has an earful from her uncle Kevan about filling the small council with yes-men. I'm actually surprised the show kept Kevan in, and I certainly hope this isn't the last we see of him this season.
As for Dorne itself, we get a pretty good introduction to Doran Martell as he argues with Ellaria Sand about avenging Oberyn's death. I'm not quite sure what to think of it yet, but it looks promising.
At the Wall, Stannis' daughter Shireen is teaching Gilly how to read in a surprisingly good pairing that wasn't in the books. Sam at the same time is researching the history of the Lord Commanders of the Night's Watch. Probably because he's worried about Alliser Thorne getting elected, since he'll most likely send Gilly and her baby away. After a rather touching story about how two of Gilly's sister died horrible, painful deaths by Greyscale (the exact same disease Shireen has), Selyse comes in and spoils the moment. She tells Shireen to stay away from Gilly because she's a wildling. Poor Shireen, she's never allowed to have any fun.
Meanhwile, Stannis has a meeting with Jon Snow about the burning of Mance Rayder. Jon Snow and Stannis' relationship in the books was one of the best things about A Dance With Dragons and it's translating very well to the screen. I also love how the writers kept Lyanna Mormont's "Bear Island knows no king but the King In The North, whose name is Stark". Stannis then offers to make Jon a Stark and Lord of Winterfell, because of this is anything to go by, he needs Jon. I usually don't care if the writers change things, but I'm glad those things made the cut. The election of the Lord Commander, while much less drawn out than in the books, is still a fantastic scene. Sam's speech and Alliser's rebuttal were great. But it was especially a nice touch when Maester Aemon cast his token for Jon to break the tie.
In Meereen, Daario and Grey Worm seemingly catch the Son of the Harpy who killed that Unsullied last episode. Her entire council just wants to execute him, but Ser Barristan advises restraint, and tells Dany the truth about her father. This never happens in the books, or at least Dany never listens when she's told. But she listens to and believes Barristan, and decides to give the Son of the Harpy a fair trial, not wanting to be another Mad King (or Queen). But her former-slave councillor takes matters into his own hands and kills the Son. Now she must deliver justice to one of the slaves she freed, in a morally ambiguous and perfectly executed (pun intended) execution scene. As the crowd of former slaves turns against her, she learns that you can't please everyone. I've been criticising Emilia Clarke's performance quite a bit, especially during season 4, but she's been doing great doing far. Especially when Drogon visits her. It's a wonderful little scene with a return of Ramin Djawadi's Breaker Of Chains Track, though the CGI isn't the best in the show. As daenerys tries to pat his snout, Drogon flies away over the city as Dany looks heartbroken from being rejected. Poor Dany, the one thing she needs most is flying away from her.
Season 5 Ratings -
The House of Black and White - 9.5/10
The Wars To Come - 8.5/10
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