Review: Game Of Thrones S05E09 - The Dance Of Dragons

This week on Game Of Thrones, Ramsay carries out his little raid on Stannis' camp, forcing Stannis to make a horrible decision. Jon Snow returns to the Wall. Jaime has a long talk with Doran Martell. Arya crosses paths with a very familiar face. Daenerys hosts the Great Games in Daznak's Pit. 




Warning: Spoilers Ahead (Book and Show)




This just in, Scientists are reporting the formation of an entirely new sea, comprised of the tears of Stannis fanboys!

Woe is them.

 So yeah, let's talk about that scene. Ramsay hits Stannis' camp hard, burning down dozens of tents and much of their precious supplies. As if things weren't bad enough for Stannis with the blizzard, being stuck in the middle of nowhere, hundreds of men abandoning him, now his situation is even worse! Unless he does something, his army will freeze to death and/or mutiny. And what he does brings him to a point of no return, and his mindless, rabid fans frothing at their mouths. He has Shireen burned to improve his situation. Man, this was such a hard scene to watch. Shireen was built up enough this season that her death hit you hard, and Stannis clearly loved his daughter. But, when he chooses his ambition over his family, it's heartwrenching. Hell, it's appalling! He's convinced that he has a destiny, to become king and fight the White Walkers, and he's willing to do anything to accomplish that. I don't think he's strayed into pure villain territory, because he clearly did not relish in that decision and I can see why he did it. But yeah, unless he slips into a deep depression and maybe even drinks heavily and constantly considers suicide, he's pretty much irredeemable at this point. And when Melisandre just smiles at Shireen's burning corpse, I hope for nothing for the worst for that red bitch, and really, this was all her doing. Her and her fucking Lord Of Light. If it wasn't obvious Melisandre and her god were trouble before, it sure is now. 

Now, if you've read any of my earlier blogs on previous episodes, I think you'll know that I'm a book-reader. But that I'm also not some drooling, mindless book nerd who resorts to personal insults against David Benioff and D.B. Weiss because I don't like the changes. Actually, that would imply I give a fuck about the changes. I don't give a shit about the changes. As far as I'm concerned, all the whiney bitch book purists who stoop so low as to personally insult D&D can all go fuck themselves. Sorry, but you're dumb! Take those books that are oh-so-perfect, and shove them up your pretentious assholes! And I'm saying this as someone who absolutely loves the books. But I forget myself, this is another change that I don't mind at all. Stannis in the books might not have done this (for all we know, he might. Since burning Shireen was George RR Martin's idea), but in the show, it took Stannis' character in a new direction. How will this effect him in the future? In the end, if the sacrifice works, will it all have been worth it? Will this eat his from the inside? Itll probably play out like a Greek Tragedy, and actually has some similarities with one. And I think that's what an adaptation should do. Adapt a story for the screen, but also explore some possibilities and directions that weren't present in the source material. More importantly, the writers should take the story, and make it their own. Like what Walt Disney did with many of his animated adaptations (perhaps an inappropriate comparison, given the entirely different subject matter, but it's the best example I could think of). 

Back at the Wall, Jon Snow arrives outside Castle Black with the Free Folk he saved last episode. Ser Alliser is at the top of the Wall, sharing a long dirty stare with Jon Snow. Instead of doing what he wants to do however, he opens the gate for Jon and the Wildlings. Oh and Wun-Wun (the giant in case you forgot). As the Wildling's march through the gate, Jon tells Sam he didn't save enough. Sam tries to console Jon by pointing out he didn't fail the very people marching through the gate. But Jon ain't feeling it, he's feeling the Night's Watch dicks giving him nasty looks even less. Ser Alliser chews him out for being soft-hearted. Jon, tell that motherfucker what you saw and set him and every other naysayer straight!

In Dorne, Jaime is invited by Doran to dinner. Jaime apologises to Trystane for what happened, and has a talk with Doran about what Jaime was in Dorne at all for. Jaime tells Doran about the Lion Pendant in the Viper's Jaws that was sent to them. Doran immediately looks at Ellaria. While Doran is trying to be reasonable about all of this, Ellaria refuses to even be in the same room as a Lannister, and calls Doran spineless for sending Myrcella and Trystane back with Jaime. Doran just gives her a cold stare, and threatens to have her killed if she doesn't behave. Jaime has one last request, that Bronn be set free. Doran lets Trystane decide. Trystane decides to free Bronn, on one condition. After a fun little scene with the Sand Snakes in jail, Bronn is taken to Doran and we find out what the condition was. Bronn getting punched in the face. You know, Dorne is improving. It wasn't the best at first, but it's improving. 

In Braavos, Arya is preparing to off that old fuck who bought oysters from her last episode. But then, she sees Mace Tyrell dock with Meryn Trant. She no longer gives a shit about her duties as a faceless man. She stalks Meryn all the way to a brothel. Meryn Trant inspects all the prostitutes they bring him, but they're all too old. Until they find a little girl that's just right for Meryn. Sick fuck. Arya goes back to the House of Black and White and lies to Jaqen. I'm not sure if he's fallen for it or not. 

And then we get to the ending, Daznak's Pit. Which, came right after Shireen's burning. Which is kinda funny, seeing as that was so gut-wrenchingly horrible, and the last scene is rather uplifting. We finally get to see the Great games in the Pit Of Daznak. There's some really great swordplay in this scene, and some great back and forth between Dany, Hizdhar, Tyrion and Daario. And then Ser Jorah enters the Pits, and I just love Emilia and Iain Glenn's acting here. And I especially love Jorah's fight. And in a moment that pretty much proves Jorah's devotion to her, he hurls a spear at a Son Of The Harpy that was about to shank her. At that moment, Dozens of Harpy's reveal themselves among the audience. All hell breaks loose, and our heroes are surrounded by dozens of Harpy's. All hope seems lost. Then, what's that? A roar in the distance? It's Drogon! I admit, it's easy to see here that most of the season's budget went into Hardhome last week, but it's still a damn fine scene. Even if it isn't the best CGI we've seen on the show. It's the emotions of the characters and the atmosphere of the moment that counts, and it's pulled off masterfully here. Ramin Djwadi's Breaker Of Chains theme fits incredibly well with this moment. And, this moment did happen in the books, and I think it's as good as it could possibly get. I for one am satisfied with it, and having Tyrion there made it even better then in the books. 

Season 5 Episode rating: 
The Dance Of The Dragons - 10/10 - The burning of Shireen was a truly heart-wrenching moment and Daznak's Pit was every bit as great as I hoped it would be. 
Hardhome - 10/10 
The Gift - 10/10 
Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken - 9/10 
Kill The Boy - 10/10 
Sons Of The Harpy - 10/10
High Sparrow - 9.5/10
The House of Black and White - 9.5/10
The Wars To Come - 8.5/10