Game of Thrones - Season 5, Episode 2 - "The House of Black and White"

The Titan of Braavos

Paul: It's been about a half hour since the second episode of Game of Thrones's fifth season, "The House of Black and White," aired on HBO, but I'm already calling it a classic. I feel like the scope was spread pretty thin in introducing a new region/character while still spending time progressing the plot in some familiar settings and sticking to their central theme. So, black or white? Petyr Baelish or Brienne? Lord Commander or Jon Stark? (Public) Execution or mercy? Mereen or literally anywhere else?


Chris: Whatever concerns there may have been about adding new locations and characters (DORNE!!) should probably be squashed at this point, right? There's been enough characters killed off the show now to make plenty of room, and that's what jumped out to me about this episode. While last season was characterized by action and pace, it's fitting for this season to take some time to explore a bit, right?  

Of course, last week we both mentioned that we were excited to see that Arya and the 'House of Black and White' would be prominently featured according to the teasers that led off the episode. Getting some Arya back in our Westerosi lives was much needed even as she mostly interacted with inconsequential characters (and the weather). I like the idea of treating Braavos as a character itself since Arya is so quarantined from many of the others. It's something that Martin was able to do so well in the books, invoke place as a character. I look forward to seeing more of that this season.

Paul: Pacing maybe in some plot threads, while I feel like others have progressed at an alarming rate; so much so that I wonder how Jon Snow (Stark?) can sustain his story throughout all 10 episodes this season. Daenerys Stormborn and Jon Snow have received the brunt of the extra screen time in the first two episodes, which should hopefully mean a mid-season sabbatical from Castle Black and Meereen (though I doubt it).

But I'm here to discuss Dorne. The lack of exploration presented my only nitpick to the season's premiere last week, while the second episode provided two new settings for us to marvel at, in our limited time. You mentioned George RR Martin's world building in his writing, and I feel like David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have completely nailed their (literal) interpretations of those worlds, with obvious help from their location scouts and set designers. My mouth was as agape as Arya's as she sailed into one of Essos' Free Cities and under the Titan of Braavos, with the various merchants and fishermen teaming to imbue the city with a lived-in sense of history that Andy Greenwald hinted at in his recap.

Some of the camera shots in this episode, especially in establishing our two newest locations, were simply beautiful. Dorne took up just two different set pieces but succeeded in conveying a completely different tone than our previous spots, and the conflict between Ellaria Sand and Doran Martell (!) has already been ratcheted up considerably, before our first Sand Snake has even appeared. Alexander Siddiq was as regal and calculating as I imagined Doran to be, and I still can't tell if I enjoyed Deobia Oparei more as Areo Hotah or if I was just staring at his ax the entire time.

Considering the ample amount of time we’ve already spent indoors (or in-pyramids) in recent episodes, or at Castle Black with the dour duo of Stannis and Snow, Dorne was a welcome (and bright/vibrant!) site to see, replete with coiled cobra bracelets and other Egyptian-style imagery. There’s no doubt that Dorne’s Water Gardens should be at the top of every Westerosi’s vacation destinations, although I definitely saw some resemblance to Xaro Xoan Daxos’s backyard cocktail party from the second season. Instead of the frolicking (and naked) children from the books, though, we got a shot of Prince Trystane Martell getting his mack on.

The Water Gardens of Sunspear

Chris: I agree. The casting for Doran and Areo Hotah was spot on, I loved everything Dorne in this episode and was left wanting more. I'm on pins and needles waiting to be introduced to the Sand Snakes (I can only hope next week). And speaking of people heading to Dorne, the news that Jaime (and Bronn?) was being dispatched to Dorne was leaked well before the season began and was especially important to book readers since it represented the clearest, most distinct example of the show blazing its own way.

I can't quite remember if Bronn was included in that leak, but either way, I was still surprised to see Jaime Lannister show up at Bronn's new palace to recruit him for what will be one of the most entertaining story-lines of this season. A quick aside, I never pegged Bronn as a competitive stone skipper. Bronn and Jaime Lannister on a mission to Dorne in an inevitable clash with the yet-to-be-introduced Sand Snakes? Count me in for that scene in episode 8.

Paul: I guess the Bronn/Jaime team-up will deprive us of meeting other Lannisters in the Riverlands, but I can completely understand why the showrunners wanted to unite two of our (only) affable, charismatic characters as they traverse a completely foreign territory in our show's universe. Anything that gets Jaime out of the drama in King's Landing is fine by me, even if the motives and specifics to his mission are thus far pretty up in the air. How did Lollys Stokeworth stack up to your previous perception? Maybe not as "half-witted" as I envisioned, but with a much nicer family castle. Bronn is moving on up.

The one scene that left a bad taste in my mouth (at least to start) was the Brienne run-in with Sansa and Littlefinger at the tavern. For someone so cunning, and who has laid the seeds for some massive capers going back to the Jon Arryn murder that started the series, Baelish seems pretty cavalier about traipsing Ms. Stark (dye-job and all) through the countryside. I understand not every commoner they come across is able to identify the potential Queen of the North at a glance like Podrick Payne, but it still seems unnecessarily risky for someone usually so deliberate.

Chris: That's a great point. I didn't even think about it from Littlefinger's perspective because I was too busy hitting my forehead with my palm because of Brienne's complete ignorance of the idea of subtlety. But you're right, Littlefinger is parading around his companion a little too much for my taste as well.

So many great scenes in an episode that had room for everyone. Tyrion and Varys 'locked' in the moving box was amazing and offered one of my favorite lines of the episode:

Tyrion:  'She ought to have offered her cunt. The best part of her for the best part of me.'

And that led to the creepy confiscation of body-less heads by Qyburn who is in for a great season sitting at the High Council with Cersei. After episode one, many were concerned about Cersei being quarantined in King's Landing while many other characters seemed to be off on adventures, and Jaime and Bronn's little trip adds to that, but I actually don't mind seeing Cersei sit in a useless High Council with eggheads, cowards, and necromancers.  

I think I'll enjoy watching her fumble around while she holds dearly to the little power she has left and I think we'll be meeting one of her adversaries (of the religious sort) very shortly.