Game of Thrones "The House of Black and White" (Season 5, Ep. 2) [TV Review]

Here we are. The second episode of the fifth season of Game of Thrones.

"The House of Black and White."

I admit. This is not what imagined it looked like. I do like it.

This episode was rather interesting.
It is a blend of several books (A Storm of Swords, A Feast For Crows, and A Dance with Dragons), plus new material. 

4 out of 5 stars

This was a bigger episode than The Wars to Come, but not too much bigger, nor better...

Big points in this episode: 

[Spoilers, Duh.]

Braavos. This is where Arya is headed, finally.

- Arya arrives in Braavos, and goes to the House of Black and White (tada, the episode has a title). However she is rejected at the door.

- Jamie heads south to save (?) Myrcella from the Dorn. He enlists Bron to help. This scene begins to show Cersei's growing instability. 

- There is a scene where Brienne of Tarth and Podrick encounter Sansa and Petyr Baelish in an inn. Sansa rejects Brienne's offer of protection, and further events occur. I have no idea what is going on with any of these characters at the moment. Everything here is new. 

Bron makes a return...

- There is another scene where Cersei is assigning position on the small council, and only Mace Tyrell is happy. Cersei's uncle Kevan declines and marches out. He will only serve the King, not Queen-mother. Kevan comes off rather more principled and intelligent here than I remember... 

- At the Wall, several things happen. First Stannis offers Winterfell to Jon Snow. Jon tells Sam he plans to refuse. More importantly the elections for the 998th Commander of the Night's Watch are taking place. Sam puts Jon forth as a candidate. Maester Aemon casts the deciding vote in Jon's favor. This scene was so much less political than in the books. Sam played two of the four candidates off of each other, it was far more involved than a few speeches. Although Sam's speech was quite funny.

Alexander Siddig! If you really watched Star Trek, then
you've seen Deep Space 9. This is Dr. Julian Bashir!

- In Dorn we meet Doran Martell (Alexander Siddig) arguing with Ellaria Sand. She is still angry at the death of Oberyn, despite the fact that honestly... for such a skilled fighter, Oberyn died stupidly.

- There are of course more events, but the final one to talk about is the shit happening in Meereen. There is no greater pit than that place in all of GoT. It is a giant plot sucking hole. This time we see Daenerys listen to advice from Ser Barristan, and because she does not consider the culture and people of Meereen, she botches the whole thing. Mhysa (Daenerys) denies her children, and this is not going to end well. Ser Barristan has yet to realize that Meereen is not Westeros, and their ways may not win them any support. In fact the ways of Westeros may lose her everything. I actually think this is set up so that Tyrion makes a fantastic advisor. Still, this was just one bad decision after another... each step made the problem worse.

One bad decision leads to another, and so on...

There was not much Tyrion in this episode, just a small scene with him and Varys in a carriage. Tyrion wants to take a walk. This episode has brought back one character I was not sure would ever return. Jaqen H'ghar, whose last appearance was at the end of season two. Ellaria Sand is now pretty much a regular, and I of course am awaiting the rest of the Sand Snakes.

Now, yes. I was tempted to rate this episode higher than The Wars to Come mainly because it brought back two of my all time favorite characters, Arya and Bron. But that alone was not, at least to me, justification of bumping it up. I having some issues with what they are cutting and what they are adding. I feel I need more information during each episode. This season may not make a good painting until the final episode is aired. We'll have to see.

I was not expecting this at all... so, um... Spoilers.

Read my previous Game of Thrones reviews. Links below.

Season 5:
- The Wars to Come (Ep1)

Season 4:
- Two Swords (Ep1)
- The Lion and the Rose (Ep2)
- Breaker of Chains (Ep3)
- Oathkeeper (Ep4)
- The First of His Name (Ep5)
- The Laws of Gods and Men (Ep6) 
- Mockingbird (Ep7)
- The Mountain and the Viper (Ep8)
- The Watchers on the Wall (Ep9)
- The Children (Ep10)