Oh. There she is.
Welcome to Season 5, Episode 2 of HBO’s hit series, Game of Thrones. Last week during our pilot I did nothing but complain about the lack of the one, the only, Arya Stark. Well now ladies, gentlemen, and assorted nonbinary folk, we finally get to see her.
In fact, this episode focuses much more on Arya. Poor Arya, she really hasn’t been able to catch a lot of breaks in this series. It reminds me of a quote from Cersei Lannister in season four, episode five – “Everywhere in the world they hurt little girls.” While the quote was referring to Cersei’s daughter, Myrcella, I feel that the line also applies to poor Arya. She gets yanked out of her home, loses her wolf, watches her father get beheaded, goes undercover as a boy to try to get to The Wall, never makes it, has friends die, has nearly every member of her close family die, gets kidnapped by a grumpy not-a-knight, and ends up crossing an ocean to try and gain herself enough power to deal with her various problems. In short, it’s been one hell of a year or so for her.
And in the pilot, we didn’t even get to see her! Readers, I was aggravated by this at best. Luckily we finally see her. Love how they let her hair grow out to show the passage of time onboard the ship. At the end of last season, we saw Arya hop on a boat and now we see her arrive in Braavos, across the Narrow Sea. She finds the House of Black and White. Which is, stunningly, both black and white. Who’d have thunk it? She bangs on the door to no avail, and goes through her list of people she’s planning on killing. You really need to admire her dedication. She winds up roaming the back streets and runs into trouble, only to be saved by an old man who is, allegedly, our buddy Jaqen H’ghar, last seen as a young man with two-toned hair, giving Arya a coin and some magic words. He helps her out and brings her into the aforementioned two-toned house.
Meanwhile, Brienne – who at the end of last season tried her damndest to convince Arya to come with her as her charge while she attempted to reunite her with her family (not like Arya hadn’t heard THAT one before by that point) – is running around back in Westeros with her not-a-squire (since she’s not-a-knight), Pod. Now this time, instead of Arya shooting her down, it’s Sansa! Yes, at last, Brienne finds who she was sent to find, and Sansa (under Littlefinger’s heavy, creepy guidance) doesn’t want her help. Awkward. Hit the showers, Bri. there’s always next time. After getting nearly murdered by Littlefinger’s men, she decides to follow Sansa at a distance. You got this, bae!
Then down South to Dorne, where revenge is being considered. I’m sure anyone who’s read the books is, like me, more than a little annoyed at some of the characterization going on here (or out of characterization, as the case may be) but I won’t get into it. Oberyn’s mistress, the beautiful Ellaria Sand, wants revenge on the Lannisters for the death of Oberyn. She plans this by taking it out on Myrcella Baratheon, who’d previously been sent to Dorne awaiting eventual political marriage when she came of age. Killing her would certainly stick in Cersei’s craw, but that is probably not the best move, politically speaking. Calm down, Ellaria. Focus on how knockout your set design is. You’ll feel better. Though the taxidermied snake with Myrcella’s jewelry in it’s mouth that someone (possibly Ellaria) sent to the Lannisters likely isn’t the best olive branch.
And then Cersei is Cersei (political, conniving, hates Tyrion) in the capital. Shireen Baratheon is adorable at The Wall (she’s becoming quite the little grade school teacher what with her helping everyone to learn how to read), and Jon and Stannis are kind of dull and predictable. Jon isn’t in as much trouble for shooting Mance at the end of last week’s episode as you’d think. In fact, Stannis suggests making him a proper Stark rather than a bastard Snow, which is no small matter. While he’s being pouty about this, he manages to get himself elected Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, effectively putting an end to there being any need for him to be a “real” Stark.
Towards the end we come to Dany, who is practicing being a ruler. It’s pretty clear to me that everything across the Narrow Sea is just “practice” for when she inevitably crosses over and does the “real” country-ruling in Westeros. I find that rather problematic, but fine. Today’s lesson in how-to-rule-like-you-know-what-you’re-doing, she decides if execution without trial is appropriate. After a soliloquy regarding her dear old dad (who was famously nutty as a fruitcake) she decides that trials are important. One of her advisors is like, “No they aren’t,” though, so he kills off the subject, forcing Dany to have him killed after his own trial. Her people… well… let’s just say they aren’t happy about it.
At least she gets to come home and not pet her singular free dragon baby. I do love an episode that ends on a dragon.
