Game of Thrones 502 "The House of Black and White" thoughts

After a drab first episode, season five has begun in earnest with the second, raising the stakes far higher than last week ever threatened to.

NOTE: I have not read the books. There will be spoilers. Shut up.

If last week's episode was an epilogue to season four, The House of Black and White is the true season five premiere. The characters are driving onwards to their goals, the cards are placed on the table and by the end of the episode we're left with a whole new set of mysteries to ponder whilst they hang on a cliff's face until next week.

In addition, the direction of this episode is fantastic throughout. Any feelings that Sansa and Littlefinger just happened to be in the same pub as Brienne is a little too serendipitous are quickly forgotten thanks to the tense action that follows. First, the curt exchange in which you feel Brienne's confidence slowly sap away with each word that drips from the cunning mouth of Lord Baelish. The audience is then rewarded for sitting there, chewing on their first, with a short-but-sweet chase sequence. The episode is full of nice packages like this, scenes where the tension is finely poised and then given some satisfying payoff, unlike last week where scenes often petered out. The episode also keeps up the pace with a couple of excellent changes of scene. Tyrion's "what is she gonna do, kill every dwarf in Westeros?" line being almost interrupted by a dwarf's head being slammed down in front of Cersei was a particular highlight.

The titular House refers to Arya's destination. House Stark's youngest makes a welcome return in this episode, and remains the show's most likeable character. Although her story in this episode is predictable - she arrives at her destination, is disappointed, eventually scraps her way to what she wanted - it feels like a microcosm of Arya's life so far. Her total lack of hesitation in her threats to would-be robbers also shows how little she has to lose and how much she has matured, and the ending of the episode leaves us on tenterhooks. Arya gains access to the black and white house, but the audience is left outside for now.

Meanwhile, Danerys continues to fuck up. Coming into a historic city and attempting to institute rapid, immediate change to it's culture and laws is going as terribly as you'd expect. Class tensions spill over into violence, and the newly-freed slaves are beginning to grow willful. Mossador's claim that he killed a man awaiting trial for Dany, his "mother", doesn't exempt him from justice himself. Freedom and justice are part and parcel of one another, she says near the end of the episode. What Dany doesn't understand is that you can't just chuck these concepts at a civilisation that have never had them and expect them to accept it without issues. The woman who Varys would see the future ruler of Westeros, a huge land of varied tribes, houses, peoples, and cultures, cannot see past her own moral compass and belief system to tolerate the values of others. She's beginning to look less like the regal, respect-commanding leader and more like a Ptolemic figure who lives to subjugate others as she sees fit.

Meanwhile, at the wall, Jon Snow continues to disappoint. It looked like he might have purpose for a little while in this episode, that he might find a reason to do something more important to the overarching political future of Westeros. He's been a side show for a long while now, and Stannis' arrival in his life hinted at his potential being used for bigger things. The end of the episode, however, sees Jon thoroughly trapped in his duties. Almost unwillingly, he finds himself elected to lead the Night's Watch after a last-minute hustings' speech from his mate. "Thanks for talking me into four more years of this freezing cold, no-sex bullshit, Samwell", he probably thought. Our only hope is that Jon's style of leadership changes the Night's Watch in a tangible way. No doubt he will have his hands tied with a slew of opponents from within before he can institute any real change, and therefore change his role within the show.

The House of Black and White was good fun, and a much better start to the season than The Wars to Come. It set up plotlines for the weeks ahead, and provided varied scenes with excellent direction. I don't think it was a coincidence, though, that Arya entered the house through the black door at the end. Things are just beginning to bubble as the heat increases.