Game of Thrones Recap Season 5 Episode 9: The Dance of Dragons
Outside Winterfell
Melisandre sees a number of tents go up in flame. Davos reports the damage to Stannis, who is understandably flabbergasted that such a stupid plan could be effective.
Sidethrone
Seriously, is Ramsay Bolton a ninja? You’re telling me that he was able to sneak through the snow with twenty men, set fire to dozens of tents all over an encamped army, and duck out without anyone noticing him? This is fucking preposterous.
"Sorry sir, we saw them setting up fires EVERYwhere and assumed you gave the order."
Stannis orders Davos back to Castle Black. Davos is worried for Shireen, and rightly so: not long after he leaves, Stannis and Melisandre burn her at the stake as an offering to R’hllor. It’s horrific, unsettling, and doesn’t make much sense.
Sidethrone
I know Stannis wants the snow to melt, but burning your daughter alive isn’t going to help. Westeros in general feels VERY strongly about kinslaying, and you just brutally kinslayed an innocent girl in public. Now you’re out some tents AND any moral ground you hoped to claim.
The Wall
Jon and the Wildling host are reluctantly allowed to enter Castle Black by Ser Aliser Thorne. Inside, Jon gets some evil eyes from the Brothers who remained behind, including Olly.
Dorne
Doran asks Jaime about the motivation for his mission, and we infer Ellaria sent the threatening message to King’s Landing without Doran’s knowledge. Ellaria is as pissy as ever.
Lore: The Lannister-Martell Beef
The seeds of discord between these two houses were sown near the end of Robert’s Rebellion. Tywin Lannister entered the war late, sacking King’s Landing and proceeding to the Red Keep. In an effort to prove their commitment to Robert’s cause, Tywin ordered his troops to kill any Targaryens left in King’s Landing. Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane, a Lannister bannerman, murdered the child Aegon Targaryen before raping and killing his mother, Elia Martell. While this is not publicly known, the Martells have long suspected Lannister bannermen of the crime, which was part of Oberyn’s enthusiasm for engaging The Mountain in combat. Feeble attempts at reparations have been made, but Dorne is still seeking justice nearly twenty years later.
Guess what, Ellaria: if your paramour had a bit more modesty his head wouldn’t have been popped. Anyway, Doran agrees to send Myrcella back to King’s Landing, with Trystane accompanying her and sitting on the King’s Council.
Ellaria swears new allegiance to Doran, and seeks out Jaime to reveal her knowledge and lack of disapproval of his relationship with Cersei.
Braavos
Arya shirks her assigned duties when she sees Mace Tyrell arrive, accompanied by her old foe Meryn Trant. Mace clumsily attempts to get cozy with the bankers.
Arya follows Meryn to a brothel where he demonstrates a taste for inappropriately young girls. Reporting on her mission, Arya claims the thin man was not hungry. Jaqen ain’t buying it.
Meereen
The royal couple and their advisors settle in to oversee the Grand re-opening of the Fighting Pits. Jorah fights in a melee with five other men and triumphs with some fortuitous timing before seizing his slain opponent’s spear and throwing it into the chest of a Son of the Harpy who was closing in on Dany. More Sons of the Harpy emerge throughout the stadium, murdering indiscriminately in an effort to get to Dany. Hizdahr is killed, and the rest escape into the center of the arena where they are surrounded by overwhelming numbers. The end seems near, until...
HI MOM I'M HERE TO HELP!!!
After Drogon eats and sets fire to a number of attackers, Dany climbs on his back and flies off.
What changed?
Stannis immolated his daughter; Jon and the Wildlings are on the human side of The Wall; Myrcella and Trystane are bound for King’s Landing; Arya has a personal target; DANY IS RIDING HER FUCKIN DRAGON Y’ALL
Who's Missing?
Varys, Sansa Stark, Bran Stark, Rickon Stark, Yara Greyjoy, Balon Greyjoy, Roose Bolton, Ramsay Bolton, Reek, Margaery Tyrell, Loras Tyrell, Cersei Lannister, Tommen Baratheon, Reek, Littlefinger, Brienne and Pod
House Power Rankings
- House Tyrell - no change
- House Lannister – no change
- House Bolton – Ramsay’s plan to set fire to tents worked so well a King sacrificially burnt his own daughter alive.
- House Targaryen – Dany is officially riding a dragon! Of course, she left her advisors, army, and friends behind, and we don’t know how much she knows about flying dragons, but this is still good news for her overall chances.
- House Greyjoy – no change
- House Baratheon – resorting to human sacrifice is not a great sign of your prospects, but we’ve seen shadow babies work in the past. This time he needs a thaw, and an army that doesn’t mind what he did.
- House Stark – no change.
Dragonflame Burn of the Week
"I've spent much of my life in this arena, and in my experience large men do triumph over smaller men far more often than not."
"Has your experience ever involved any actual fighting? You, yourself? Have you ever tried to kill another man who was trying to kill you?"
"Whenever I got into a pit against a beast like that one, the crowd saw me, all skin and bones back then, then they saw the big pile of angry muscles ready to murder me. They couldn't get their money out fast enough."
"But the pile of angry muscles never had any muscles here, or here. And the big men were always too slow to stop my dagger from going where their muscles weren't."
