5.02 - The House of Black and White

[REBerg]

If only each of these episodes were 2 hours long, I would liked to have seen:

MORE OF

Spoiler

Arya and Jaqen H’ghar– “I have nowhere else to go.” “You have everywhere else to go.” Arya employed the free token Jaqen gave her for passage to his humble home in Braavos, yet he hides behind a mask when she comes knocking, not revealing himself until what, she proves her worth by standing up to the thugs who would have taken Needle?

Sansa and Brienne – surely Sansa must realize that no good can come of a relationship with Littlefinger, the man who betrayed her father and set him up for getting his head on a pike. He obviously has self-serving plans for her, but will she somehow turn the tables on him when they reach their mysterious destination?

Jon Snow and the Night's Watch – Jon passed on a golden opportunity to become a Stark and regain Winterfell, only to be drafted as the new Watch commander. Did he really not want the job?

Daenerys and Drogon – the reunion was way too brief, but at least he(?) didn't attempt to incinerate her, not that he would have much luck there, considering that Dany's composition appears to be high in asbestos.

LESS OF

Spoiler

Daenerys and Meereen – administrative difficulties and bad decisions, not the most exciting fare. Maybe she'll have her ruling abilities fine-tuned by the time she gets her shot at the Iron Throne, but I don't need to see the process.

Cersei and Jaime – the Queen Mother attempting to consolidate her power following the demise of her father; Jaime heading off on a mission to Dorne to rescue their daughter, a nearly invisible character whose arranged marriage served a useful purpose by reducing the storyline count. On a positive note, we may get to see more of Bronn.

Tyrion and Varys – witty road-trip banter, but c'mon, get to Meereen, already.

Also, I noticed in the opening credits that Winterfell no longer appears as smoking ruins, yet that oversized female version of the Oscar statue that came down in the season opener still appears atop the Meereen pyramid that now serves as Dany's headquarters. An update oversight?

 

[Koopa]

@Jon, it's like he told sam in that episode, his answer to Stannis was better done with the appearance of Ghost in the books.
@Dany, she's not fireproof, 1 time thing.

 

[REBerg]

@Jon
@Dany, she's not fireproof, 1 time thing.

Yeah. Not surprised. She looks genuinely frightened when her offspring do their flamethowing thing.

 

[Culhwch]

I actually thought Sansa might be smart enough to take Brienne (and Pod, obviously) into her service. Currently she has no allies - everyone around her is owned by Littlefinger. I think she could have twisted it so that Littlefinger couldn't refuse to let her have Brienne as her own sworn sword, which would have given her a useful asset in her little game with Littlefinger. Of course that may not have been a particularly safe place for Brienne to be...

 

[Wo7f]

Tyrion and Varys – witty road-trip banter, but c'mon, get to Meereen, already.

Yeah!

@Dany, she's not fireproof, 1 time thing.

Yeah. Not surprised. She looks genuinely frightened when her offspring do their flamethowing thing.

Yes she is! Isn't she? She's done it twice now. Once to burn with the dragon eggs and another to escape the House of the Undying. I think she just didn't want to get eaten, not afraid of the flames.

 

[Koopa]

no, dany ain't fireproof, at least not in the books.

 

[REBerg]

Hmm. I had forgotten about that incident. Found this clip in which it appears that the dragons shot their flames around Dany as they roasted the evil House keeper.

Awfully close, though. Seems like she should have at least been a little scorched -- if the flames had been real, that is. Perhaps the books and the series do differ on Dany's flammability.

 

[Koopa]

if so it would be strange since GRRM stated otherwise.

 

[Wo7f]

Curious, I'm reading the books now, but haven't gotten to that part yet. In the series she asks... what's his name? Jorah? She asks him, What about my magic? Does she ask this in the books? If so, I'm wondering what kind of magic she has. I thought it was being flame proof, but perhaps she has something else that allowed her not to be burned?

 

[Boaz]

Dany is not immune to fire or heat. She may have a higher resistance than other mortals, but not that much.

Spoiler: semi-Spoiler

Her ability to survive Drogo's funeral pyre was due to some deep magic at work...

Wo7f, Jorah is one of my favorite characters. Keep reading... don't get caught up in waiting for scenes and lines from HBO to pop up... look for the details. Her journey into the House of the Undying in Qarth is important.

 

[REBerg]

Curious, I'm reading the books now, but haven't gotten to that part yet. In the series she asks... what's his name? Jorah? She asks him, What about my magic? Does she ask this in the books? If so, I'm wondering what kind of magic she has. I thought it was being flame proof, but perhaps she has something else that allowed her not to be burned?

Hey, Wo7f. Based on what we had seen in the series thus far, it was reasonable for us to believe that Daenerys Targaryen, “Mother of Dragons,” is magically incombustible. It's a fun little belief, which would have been harmless to keep until further events in the series or further reading in the books proved us wrong.

That being said, let me offer you my perspective on the book vs. screen conflict. Many years ago, I got the opportunity to steal a paperback copy of Herman Raucher's Summer of '42. The owner had carelessly left it on a couch.

As a hardcore science fiction reader since grade school, I would not normally have picked this book; but I was looking at a long weekend and, what the heck – free book!

Petty larceny turned out to be a great decision. That book is so well written and funny that, for the first and only time in my life, I literally did not put it down until I had read the entire thing.

When I discovered that the book was also a movie, I had to see it. I did, and it sucked. It didn't have anywhere near the humor and depth that I had found in the book. That was a puzzler, especially when I learned that the film had not been based on the book, but that the book was based on the movie screenplay.

Whenever I have since been presented with a book/film choice, I pick film before book. If the film was good, the book has always been better – an expansion of an already enjoyable experience. The GRRM books have been sitting in my office for several years, but I don't plan to read them before the HBO series ends.

I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Wo7f]

Magically incombustible, hmmm... I do like reading these books, but if I hadn't seen the series first, I'm not sure I would. The series helps keep me on track of what's going on. So many people, houses, places. It's a little overwhelming.