Game of Thrones: The Dance of Dragons —Analysis

With the White Walkers, the Night’s King, and the oncoming storm beyond the Wall still hidden from view from nearly all of our characters this week, “The Dance of Dragons” was an episode which found everyone doing their best to play the game to their strengths. In all cases, business got done, and—at least on paper—everyone got what they wanted. Jaime has Myrcella, and gets to take her home. Bronn will go with him, mostly in one piece. Doran got Ellaria to swear loyalty to him in front of her daughters, alhough her exchange with Jaime afterwards suggested that Doran may have been wrong on that second chances policy. Either way, after Dorne not coming off all that well this season, watching Alexander Siddig lay down the law was a sight to behold.

Tyrion: “You’re an eloquent man. It doesn’t mean you’re wrong. In my experience, eloquent men are right every bit as often as imbeciles.”

Arya may have been one of the very few this week who did not achieve her goals right away, but that’s not what was missing from her world. The fact is, Arya has had very little direction since she arrived in Braavos. Though she is apprenticed and working at The House of Black and White LLC, she sort of fell into the position. Killing thin men she doesn’t care about isn’t what she came here to do. She came with a list.

And though it might have been better for all involved if she had a few assassinations under her belt before the next name on the list happened to get off the boat, this was the first time we’ve seen that fire behind her eyes all season. Arya’s back, baby. As Stannis says,“If a man knows what he is…” Arya got her reminder just in time. Good thing Trant likes them young. I hope you all are ready to see far more of Arya next week than would have been legal these last few seasons.

Alliser Thorne: “You have a good heart, Jon Snow. It’ll get us all killed.”

Jon Snow got what he wanted last night, more or less. He didn’t save all the wildlings, but Karsi’s children were front and center, reminders that though he didn’t get nearly enough, he did get some, and that’s worth something. Once again, we were reminded that Alliser Thorne might be an asshole and a stiff neck in command, but he’s not an idiot. Unlike many at Castle Black, he actually gets it. He thinks Jon’s a softhearted idiot, and will probably bring death upon the heads of everyone by trying to save the wildlings, but he does get what Jon is trying to do. Too bad the same can’t be said of Olly, whose intelligence seem to be limited to staying warm and dry instead of standing in the snow and snarling like the older Night’s Watchmen. Still, for now, Jon has things under control. The question is, how long can he hold it?

Ramsay Bolton got what he wanted. He and his 20 men snuck in and burned much of Stannis’ food and supplies. Unfortunately, Bolton, like many, don’t understand that Stannis isn’t playing by the assumed rules. Any other man would have listened to Davos and gone back to Castle Black sensibly. Not Stannis, who gave this speech instead:

“Sometimes a person has to choose. Sometimes the world forces his hand. If a man knows what he is and remains true to himself, the choice is no choice at all. He must fulfill his destiny and become who he is meant to be, however much he may hate it.”

Poor Shireen. We knew it was coming. But it was still heartbreaking to watch her tell her father she would do anything for him, knowing what we knew Melisandre wanted him to do. The hardest part for me is that Stannis believes himself to be Azor Ahai reborn, and everything he does, including the sacrifice of his only child, is predicated on that. Many book-readers highly suspect that he is wrong, because Melisandre has misinterpreted what she sees in the flames. (That last part is confirmed in the books, though due to the show being very stingy with showing character’s visions along the way, not on-screen.) If a man knows who he is… Well, Stannis, we do know one thing you are, and that is a man who was always merciless, and never considered hearts and minds when it came to justice. And now it’s cost you your only child, and for what? The ability to march forward and see many of those men who just watched you burn your little girl go to their deaths? If there was one consolation it was watching Selyse, too late, realize how much her child meant to her.

Stannis losing his child over an imagined idea of himself played in inverse to Dany, who tonight regained her sense of self. One of the issues that was conveniently swept under the rug last week with Tyrion’s arrival was what a hash Dany really has made of her time in Meereen. She’s locked up two of her dragons and lost her third in a sad attempt to be a stationary queen of a city that has no interest in her rule. She’s distracted herself from her true goal of conquering Westeros, and even gone as far as marrying some Master of Meereen, a political alliance that does her no good here. When Tyrion asked why she was still focused on Westeros when she could settle in Meereen, what he didn’t quite point out was that she was already settled. It was only a matter of her recognizing it.

Tyrion: “It’s easy to confuse what is with what ought to be, especially when what is has worked out in your favor.”

But that’s not who Dany is. She’s not Meereenese. She doesn’t understand these Romanesque/WWE gladiator type spectacles, and frankly, she has no real interest in ever doing so. It’s another reminder that this was not who she is. And though she was far more into the second fight than the first, once she had a real skin in the game, if it hadn’t been for some fortuitous timing, she would have ruined any good will she’d gained by opening these pits with the crowd by stopping the show dead in its tracks to keep Jorah alive. These are not her people, this is not her town. And tonight, the Sons of the Harpy were on hand to make sure she was reminded of it.

But it wasn’t until Drogon flew in, a draco ex machina, that who she is—the Mother of Dragon, the Queen of the Andals, the girl who walked into the fire and came out Unburnt—came back to her.  All this time, she’s been talking about waiting until her dragons were big enough to climb on their backs and ride. They’ve been big enough this whole season. She didn’t need to marry Hizdahr—who, by the way, I was wrong about being the commander of the Sons of the Harpy! Who knew? Oh well, he’s dead anyway.

Once more, Dany knows what she is and will remain true to herself. She’s had the power to go home all this time. Just climb on his back, click his scales together and say “Valahd.” 

• Published on 06/08/2015 at 11:30 AM CDT
• Last updated on 06/08/2015 at 11:30 AM CDT