iophidden.blogg.se

So where does this leave us? These are disparate points, and they don’t add up necessarily to any grand narrative. Not only do they call her “Mhysa,” mother, but they are themselves portrayed as children, unable to understand Daenerys’s ethical stance. More egregious still is the panting emotional response that Daenerys elicits from Meereen’s former slaves when they are gathered at the episode’s conclusion. Consider Daenerys’s counselors: the former master who advises her is practical, appealing, and adult, while the former slave is almost a minstrel type: wide eyed, simple minded, emotional, naïve, violent. By I have zero patience for how Daenerys’s relationship to the slaves she has freed is portrayed in this episode. In general, I think the show’s treatment of race and slavery is more complex than its surface narrative would indicate. Do better, Game of Thrones.Ī lot has been written about Game of Throne’s fascination with Daenerys’s ability to inspire the enslaved brown people of Essos through the magic of beautiful white womanhood. These are women who should draw our respect instead, the show puts its viewers consistently on the side of beleaguered, ethical, men. But these are smart, strategic women, and the script’s decision to write them as shrill, guided by fear and anger in a way that precludes intelligence or ethics, chafed at me. No where is this more evident than in the (extremely satisfying!) Night’s Watch election scene, which emphasizes the ability of good humor to reveal truths and create community.Ĭersei and Ellaria are really two irrational peas in a pod here, aren’t they? I understand that these characters are under a lot of duress, and I’m not saying that their acting itself was shrill or unpleasant (Cersei, in particular, gets almost as much done with her eyebrows as Arya does, and I loved her pissed-off pronunciation of “cit-ties” when she threatened to burn all of Dorne’s down). I don’t love that so few ladies are given witty banter, but I do love the witty banter the dudes are given. Andy Greenwald said this week that he’s so excited for Tyrion and Varys to get to Meereen and “bring their one liners with them,” and I think that’s exactly right.

Jaime and Bron Daario and Grey Worm Tyrion and Varys it’s such a comfort when dudes get to banter.

I hope we get to see more of them helping each other out I hope they get to help. These two outcasts, with their honesty and resiliency, are a great pair. Ladies talking about their childhoods? Yes please. Gilly and Shireen Passing the Bechdel Test I am so interested to see what Sansa does this season, now that she is, as my friend Matt says, black haired and “all goth.” “ I’d like some ale,” she says, wearing her bad necklace, which she apparently bought at some Westerosi Forever 21. Who knew Sansa could be badass? I mean, here she is just the tiniest bit badass, but it’s such a step forward I’m going to go ahead and call it. Watching her furrow her brow at things is more satisfying than 25 mammoths randomly charging the Wall watching her behead a pidgeon is absolutely as rewarding as basically anything else some dude does with a sword. One of the real pleasures of this show is watching Williams grow into new ways to inhabit her character, and while it does not give her a lot to do, it does give her a lot of things to look at. I know I’m not the only one at Dear Television who hopes Game of Thrones is retitled Girlhood and reedited to feature entirely Maisie Williams maturing over 12 years.

If we shift away from trying to synthesize this story, what do we see? Here are some things I loved and hated about this episode. In fact, this episode deferred narrative so fully that it forced me to engage with the show’s other pleasures. I’m happy so many wheels are set in motion, but mostly I’m eager to get somewhere. As an early-season exercise in set building, the episode is both impressive and unsatisfying. Instead of important things happening, important things are put in place so that they might happen later: Jaime will go to Dorne Brienne will follow Sansa Ellaria will seek revenge Jon will be the Night’s Watch commander Arya will become no one. “THE HOUSE OF BLACK AND WHITE” is an episode written in the future tense. LARB’s Collected “Game of Thrones” Coverage ”įollowing episode: season 5, episode 3, “ High Sparrow. Previous episode: season 5, episode 1, “ The Wars to Come.