The House of Black and White

Came to 'Game of Thrones' fairly late in the game and due to being so busy the binge-watching was gradual. Have found myself truly loving the show, very quickly becoming one of my favourites. It totally lives up to the hype and not only does it do the brilliant source material justice (a rarity in television) it is on its own merits one of the finest, most addictive and consistently compelling shows in recent years and quality-wise it puts a lot of films in recent years to shame.

There are still signs of settling, understandably, with Season 5's second episode "The House of Black and White", but it is an improvement over the still very promising and well done season opener "The Wars to Come". It is a very daunting task living up to the consistently exceptionally high standard of Season 4 and this very early stage of Season 5 is doing a noble job on that front.

What makes "The House of Black and White" a superior episode is that there is a bigger and bolder approach to the storytelling, rather than the slower, quieter and reflective tone of "The Wars to Come". There are more and bigger character moments (especially with Jon Snow and Brienne), characters having moral complexities, intensity-building and there is more emotion and drama. A better job is done advancing the story and character progressions while building upon the events of "The Wars to Come". Loved that there was more of Arya and Bronn, neither wasted, and Dorne is a worthy addition.

All the acting is never less than very strong, can't think of a weak link here.

Visually, "The House of Black and White" looks amazing, as one would expect for 'Game of Thrones'. The scenery is throughout spectacular, the sets are hugely atmospheric and beautiful on the eyes with a real meticulous eye for detail and the costumes suit the characters to a tee. The make-up is beautifully done. The visual effects are some of the best of any television programme and are not overused or abused, the scale, the detail and how they actually have character and soul are better than those in a lot of the big-budget blockbusters. As well the cinematography and editing, which are cinematic quality as well.

One cannot talk about "The House of Black and White" without mentioning the thematically, orchestrally and atmospherically multi-layered music scoring and the unforgettable main theme. Again, worthy of a high-budget fantasy/action/drama film.

It is hard not to be bowled over by the quality of the writing, outstanding isn't a strong enough adjective to describe how good the writing is once again. It always has a natural flow, is layered and thought-provoking and demonstrates a wide range of emotions. The story is still riveting, with plenty of passion and sensitivity.

Summing up, the season has not quite settled yet but there is more than enough to make one convinced to keep watching. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Meets. And words. And propositions. And choices. Nothing new, at the first sigh. But important for define not the story itself but the atmosphere. Long ways, strange and fragile alliances. And key moments, from the door opened by H gars to the dialogue between Stannis and Jon to the travel of Jaime.

Arya Stark sails to Braavos and arrives at the House of Black and White to seek out Jaqen H'ghar; however she is not welcomed to enter in the house and she throws her coin away into the sea. Brienne and Podrick are eating in a tavern and she contacts Sansa and Little Finger, but Sansa refuses to follow Brienne. The men that are escorting Little Finger and Sansa unsuccessfully hunt Brienne and Podrick down on the road. Cersei shows to Jaime that their daughter Myrcella is in danger and Jaime seeks out Bronn and makes an offer for him to travel with him to Dome. In Meereen, the Son of Harpy is captured and Daenerys has a meeting with her leaders to decide his fate. Barristan advises her to give a fair trial to the man; however Mossador disrespects her order and kills the Son of Harpy. Daenerys sentences him to death and there is a riot in Meereen. Jon Snow is invited by Stannis Baratheon to serve him; in return, he would give the North to Jon and he would be Jon Stark, Lord of Winterfell. But Job Snow turns the invitation down and he is chosen to be the new Commander of the Night Watch. Arya is finally invited to come to the House of Black and White.by Jaqen H'ghar.

"The House of Black and White" is the preamble of the Fifth Season. The destiny of Arya in Braavos is a mystery. Sansa seems to be lost following Little Finger. The journey of Jaime and Bronn will certainly be full of action. Daenerys is following the path of her father. Let's see how Jon Snow will deal with Janos and Alliser Thorne. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "The House of Black and White"

It's quite clear that this show has been about the struggle for power, and it always has been. But I really like the episodes that particularly focus on that. Jon Snow, (possibly Jon Stark?), is somewhat unwillingly to take on another leadership role. Cersei struggles with the council, Tyrion misses the power, and Daenerys grapples with the right punishments. Even though there wasn't a whole lot of action, I loved tonight's episode. It was another one of the great dialogue episodes that the writers consistently give us. Whether it was Tyrion and Varys talking about the lack of power and what people do with it, or Stannis continuing to tempt Snow with possible leadership titles, it was a well written and directed episode.

Arya arrived in Braavos to the House of Black and White only to find her old pal Jaqen H'gar! Obviously not reading any of the books I was quite pleasantly surprised to see him appear for the first time since season 2. Speaking of Starks, Brienne finally met Sansa Stark. Sadly, much like Arya, she wasn't too open to her protection. You have to feel for Brienne. She has spent the last few years trying to find the Stark girls and yet neither of them welcomed her. Fingers crossed they change their mind in the future. Jaime and Bronn are apparently on a trip to retrieve Myrcella from the Viper's wife and brother. I'm starting to really like these unlikely duos that go on adventures together. Brienne and Jaime, The Hound and Arya, and now Jaime and Bronn.

It was once again really fun to watch Jon Snow and Stannis in the same scene. The characters that you grow to care about for seasons finally meeting is extremely fulfilling. Which is why it will be incredibly once Dany and Tyrion meet. Dany is really struggling with her power and the problem of the Sons of the Harpy. I would hope Tyrion and Varys would fill the gap that Jorah has left Dany in helping with the many political decisions that go along with leading these people. Hopefully next week will be that week.

+Stannis & Snow's interactions

+Power struggle

+Unlikely duos

+H'gars return

-Brienne can't catch a break

9.0/10

The episode starts where it last left. Arya is angry at the Black and White (CGI) building in pursuit of . Confused Snow, Conspicuous Unsullied mark this episode. In the previous episode we see Daenerys/ Mhysa (now) is confused and is afraid she is not able to control her dragons. Her woes continue. Extrapolating to her rule, it's tentative as well. She is weaker than ever and is confused on what to do. We get to see a bit of the water gardens.

What bothers me is they give very less screen time to the poor Arya Stark. Despite that fact this is a good episode. Something heavy is up for Cersei and Tyrion. An exciting episode 3 is on it's way.

Overall Rating - 8.5/10