Talkin' Thrones Episode 49 - The Dance of Dragons

We're almost at the end of yet another season! It's been a real chore beginning the track of the second half of the show, but at the very least I can say that Season 5 goes out on a high note. It's yet another penultimate episode, which are always fun to cover for this show. This one is entitled "The Dance of Dragons" after both the fifth and most recent book in the Song of Ice & Fire source material as well as the ancient Targaryen civil war between Aegon II Targaryen and his sister Rhaenyra over their father Viserys I's throne. This penultimate functions a little differently than previous ones, with previous penultimate episodes focusing on either a series of events that build up to a tragic betrayal resulting in death or a battle sequence that takes place in one location across the entire episode. This one instead opts to focus as more of a transition between the action packed Hardhome and the jam packed finale next week. Jon arrives back at the Wall with the remainder of the Wildling survivors and after a tense standoff, witnesses the fruit of his labor in his alienation of the Night's Watch. In Braavos, Arya attempts to carry out her first major assignment, but instead is distracted by the arrival of Meryn Trant, one of the few survivors so far from her kill list, putting her in a dangerous position. In Dorne, Jaime negotiates with Prince Doran for Myrcella's return to King's Landing, in a disappointing and unfulfilling end to a storyline that could have been awesome and was clearly setting up to play a bigger part in the story going forward. In the North, Ramsay's attack leaves Stannis' forces crippled, forcing him to make a terrible choice. In Meereen, Daenerys oversees the beginning of the Great Games in the Fighting pits. Tune in next week for our discussion of the Season 5 finale, and be sure to keep tuning in every Friday for more new episodes of Talkin' Thrones, only on the #talkintvpodcast