*WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD*
Episode Two is a lesson in Black and White. We finally get to see Arya Stark, who in the Season 4 Finale we last saw her boarding a boat to Braavos. As she approaches the colossal statue guarding Braavos Harbor, the ship's captain gives her a quick history lesson, "When Braavos is in danger," he tells her, "the Titan's eyes will light up." He will wade into the sea and smash the enemies." This could be one reason why Braavos is still considered a Free City.
The other might be the fact that the Iron Bank of Braavos holds all of Westeros debts -- their money alone have allowed Stannis Baratheon to continue his war into the North, well after his crushing defeat at the Blackwater at the end of Season 2. Another reason why no one would want to mess with Braavos: It is the home of the Faceless Men. They live and train in the House of Black and White. The ship's captain drops Arya off at the dock in front of the house, casually mentioning that any Braavosi would do the same.
We get the hint that everyone in Braavos knows who the Faceless Men are. They're Assassins, they have a code, and they possess specific set of skills that allows them to change their face at will. The doors to the house are appropriate colored, one black, one white. Arya knocks on the door and is greeted by a black man in a white robe. Again, aptly colored. Arya shows him the coin and mentions the name Jaqen H'ghar. "Nobody goes by that name” said the black man in the white robe.
Arya has nowhere else to go, and complains, "I just crossed the narrow sea, I have nowhere else to go!", the old man responds, "You have everywhere else to go.", before closing the door on her. We're not in Westeros anymore, Arya. Feeling dejected, Arya throws the coin into the harbor. For several days Arya survived in Braavos by applying the knowledge she learned while wandering Flea Bottom in King's Landing; killing pigeons with her sword, Needle.
Shortly after her pigeon kill, Arya encounters a group of street urchins looking to make a quick profit by selling Needle. A sword like that can buy 100 more swords. Arya wasn't going to take any crap and was willing to kill them for it, after all, why do they need the money? Dead men don't need money. Before anything could happen, the ruffians fled after noticing the robed man behind Arya. Knowing that the Faceless Men is involved is apparently enough reason to abandon everything you're doing and flee in Braavos. Not only are the Faceless Men revered in Braavos, they are also feared.
The old man led Arya back to the House of Black and White and tossed the coin back to her, "Here you dropped this." Before Arya could say a word, the old man peeled off his skin to reveal the face of Jaqen H'ghar. "But you said there's no one named Jaqen H'ghar here!" Arya complained, "There isn't, a man is not Jaqen H'ghar." "Well who are you then?" "No one, and that is what a girl must become", the Faceless Man said as he beckons Arya into the door. Her journey to become a Faceless assassin has just begun.
Back in Westeros we see Cersei and Jaime doing what Lannisters do best, scheme. At the very least, they are actually acknowledging that Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen are their real children (among themselves). The Lannister twins likes to think in black and white. Myrcella was sent to Dorne by Tyrion. Dorne hates the Lannisters. Myrcella is family. Therefore, we must rescue Myrcella from Dorne. For Jaime and Cersei it's as simple as black and white, damn the consequences.
A diversion from the books, Jaime opts to sneak into Dorne and rescues Myrcella. "A one-handed man, going alone?" No, not alone. Jaime blackmails Bronn into going by letting him know the homely woman he was betrothed to marry will be given to someone else per order of Cersei Lannister. But if they come back to King's Landing with Myrcella, Bronn will be offered an even better bride. This writer has one problem with this diversion from the original books: What is their end game? Did they seriously not think about the consequences of angering Dorne? The Martell's family motto is, "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken." That's a pretty tough motto and one they can proudly back as the only family that has never bowed and never lost a war to the Targaryens. Dorne only became a part of the Seven Kingdoms through marriage.
The Targaryens couldn't defeat them and they had dragons, what can the Lannister do, buy them out? We learned in Season 4 that the Lannisters are broke and powerful in name only. Back in Dorne, Oberyn's widow is willing to send Myrcella's body back, pieces at a time, if not for the patient resolve of Doran Martell, played by Deep Space 9's Alexander Siddig. They will not butcher little girls while he still rules. Can the Lannisters really risk a war with Dorne over one inbred girl with no political value? To top it off, Cersei is replacing Varys with Qyburn, a known necromancer, who has butted heads with her uncle Kevan Lannister. Doing this alienates her biggest supporter, the Lannister army. Tywin would've never allowed this, but Tywin is dead and the Lannister twins are free to make all the bad decisions in the world.
Meanwhile at the wall, Shireen is teaching yet another person how to read. Sam casually inserts a little foreshadowing, "Did you know the youngest Lord Commander was Orsric Stark, at 10-years old?" We also learned more about Shireen's affliction, greyscale, a disease that turns it's victims into stone zombie (even more foreshadowing for what's to come). At the diner hall the Night's Watch is preparing to vote for the next Lord Commander. Alister Thorne is the likely candidate to win. Right before they started throwing in their votes, Samwell Tarly announce that he wants to name Jon Snow as a candidate for Lord Commander. It was a surprise at first but understandable considering Snow's heroic acts during the battle at the Wall. It became a tie between Jon Snow and Allister Thorne. Blind Maester Aemon, the former Targaryen, castes the winning vote: Jon Snow, Jon "Lord Commander" Snow. Allister is not so happy, but he is nothing if not an honorable man and accepted it humbly.
Janos Slynt on the other hand is as ratchet as ever. After being exposed as a coward by Samwell, even Alister, a former friend, now looks down on Ser Janos Slynt. Jon Snow, ever his father's son, earlier had declined an offer from Stannis to rule Winterfell as a true Stark. Yes, Jon Snow is willing to be Lord Commander of the thieves, rapists and all-around rejects instead of taking up his father's trueborn name as lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. It was all for the sake of honor. For Jon Snow, honor is black and white. He wants to defend the realm of men against the White Walkers. Unfortunately it was honor that killed Ned Stark. And if it's defense against the Undead he's worried about, Snow would stand a much better chance utilizing all the resources in the North for this cause than depending on the ragtag band of misfit we call the Night's Watch. Personally, this author believes this was a bad decision and a mistake. The bigger question is: When will the show runners make Snow pay for his mistakes?
Speaking of bad decisions, Danaerys isn't having a field day either. Daario and Grey Worm are finally able to take prisoner a member of the insurgent terrorist group, the Sons of Harpy. Danaerys decides the prisoner should get a good ole Westeros trial. A member of her small council, a former slave, wouldn't take any of this. He wants justice and justice is death. The former slave broke into prison and murders the Son of Harpy prisoner. This placed Danaerys in a very uncomfortable position: Spare the life of the former slave or have him executed for breaking the law. You don't need to be Tyrion Lannister to know the people will not take too kindly to executing slaves. Danaerys, who didn't want to show any signs of weakness, decided to execute the former slave despite the plea of mercy from her people.
Clearly the people, of whom a majority were slaves, didn't like this. A riot ensues and Danaerys and her crew are escorted back to the old Pyramid under a brigade of shielded Unsullies. She learned the hard way that justice is not black and white. In her white, Mireen dress, Danaerys steps onto the balcony and stares out at a city she is slowly losing. Out of nowhere, the black dragon Drogon appears from behind. For a moment you can see a sense of relief in Danaerys and hesitation. Will Drogon lash out at her like Viserion and Rhaegon did? No, it looks like he misses his mother. They had a mother-child bonding moment before Drogon flies off -- the dragon knows when he's not wanted, how long will Danaerys realizes this and returns to Westeros?
