Spoilers abound in this article if you haven’t caught the fifth episode of Game of Thrones’ fifth season, “Kill The Boy.” If you haven’t watched, yet, skedaddle out of here and check out one of our other lovely stories, including everything we’ve seen from Season 5.
Though the title of tonight’s episode seems foreboding, it’s actually a line from Maester Aemon, telling Jon Snow he needs to “kill the boy” inside in order to “let the man be born." While philosophically sound, that wasn’t even close to be the most action-oriented part of the episode. That honor goes to Dany’s two still-chained dragons, who wreak some havoc during Episode 5. If you caught the episode, you already saw them rip apart and swallow one of the great Masters of Meereen, but now is as good of a time as any to relive that thoroughly gruesome moment.
The episode picks up after last week’s big fight sequence, when Ser Barristan succumbed during battle and Grey Worm nearly died, as well. This week, Daenerys is not taking the loss of her mentor so well, and so she rounds up a crew of the masters and takes them to see Viserion and Rhaegal, her two, hungry, hungry boys. To prove a point, she forces one master to take a step forward, where he is first consumed by fire and then eaten while still hot, as demonstrated above. Game of Thrones often puts together sequences that are disturbing, but this one was particularly awful, as it was so visceral and seemingly came out of nowhere.
Alls well that ends well, I suppose. On the advice of Missandei, Dany hatches a plan to reopen the fighting pits and marry none other than Hizdahr zo Loraq—the man who has been a perpetual thorn in her side since she first arrived in Meereen. It’s a solid case of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer, I suppose. It’s good for Hizdahr, at least; if she hadn’t thought up the plan to marry him, he might have become dragon food by the end of the episode.
While Dany’s two chained dragons are getting a hot meal, Drogon is busy wandering through the home of his ancestors, where Jorah and Tyrion are randomly traversing. I love the juxtaposition of the dragons in the episode. While Viserion and Rhaegal are the definition of beastly during "Kill the Boy", Drogon is extraordinary in flight, looking and seeming very regal. Drogon's appearance also marks Tyrion's first real look at a dragon and he seems to see the majesty in the creature's flight.
That Season 5 poster featuring Tyrion on a boat and the outline of a dragon out in the mist is finally beginning to make sense. We'll just have to wait and see how the interlocking plotlines pan out. You can catch new episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET.
