The House of Black and White

"**The House of Black and White**"
"The House of Black and White"
Game of Thrones episode
Episode no.	Season 5; Episode 2
Directed by	Michael Slovis
Written by	David Benioff; D. B. Weiss
Featured music	Ramin Djawadi
Cinematography by	David Franco
Editing by	Katie Weiland
Original air date	April 19, 2015
Running time	55 minutes
Guest appearances
	Peter Vaughan as Maester Aemon; Ian McElhinney as Ser Barristan Selmy; Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle; Anton Lesser as Qyburn; Tara Fitzgerald as Selyse Baratheon; Owen Teale as Ser Alliser Thorne; Alexander Siddig as Doran Martell; Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm; Ben Crompton as Edd Tollett; Dominic Carter as Janos Slynt; Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne; Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Mace Tyrell; Joel Fry as Hizdahr zo Loraq; DeObia Oparei as Areo Hotah; Ian Gelder as Kevan Lannister; Ian Beattie as Ser Meryn Trant; Reece Noi as Mossador; Kerry Ingram as Shireen Baratheon; Brenock O'Connor as Olly; Nell Tiger Free as Myrcella Baratheon; Toby Sebastian as Trystane Martell; Elizabeth Cadwallader as Lollys Stokeworth; Cedric Henderson as Jaqen's other Face; Brian Fortune as Othell Yarwyck; Gary Oliver as Ternesio Terys; J. J. Murphy as Denys Mallister; Michael Condron as Bowen Marsh; Tom Fava as Street tough 1; Derek Lord as Mallister supporter; Paul Kennedy as Eyrie guard; Winston Davis as Street tough 2; Irene Kelleher as Inn waitress; Curtis-Lee Ashqar as Son of the Harpy; Jonathan Gunning as Dwarf hunter 1; Alan McKee as Dwarf hunter 2;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Wars to Come"	Next →; "High Sparrow"
	Game of Thrones season 5
	List of episodes

"The House of Black and White" is the second episode of the fifth season of HBO's medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones. The 42nd episode overall, it was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Michael Slovis.^[1] It first aired on HBO on April 19, 2015.^[2]

In the episode, Arya Stark arrives in Braavos at the House of Black and White, but is denied entry. Stannis Baratheon offers to legitimize Jon Snow as a Stark and make him the Lord of Winterfell. The Night's Watch elects a new Lord Commander. Cersei Lannister receives a threatening message from Dorne, concerning her for Myrcella's safety. Ellaria Sand tries to convince Doran Martell to go to war. Brienne of Tarth and Podrick Payne encounter Petyr Baelish and Sansa Stark at an inn. Across the Narrow Sea, Tyrion Lannister and Varys travel to Volantis, and Daenerys Targaryen continues to fight against the Sons of the Harpy in Meereen.^[3]

Prior to airing, this episode, along with the other first four episodes of the season, were leaked online.^[4] According to HBO, the leak likely originated from a group of early access screeners that HBO authorized to receive the episode, so that they could prepare reviews ahead of their airdates.^[5]^[6] According to TorrentFreak, the leaked episodes were downloaded more than 100,000 times within three hours of being uploaded, and over a million times by the following day.^[7]

The episode received positive reviews from critics, who mainly praised the episode's character moments.

^ Hibberd, James (July 15, 2014). "'Game of Thrones' season 5 directors chosen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
^ "Shows A-Z - game of thrones on HBO". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
^ "The House of Black and White". HBO. Home Box Office, Inc. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
^ Goldman, David (April 12, 2015). "'Game of Thrones': First four episodes leaked before premiere". CNN. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
^ Warren, Tom (April 12, 2015). "First four episodes of Game of Thrones season 5 leak online". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 12, 2015). "'Game of Thrones' Season 5 Episodes Leak Online, HBO Assesses Breach – Update". Deadline. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
^ Van der Sar, Ernesto (April 12, 2015). "First Episodes of Game of Thrones Season 5 Leak Online". TorrentFreak. Retrieved June 4, 2022.

[s5_directors-1] Hibberd, James (July 15, 2014). "'Game of Thrones' season 5 directors chosen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 15, 2014.

[futon-2] "Shows A-Z - game of thrones on HBO". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 23, 2015.

[3] "The House of Black and White". HBO. Home Box Office, Inc. Retrieved May 23, 2022.

[4] Goldman, David (April 12, 2015). "'Game of Thrones': First four episodes leaked before premiere". CNN. Retrieved April 13, 2015.

[5] Warren, Tom (April 12, 2015). "First four episodes of Game of Thrones season 5 leak online". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved June 4, 2022.

[6] Andreeva, Nellie (April 12, 2015). "'Game of Thrones' Season 5 Episodes Leak Online, HBO Assesses Breach – Update". Deadline. Retrieved June 4, 2022.

[7] Van der Sar, Ernesto (April 12, 2015). "First Episodes of Game of Thrones Season 5 Leak Online". TorrentFreak. Retrieved June 4, 2022.

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