History Recap / GameOfThronesS5E3HighSparrow

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: Roose Bolton gives Baelish his message from the capitol, but not before reading it first himself, citing the potential dangers of secret messages from rivals. He also insists that Baelish let him read the reply before sending it.

* {{Retcon}} A minor one; in the Season 3 History and Lore dvd extras, Tywin narrates about the various houses of the Westerlands and the role they play; when talking about House Payne, he offhandedly mentions, "apparently a younger Payne now serves my son, Tyrion" - giving no suggestion that he personally assigned Pod as Tyrion's squire as Pod claims here.
** Tywin is a busy man managing an entire war; maybe he just plain forgot this brief meeting after a few months.

* KeepingTheEnemyClose: When Stannis brings up the subject of Alliser Thorne, Jon says that he heard it was best to keep your enemies close, but Stannis retorts that [[Film/TheGodfather whoever said that]] didn't have many enemies.

* KarmicDeath: Janos Slynt, the man whose treachery lead to Ned Stark being decapitated, is beheaded by Jon Snow, his son, and a bastard like the children Slynt slayed on Joffrey's orders.

* RaceLift: The Red Priestess in Volantis is actually the first East Asian actor with any speaking lines in the TV series. In the novels, the Red Priest that is seen in Volantis is not Asian and is a man. There are East Asian people in their fantasy world, but they're from even further east than Qarth or the Dothraki and barely come into the story at all: their China analogue is called Yi Ti. As Martin summed it up, seeing a Yi Tish person in Westeros or the Free Cities is about as rare as encountering a Chinese person in England during the War of the Roses in the 1400s.

-->'''--''A Feast for Crows'', (Chapter 22)'''

-->She stood on the end of the dock, pale and goose-fleshed and shivering in the fog. In her hand, Needle seemed to whisper to her. Stick them with the pointy end, it said, and, don't tell Sansa! Mikken's mark was on the blade. It's just a sword. If she needed a sword, there were a hundred under the temple. Needle was too small to be a proper sword, it was hardly more than a toy. She'd been a stupid little girl when Jon had it made for her. "It's just a sword," she said, aloud this time...''

-->Needle was Robb and Bran and Rickon, her mother and her father, even Sansa. Needle was Winterfell's grey walls, and the laughter of its people. Needle was the summer snows, Old Nan's stories, the heart tree with its red leaves and scary face, the warm earthy smell of the glass gardens, the sound of the north wind rattling the shutters of her room. Needle was Jon Snow's smile. He used to mess my hair and call me "little sister," she remembered, and suddenly there were tears in her eyes.''

-->''She stood on the end of the dock, pale and goose-fleshed and shivering in the fog. In her hand, Needle seemed to whisper to her. Stick them with the pointy end, it said, and, don't tell Sansa! Mikken's mark was on the blade. It's just a sword. If she needed a sword, there were a hundred under the temple. Needle was too small to be a proper sword, it was hardly more than a toy. She'd been a stupid little girl when Jon had it made for her. "It's just a sword," she said, aloud this time...''

-->''...but it wasn't.''

-->''Needle was Robb and Bran and Rickon, her mother and her father, even Sansa. Needle was Winterfell's grey walls, and the laughter of its people. Needle was the summer snows, Old Nan's stories, the heart tree with its red leaves and scary face, the warm earthy smell of the glass gardens, the sound of the north wind rattling the shutters of her room. Needle was Jon Snow's smile. He used to mess my hair and call me "little sister," she remembered, and suddenly there were tears in her eyes.''

-->''Polliver had stolen the sword from her when the Mountain's men took her captive, but when she and the Hound walked into the inn at the crossroads, there it was. The gods wanted me to have it. Not the Seven, nor Him of Many Faces, but her father's gods, the old gods of the north. The Many-Faced God can have the rest, she thought, but he can't have this.''

* TooDumbToLive: Janos Slynt is in a very bad position but his arrogance blinds him to this. Jon has the support of at least half the Night Watch and is clearly favored by Stannis. Slynt's only ally of any significance is Allister Thorne and Jon has just offered Thorne a prestigious position In the Night Watch command structure. Rather than taking revenge on Slynt, Jon instead has him ReassignedToAntarctica to a remote castle where Slynt cannot cause much trouble. Slynt could haved accepted this posting and saved some face -- even redeemed himself, had he exceeded the presumably low expectations of him -- but instead he openly defied the Commander's orders and insulted him to boot[[note]]despite the fact that breaking oaths is a pretty big deal for the Night's Watch[[/note]]. Thorne is too savvy and honorable to support Slynt in such a blatant display of insubordination, especially after he just got positively recognized in a demonstration of Jon's character[[note]]which to others could have indicated that Janos ''would'' have had a chance to be rewarded for doing the right thing[[/note]]. Slynt thought Jon wouldn't have the balls to execute him. [[IncrediblyLamePun He was dead wrong]].

** Jaime doesn't appear in this episode.

* DisproportionateRetribution: Ramsay Bolton's response to the Cerwyns not payhing their taxes is to skin Lord and Lady Cerwyn alive and make their son watch. Just in case anyone forgot about Ramsay's cruelty between seasons.

* GoodIsNotSoft: Jon is a strong contender for being the most morally upstanding person in the series. When Slynt breaks his oath to the Watch, Jon shows no mercy in beheading him.

** Varys keeps pointing out to Tyrion that showing his priced head around is way too risky, but Tyrion convinces Varys to let him take a walk and that he'll be just another inconspicuous random dwarf. Tyrion is unable keep a low profile and is captured within a day.

* AbsenteeActor:
** Unlike Loras and Mace, Lady Olenna (Diana Rigg) is nowhere to be seen during the very brief shots of her granddaughter's wedding. Margaery remarks later that Olenna couldn't wait to go home.

* AdaptationalModesty: Inverted due to Tommen's AgeLift. Now that he's no longer 8, Margaery doesn't have to portray herself as [[PurityPersonified a saintly virgin]] like she did in the books.

* ShamefulStrip / PerpWalk: For the crime of hiring whores, the sparrows parade the High Septon naked in front the city while chanting "sinner".

** Daenerys and her entire retinue are absent this episode, as no time is spent in Meereen.

* ReassignedToAntarctica: Jon attempts this with Janos by giving him command of Greyguard, one of the ruined castles. However, Janos flatly refuses, and it ends as well as you'd expect.

** Played with in Jon Snow's case. While technically merely a lordship (or at most wardenship) rather than an actual monarchy, this is what Stannis [[InvokedTrope Invokes]] (and ''also'' hopes to [[ExploitedTrope exploit]]) by offering to legitimize Jon Snow, only to be [[DefiedTrope Defied]] by Jon.

* SexyWhateverOutfit: An in-universe variation. Some prostitutes in Essos have taken to dressing like a more provocative version of Daenerys, butt cleavage and all, and are shown to be quite popular with their patrons.

* ThatManIsDead: A non-verbal example. To truly become no one, Arya throws away all her possessions into the canal. Ultimately subverted when she cannot bear to be parted from Needle, the sword her brother Jon gave her. She hides it away instead.
* TooDumbToLive: Janos Slynt is in a very bad position but his arrogance blinds him to this. Jon has the support of at least half the Night Watch and is clearly favored by Stannis. Slynt's only ally of any significance is Allister Thorne and Jon has just offered Thorne a prestigious position In the Night Watch command structure. Rather than taking revenge on Slynt, Jon instead has him ReassignedToAntarctica to a remote castle where Slynt cannot cause much trouble. Slynt could accept this posting and save some face but instead he openly defied the Commander's orders and insulted him to boot (despite the fact that breaking oaths is a pretty big deal for the Night's Watch). Thorne is too savvy and honorable to support Slynt after such a blatant display of insubordination. Slynt thought Jon wouldn't have the balls to execute him. [[IncrediblyLamePun He was dead wrong]].

* WhamShot: The DescriptionCut from the word "marriage" to Sansa riding into view.
* WhatHaveYouDoneForMeLately: Non-verbally, but this is the visual expression Thorne gives to Slynt right before he allows the rest of the Night Watch to take him to get beheaded. It was arguably Slynt's endorsement of him that caused Thorne to lose his bid for Lord Commander.
* WhileYouWereInDiapers: "I was charged with the defense of King's Landing when you were soiling your swaddling clothes", says the former commander of the City Watch, Lord Janos, to Lord Commander Snow.
* WorthyOpponent:
** Though they're technically allies rather than opponents, this dynamic is very much in play when Jon appoints Thorne to a position that acknowledges and makes use of his talents rather than uses it to take petty revenge.
** Seemingly reciprocated by Thorne, who, rather than use his considerable popularity to support Slynt's insubordination and undermine Jon, supports his new Lord Commander.
* VillainousBreakdown: Janos Slynt first defies his Lord Commander and acts like a complete SmugSnake, thinking that he'll get away with it. When Lord Snow has him seized and takes him outside, he haughtily and indignantly claims this can't happen to ''him'... until his main ally Thorne leaves him to his fate. At this point he starts getting desperate and making angry but empty threats. He ends up sobbing like the coward he is when his head is on the stump and he realizes that Snow fully intends to behead him.

The East does put the West to shame in terms of variety, whether it be strange food, exotic pets and any kind of slave you can imagine. From craftsmen to courtesans. But what draws Tyrion's attention as Varys scuttles after him through the press, is a [=YiTish=] Red Priestess conducting a sermon before a group of slaves. Intrigued by the content, (and her good looks), Tyrion finds higher ground on a stairway and observes the woman's oration. As befitting of a man of his birth and as a man of high learning, he understands her Valyrian dialect and comments glibly on the homily, much to Varys' chagrin. The Priestess declares that the Lord of Light has sent a saviour, born from fire, who will deliver the slaves of all nations and remake the world; the Dragon Queen. Tyrion is amused at the religious fervour for who he is sure is a remarkable, though mortal woman but is silenced when the Priestess inexplicably draws her gaze in his direction and pins him with a basilisk stare, which transfixes the fugitive, until, worried she has recognised him, he pulls his cowl closer and suggests they find the closest respectable brothel to take cover in. And as we can see, Tyrion is not shy in confronting customs when faced by a condescending doorman outside the establishment.

** The Red Priestess in Volantis is a GenderFlip composite of an unnamed Red Priest in Selhorys and Benerro, the High Priest of R'hllor in Volantis. Both preach that Daenerys is Azor Ahai reborn and will liberate al slaves.
* ConsummateLiar: Margaery's power of manipulation is finally seen in full swing. She spouts one sweet lie after another, and several stealth insults in the middle. She's very likely lying to her maidens about her wedding night, as she's seen withholding the sex to her husband and Tommen talking about "breaking a record" sounds a little too risque for a mild, timid boy like him.

** Tyrion gets a particularly striking one from the Red Priestess in Volantis.

* NaughtyNuns: Tyrion admires the attractive Red Priestess, saying she's much better looking than Thoros. Justified as she's a former bedslave.

* WhatHaveYouDoneForMeLately: Non-verbally, but this is the visual expression Thorne gives to Slant right before he allows the rest of the Night Watch to take him to get beheaded. [[note]]It was arguably Slant's endorsement of him that caused Thorne to lose his bid for Lord Commander.[[/note]]

* AllThereInTheManual: The ham stolen by Pod's master was from Lord Twyin's personal store, hence the DisproportionateRetribution. But Podrick is also a relative of Illyn Payne, Lord Tywin's former Captain of the Guard, who had his tongue torn out by the Mad King. This is why Tywin spares his life.

* AllThereInTheManual: The ham stolen by Pod's master was from Lord Twyin's personal store, hence the DisproportionateRetribution. But Podrick is also a relative of Illyn Payne, Lord Tywin's former Captain of the Guard, who had his tongue torn out by the Mad King. this is why Tywin hearing Pod's family name saved him from the noose.

** When Tommen asks Margaery if being called queen feels strange to her, she says it does. We've known since season 2 that Margaery has always planned to be the queen. She also claims to adore Cersei for being "so kind and generous".

* KarmicDeath: Janos Slynt, the man whose treachery lead to Ned Stark being decapitated, is beheaded by Jon Snow, his bastard son.