It’s been years. Honestly, the screams still echo. When we talk about Game of Thrones Season 5 Episode 9, we aren't just talking about another hour of television. We are talking about the moment the show stopped being a fantasy adventure and became a genuine endurance test for the human soul.
Stannis Baratheon.
That name used to mean something to the "Stannis the Mannis" crowd. He was the one true king. He was the guy who showed up at the Wall when nobody else would. Then, in a snowy clearing outside Winterfell, he let Melisandre burn his daughter, Shireen, at the stake. It wasn't just a plot twist. It was a visceral, sickening betrayal of the audience’s trust.
What really happened in The Dance of Dragons
The episode is titled "The Dance of Dragons," a nod to the historical Targaryen civil war, but the irony is thick. While we get a literal dragon dance later in Meereen, the emotional core is rooted in the cold, desperate camp of Stannis Baratheon.
Twenty men. That’s all it took for Ramsay Bolton to ruin everything. They burned the food stores. They killed the horses. Stannis was stuck. He could march on Winterfell and starve, or he could retreat to the Wall and be a failure. He chose a third option. He chose the fire.
The scene is shot with a haunting clarity. Director David Nanuet doesn't shy away from the sounds. Shireen’s screams are high-pitched and frantic. Selyse, a mother who had spent years being cold and distant to her daughter, finally breaks. She tries to run to the pyre. It’s too late. Stannis just stands there. He looks like a man who has already died inside, which, let’s be real, he had.
Why the Shireen scene caused such an uproar
There was a lot of debate back in 2015 about whether this was "gratuitous." Some fans argued it wasn't in the books. They were wrong. George R.R. Martin actually confirmed to showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss that this was "the second of three holy s*** moments" he had planned for the series.
Even knowing it came from the source doesn't make it easier to watch. It felt like a breaking point. Up until Game of Thrones Season 5 Episode 9, we thought there was a line. We thought children were safe from that specific kind of cruelty. We were wrong.
Chaos in the Great Pit of Daznak
While Stannis was busy destroying his soul in the North, Daenerys Targaryen was having a very bad day in Meereen.
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The reopening of the fighting pits was supposed to be a peace offering. It was a mess. The Sons of the Harpy didn't want peace; they wanted their old world back. Seeing those gold masks emerge from the crowd is still one of the tensest moments in the show’s history.
- The scale was massive.
- Hundreds of extras.
- The realization that Jorah Mormont was fighting for his life right in front of the woman who exiled him.
- Tyrion Lannister, the man who has a quip for everything, finally looking genuinely terrified.
Then came Drogon.
The CGI for 2015 was actually pretty impressive here. When Drogon lands in the pit, he isn't a sleek, friendly dragon. He’s a scarred, angry beast. He’s protecting his mother. Seeing Dany climb on his back and fly away for the first time was the "payoff" the episode needed after the horror of the Shireen scene. It provided a sense of wonder that balanced out the nihilism. Sorta.
The Dornish problem and the Braavos distraction
We have to be honest: the Dorne plotline in Season 5 was a bit of a slog. In this episode, Jaime Lannister is basically just waiting around in the Water Gardens. Prince Doran Martell is trying to keep the peace, while Ellaria Sand is fuming.
It feels disconnected.
When you compare the stakes in Meereen or the North to the polite dinner table conversation in Dorne, it’s night and day. Jaime negotiates a deal to bring Myrcella and Trystane back to King's Landing. It’s a lot of talking for a show that usually thrives on action.
Meanwhile, Arya Stark is in Braavos, supposedly becoming "no one." But she sees Meryn Trant. The man who killed Syrio Forel. The man on her list. This is where we see Arya’s internal struggle—she’s not a faceless assassin yet. She’s still a girl who wants revenge. She ditches her mission to sell oysters and follows Trant to a brothel. It sets up the brutal finale of her arc for the season, but in this specific episode, it feels like a necessary bridge.
Why this episode is the peak of Season 5
Most people point to "Hardhome" (Episode 8) as the best of the season because of the White Walkers. They aren't wrong about the spectacle. But Game of Thrones Season 5 Episode 9 is the more "Thrones" episode. It’s about the cost of power.
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Stannis thinks he is the hero. He thinks he’s saving the world from the Long Night. To him, one girl’s life is a small price to pay for the survival of the realm. It’s the classic utilitarian nightmare. On the flip side, Daenerys is trying to be a different kind of ruler, but she only finds safety when she embraces her "Fire and Blood" roots and flies away on a monster.
The contrast is wild.
One ruler loses everything by following a prophecy. The other finds her power by following her instinct.
The impact on the fandom
Social media exploded after this aired. People were "quitting" the show. The "Stannis is the true king" memes died overnight. It changed the way we looked at the characters. We realized that being "right" or "just" in Westeros doesn't mean you won't do something unforgivable.
The production value was also at an all-time high. The Great Pit of Daznak was filmed in the Plaza de Toros in Osuna, Spain. They spent weeks there. They set people on fire for real (stuntmen, obviously). You can feel that heat on the screen. It doesn't look like a soundstage. It looks like a dusty, blood-soaked arena.
Analyzing the technical side of the "Dance"
The music by Ramin Djawadi deserves a shoutout. The track during Shireen’s sacrifice is dissonant and heartbreaking. Then, the music shifts to a sweeping, heroic theme as Dany takes flight. It’s a masterclass in emotional manipulation.
He knows how to twist the knife.
The pacing of the episode is also worth noting. It starts slow. We check in with Jon Snow returning to the Wall with the Wildlings. There’s that awkward, tense moment at the gate where Ser Alliser Thorne decides whether or not to let them through. It builds the dread. By the time we get to the fires in the North and the blood in Meereen, the audience is already on edge.
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Lessons learned from Season 5 Episode 9
If you're rewatching the series, this episode serves as a massive turning point for the endgame. It’s the moment the "Baratheon" claim to the throne effectively dies. Not because Stannis lost a battle, but because he lost his humanity.
It’s also the moment Daenerys truly becomes the "Dragon Queen." Before this, she was a politician trying to manage a city. After this, she’s something else. Something more dangerous.
Misconceptions about the Shireen sacrifice
A lot of people think Melisandre forced Stannis into it. If you watch closely, that’s not true. Stannis makes the choice. He sends Davos away because he knows Davos would stop him. He knows exactly what he’s doing. That’s why it hurts so much. It wasn't a mistake. It was a calculation.
And it was a wrong one.
The Lord of Light gave him a clear path (the snow melted), but it cost him his wife, his daughter, and eventually his own life. The "magic" worked, but it didn't matter.
Final takeaways for the true fan
To truly appreciate what happened in Game of Thrones Season 5 Episode 9, you have to look past the shock value.
- Character Arc Destruction: Stannis’s arc didn't "fail"; it reached its logical, tragic conclusion. He was a man of iron, and iron breaks before it bends.
- The Weight of History: The "Dance of Dragons" title connects the current events to the lore of the past, showing that history repeats itself in blood.
- The Meereen Pivot: This was the first time we saw the true scale of the Targaryen power since the beginning of the show.
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the lore, your next step is to read the "Princess and the Queen" novella or the "Fire & Blood" history book. They explain the original Dance of Dragons, which puts Dany's flight from the pit into a much grimmer context. You’ll see that dragons don't just save queens—they burn worlds.
Watch the episode again, but focus on the background characters. Look at the faces of the soldiers in Stannis’s camp. Look at the fear in the eyes of the Meereenese citizens. The show was always at its best when it showed the people caught in the gears of the great lords' ambitions.
Stop thinking of Stannis as a hero who went wrong. Start seeing him as a man who was always too rigid for a world that requires flexibility. That’s the real tragedy of the Dance.
Next Steps for the Viewer:
Go back and watch the scenes in Season 2 where Stannis first meets Melisandre. Look for the subtle hints that he was always willing to give up everything for the crown. Then, compare the CGI of Drogon in the pit to the CGI in the later seasons (like the "Loot Train Attack"). The evolution of the technology is staggering, but the emotional weight of Season 5 Episode 9 remains the series' high-water mark for pure, unadulterated tension.