Game of Thrones recap: 'The Dance of Dragons' 

 recap I have wanted to write for a long time.

Dany escaping the Daznak fighting pit while riding Drogon is one of the most exciting and climactic moments in George R.R. Martin’s novels.

 in the novels—is one of the most horrifying sequences in the show’s history (and something I’ve been privately obsessing over since first hearing about it).  

 has always excelled at giving us moments of terror and triumph, but seldom have the highs and lows ever been so extreme, or come so quickly on top of each other, than in the past few episodes. We’ve had hugs and euphoria (Dany meets Tyrion! Jon’s epic Hardhome battle!) and gut-punches and sadness (Ser Barristan dies, Sansa is assaulted). And then tonight, in rapid succession, we witnessed the profoundly disturbing murder of an innocent child, and then saw the glory of a queen reclaiming her destiny—two scenes that could easily serve as the climax of an entire season on any other show, though it’s tough to imagine any other series pulling them off as masterfully as 

 did here (with the help of director David Nutter, who previously helmed season 3’s Red Wedding episode).

I have a lot to say about the Shireen scene in particular. So I’m going to break my usual format and start with the scene I most want to talk about first, and then we’ll recap the rest. 

This draft will be updated and expanded throughout the night

Stannis’ camp: There are a series of foreboding beats..

Foreboding Beat 1: Melisandre is staring into the flames. The flames are her Netflix. She goes outside and suddenly sees—a lot more flames. Her eyes widen. Some psychic, she didn’t see 

Ramsay’s raid was a total success. There is a flaming horse, and you don’t see that every day. He burned Stannis’ food, and the weather is still awful. If only Stannis hadn’t spent so much time hanging out at Castle Black correcting grammar, he might have stood a chance against the Boltons. Stannis wants to kill his own guards for failing to spot the raiders and plans to eat the horses.

Stannis sees Selyse and Melisandre, and goes to huddle with his wife and lover—his Batshit Small Council. We do not hear what is said. We are worried.

Foreboding Beat 2: Stannis decides to send Davos away, telling him some excuse about bringing back supplies. My first thought is: “Hurray for Davos, RUN!” But rapidly on top of that is: “

Davos may be loyal to Stannis, but he would never stand aside while they sacrificed Shireen. Davos wants to bring Selyse and Shireen with him to Castle Black, but Stannis insists they stay behind.

Stannis Baratheon, the Jack Torrance of Westeros, has just disabled the snowmobile.

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