Game of Thrones: "The Old Gods and the New" Review

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow...

Whoa, now that was one powerfully wicked episode. No, nothing happened along the lines of a smoke demon birth or supernatural regicide, but "The Old Gods and the New" was filled some intensely heinous human events. Just some amazing, killer sequences. And it seems as though Vanessa Taylor, who also wrote the great and demented "Garden of Bones," might be this series' go-to scribe for big, intensely disturbing moments. From Theon raiding Winterfell and brutally hacking off Ser Rodrik's head, to Joffrey inciting a riot and nearly getting Sansa raped and murdered, this episode was an absolute stand-out that helped put this season into perspective; perhaps even finally giving it shape.

Having read the Martin books, I was surprised to see Theon arrive at Winterfell so soon. And I'm pretty sure that other book fans felt the same way since the season wound up skipping past a lot of Theon's actual journey to get there. But I see this as a good thing. For once, we book readers got to be surprised along with the non-readers. Surprised , sure, but still taken aback. And by leaping over some of Theon's story to get to Winterfell the producers and writers were able to turn the actual attack on Theon's former home into a bigger moment then it would have been if we had spent an extra episode or two with him plotting to take down Winterfell. Which would have ruined the surprise.




And now Theon has officially moved beyond being a pompous letch to being a full-fledged horrible human being. Yes, I can officially shout "F*** you!" at him, as he foolishly tried his best to lead a bloodless raid; wanting somehow to be both respected by his ship's crew the Winterfellians. It's funny to see someone who's turned his back on the Starks essentially wanting Ned Stark. Or, at least, be loved and respected like him. It actually kind of reveals the way Theon felt about Ned. But then everything turns massively ugly when Ser Rodrik refuses to yield and, well, Theon does his damnedest to give Joffrey a run for his money; competing for the ultimate "wretched prick" prize of Season 2. But even though Theon has now done the unthinkable (and to some, the unexpected), he's still given actual layers. For what it's worth, you can see how torn and conflicted he is. You see him not to hurt anyone. But, of course, when he has to make a bottom line decision, he makes the monstrous one. "Gods help you, Theon Greyjoy. Now you are truly lost."

- HBO

Royal Guard Photobomb!

And while Theon's clumsy sack of Winterfell got him a thousand douchebag points, there's simply no beating Joffrey. In the exact same episode, not only does Joffrey out-do Theon, but he out-does himself. Again. He's a marvel. He was so horrifyingly idiotic in this one that he actually caused the usually calm and collected
Tyrion to snap and give him an epic slap right in his kingly mouth (again!). "We've had vicious kings and we've had idiot kings, but I don't know that we've ever been cursed with a vicious idiot." So damn good. And a shot to the mouth so gratifying that the internet is sure to have a field day. Loop it. Gif it. Go nuts!

Man, what a scene. And can we now that Sansa has more than paid for her Season 1 sins? The riot scene was even tweaked enough from the books that I got pretty damn nervous watching the Sansa attack; not quite sure where they were going with it. But then, before I knew it, Tyrion wasn't the only one getting a great hero's moment this week. Yes, it was The Hound to the rescue. But now what? That crowd, that Joffrey vocally wanted to have killed, has crossed that line of no return. Because some of Joffrey's rich folk retinue sure as hell didn't make it out of that mob scene alive and . "Set up"-wise, there may have only been a few lines here and there about how the people in King's Landing were starving, but I'd like to think that Joffrey, being the way he is, would be enough to cause even a sane and well-fed crowd to lose it and start ripping royals to ribbons.

We got to see a little more of Robb and Lady Talisa out on the war trail, with Cat returning and reminding Robb of his promise to wed one of the ugly Frey daughters. Again, we have to shift time around in our heads here since Theon's attack on Winterfell took place... a few weeks after the last episode? And that's being very generous. A month is probably fairer, but again that would also mean that a month had passed for everyone else. Especially since, in the same episode, Cat and Robb get Luwin's raven about the raid - tethering them, at least to those events and that timeline. Of course, Robb wants to head back North, but much in the same way he can't give up the Kingslayer for his sisters, he can't abandon his battles. So Lord Bolton, who we don't know all that much about, tells Robb that he'll send word to his bastard, who we haven't met, to retake Winterfell. I won't say much more about this other than... I hope we soon get this story filled in a bit more.

Jon Snow meeting Ygritte, the fire-haired wildling lass, really helped juice up his storyline. For the first time, after he and Ygritte got separated from Quorin, I felt like Jon was experiencing his own story. And not just tagging along with a bunch of grizzled Night's Watch superiors who were exposition-ing him all about how the Night's Watch sucks as a career path ("We're not fighting an enemy, we're fighting the North"). Not that it was bad to watch. I did like Quorin's speech about how, really, you're to resent being the Night's Watch. But now that Jon is off on his own, with a feisty temptress, his trek has become a more lively and exciting. Downton Abbey's Rose Leslie is perfect at Ygritte; stubborn, brave and yet also instantly attracted to Jon. And yes, even though you can tell that the two of them have a certain "meet-cute" spark, Ygritte is definitely toying and teasing Jon with her hip gyrations; not really expecting it to go anywhere except to frustrate and torment him.

- HBO

Maniacal laugh. Maniacal laugh....

It's interesting watching Daenerys this season as she always feels the need to come off as strong and confident. And that's understandable, for sure. But it's a far cry from her Season 1 arc and since Jorah was off trying to find her a ship in this episode (and the only time she lets her guard down is with him) Dany tried to boast and "I am Daenerys Stormborn!" her way around Qarth with Xaro. Meeting up, once again, with the somewhat-contemptuous Spice King - who also stood as proof that Stannis Baratheon isn't the only "Grammar Nazi" in town. Dany is still trying to get Qarth sponsorship, which seems to mean that she's not fully listening to Jorah's advice about "making her own way." And at this point on the show, I think the audience trusts Jorah's wisdom more than hers.

So until Jorah comes back, Dany's apt to make mistake after mistake. As proven with the theft of her dragons. And the killing of Irri. Awww. At least she got to get in one final "It is known" back in last week's episode. So now Daenerys has nothing to brag about. The three things that were keeping looming scoundrels from savaging her are gone. Off to, what I assume was, the House of the Undying. Which maybe should have warned Dany about (*narrows eyes at Xaro*). You know, that Warlocks might also kill everyone in your house and steal your most prized possessions.

I mentioned last week how much I loved watching Arya and Tywin together and, man, that still stands. This week the two of them had a great scene together where it seemed like they actually connected as people. Especially Tywin, who talks more candidly to Arya than he does to any of the men on his war council. And even though Arya stealing the note (which actually lets us know that Tywin gets more satisfaction out of their chats than she does) meant that she had to a kill-name with Jaqen, it was still a very fun sequence; with Amory Lorch opening the door and falling flat on his face. Of course now, since Lorch's death can't be considered an accident, everyone has to know that there's an assassin hiding somewhere in Harrenhal. It's even fun watching Littlefinger "out in the field" working hard to pull the strings; coming to Tywin on behalf of the Tyrells.

Book purists will certainly have their gripes, but I found "The Old Gods and the New" to be nothing short of an intense triumph; filled with tons of cruelty and shock. Plus, there was some fun to be had with Jon Snow and some suspense to be found with Arya. It also, I must say, provided genuine surprises for those who of us who have read the source material.


Source : http://tv.ign.com/articles/122/1223767p1.html