"The Old Gods and the New" is the sixth episode of the
second season of
HBO's
medieval fantasy
Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Arthu ...
television series ''
Game of Thrones''. The 16th episode of the series overall, "The Old Gods and the New" was written by
Vanessa Taylor
Vanessa Taylor is an American screenwriter and television producer. She is known for writing '' Hope Springs'', '' Divergent'', and '' The Shape of Water'', as well as for her work as a writer and co-executive producer on seasons two and three of ...
and directed by
David Nutter
David Nutter (born 1960) is an American television and film director and television producer. He is best known for directing pilot episodes for television. In 2015, he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Serie ...
, his directorial debut for the series.
In the episode, a riot breaks out in King's Landing as King
Joffrey Baratheon
Joffrey Baratheon is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its HBO television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''. Introduced in 1996's ''A Game of Thrones' ...
passes through Flea Bottom;
Theon Greyjoy
Theon Greyjoy is a fictional character in the '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation '' Game of Thrones''. Theon is the youngest son and heir of Balon Greyjoy, ...
seizes Winterfell and executes Ser Rodrik Cassel;
Arya Stark
Arya Stark is a fictional character in American author George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' epic fantasy novel series, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones'', where she is portrayed by English actress Maisie Williams. S ...
struggles to stay undercover at Harrenhal;
Robb Stark flirts with Talisa, a field nurse, before learning of Theon's attack;
Jon Snow and his companions ambush a wildling outpost beyond the Wall; and
Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys Targaryen ( ) is a fictional character in the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' by American author George R. R. Martin. She is a prominent Narrative mode#Third-person view, point of view character, and is one of ...
discovers that her dragons have been stolen in Qarth. The episode's title refers to both the "
Old Gods" a religion practiced by the long extinct natives of Westeros, Children of the Forest and still present mainly in the North and the "
New Gods," the prevalent religion brought over in the time when the First Men came to Westeros but still present in most of the country.
This episode won a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic).
Plot
Beyond the Wall
Qhorin's expedition captures a wildling watchpost, killing all but Ygritte, whom Jon finds himself unable to kill, and she escapes. Jon recaptures her but is separated from the party. With night approaching, Ygritte convinces Jon to share body warmth.
At Winterfell
Having taken Winterfell, Theon promises to Bran that he won't harm the inhabitants. When Ser Rodrik spits on Theon, Dagmer insists Theon needs to personally execute him since the other Ironborn will not respect him if he lets that stand. Despite the urgings of Bran and others, Theon decapitates Ser Rodrik. Osha seduces Theon in exchange for her freedom, giving her, Hodor, Bran and Rickon the opportunity to escape Winterfell.
In King's Landing
Myrcella Baratheon is sent to Dorne for her marriage alliance with House Martell. King Joffrey, struck in the face with manure, orders his guards to kill the crowd, igniting a riot. Tyrion slaps Joffrey and tries to take control, but the Kingsguard refuse to obey him. Sansa is nearly gang-raped by several men before being rescued by Sandor "The Hound" Clegane.
In the Westerlands
As Robb flirts with field nurse Talisa, Catelyn arrives. Discovering the nurse is Lady Talisa Maegyr from the Free City of Volantis and sensing Robb's attraction, Catelyn reminds him he is to marry Walder Frey's daughter. Receiving news of Theon's betrayal and Ser Rodrik’s execution, Robb declares he will recapture Winterfell, but Roose Bolton advises he will lose what he has gained against the Lannisters. Bolton proposes sending his bastard son with the forces left at his stronghold, the Dreadfort, and Robb reluctantly agrees, demanding Theon be taken alive so he can personally execute him.
At Harrenhal
Exasperated at his men's incompetence, Tywin observes that Arya can read well, contradicting her false identity. Petyr Baelish arrives, and Arya tries to conceal her face; it is unclear whether he recognises her. Ser Amory Lorch catches Arya with stolen war orders concerning Robb. She manages to escape, and implores Jaqen H'ghar to claim her second life. As Ser Amory enters Tywin's chambers to expose Arya, he drops dead with a poisoned dart in his neck.
In Qarth
The Spice King, one of Qarth's ruling Thirteen, rebuffs Daenerys’s entreaties for ships. Returning to Xaro’s mansion, Daenerys and her entourage discover that Qartheen guards, members of her ''khalasar'', and her handmaiden Irri have been killed and her dragons stolen. The dragons are ferried to a tower by a mysterious hooded figure.
Production
Writing
![David Nutter by Gage Skidmore 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/David_Nutter_by_Gage_Skidmore_2.jpg)
"The Old Gods and the New" is the second episode scripted by the season's new addition to the writing staff
Vanessa Taylor
Vanessa Taylor is an American screenwriter and television producer. She is known for writing '' Hope Springs'', '' Divergent'', and '' The Shape of Water'', as well as for her work as a writer and co-executive producer on seasons two and three of ...
, adapting the material taken from the following chapters of
George R.R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels '' A So ...
's original work ''
A Clash of Kings'': Arya VIII, Daenerys III, Tyrion IX, Bran VI, Jon VI (39, 41, 42, 47, 52). Also, the opening scene with the ironborn taking Winterfell uses elements from three different chapters: Theon IV, V, and VI (51, 57 and 67).
Some of the most significant changes from the books include Jon not letting Ygritte leave after refusing to execute her, the executions of Rodrik and Irri (in the books Rodrik is not killed until later, and Irri is still alive by the end of the fifth book), and Arya using her second wish to kill Amory Lorch instead of Weese, a cruel understeward who does not appear in the series. The Reed children have not been introduced yet: in the books they aid in Bran and Rickon's escape from Winterfell. Furthermore, at this point the Qarth storyline is only loosely based on the source material, as the theft of Daenerys's dragons does not occur in the books.
Casting
This episode features the introduction of
Rose Leslie
Rose Eleanor Arbuthnot-Leslie (born 9 February 1987) is a Scottish actress who rose to fame as Gwen Dawson in the ITV drama series ''Downton Abbey'' and Ygritte in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones''. She starred as Maia Rindell for t ...
playing the Wildling woman Ygritte. The producers had seen her in ''
Downton Abbey
''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...
'', where she had played Gwen Dawson, and they had admired her ability to do Northern accents. The Scottish actress used a Yorkshire accent in ''Downton Abbey.'' She was also trained in basic stage combat at the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and was eager to play the most physical aspects of her role.
Two prominent recurring guests actors had their last appearance in the show. Winterfell's master-at-arms Rodrik Cassel (Ron Donachie) and the Dothraki handmaiden Irri (Amrita Acharia) were killed, and in both cases their deaths in the series was far earlier than their deaths in the original books. Acharia was surprised when she found out that Irri died, but felt that the death served a purpose making Daenerys more isolated. A scene depicting how Irri was strangled was actually filmed but was not included in the final montage. The actress revealed: "I think it's hard to be strangled onscreen because obviously to an extent to make it look real, you really have to be a bit strangled. So I had massive bruises on my neck the next day. I was proud. Battle scars."
Filming locations
![Innenforpileporten](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Innenforpileporten.jpg)
The episode's interior shots continued to be filmed at Belfast's
The Paint Hall, while the scenes at Winterfell and Harrenhal were filmed at the sets built at Moneyglass and
Banbridge
Banbridge ( , ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the River Bann in 1712. It is situated in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iv ...
, respectively.
Iceland was used to depict the far north, and the scenes from this episode (and the next one) were filmed at the glacier Svínafellsjökull in
Vatnajökull National Park
Vatnajökull National Park ( is, Vatnajökulsþjóðgarður ) is one of three national parks in Iceland. It encompasses all of Vatnajökull glacier and extensive surrounding areas. These include the national parks previously existing at Skaftafel ...
, close to
Skaftafell
Skaftafell () is a preservation area in Öræfi, southeast Iceland. It was once a major farm, later being named a national park. Originally known as Skaftafell National Park, it was subsequently joined together with other nearby regions to form t ...
.
At Dubrovnik, the production used the seashore between Fort Bokar and
Fort Lovrijenac to film Myrcella's departure, the Pile Gate's inner gateway for the riot scene, the inner terrace of Fort Lovrijenac for the refuge where the royal family hides from the mob, and the
Rector's Palace
George Rector 878-1947was a restaurateur, raconteur and food authority who wrote several cookbooks in the 1920s and '30s. He appeared on radio on the Columbia Broadcasting System in ''Dine with George Rector''[Sky Atlantic
Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group Limited broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is primarily dedicated to imported programmes from the United States, and holds the domestic rights to HB ...]
, being the channel's highest-rated broadcast that week.
Critical reception
Upon airing, the episode received overwhelming critical praise.
Review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
surveyed 14 reviews and judged 100% of them to be positive with an average score of 9.3 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Thanks to a balance of thrilling action, complex character work, and a savage twist, 'The Old Gods and The New' justifies its deviation from the source material." ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
''s Matt Fowler gave the episode a perfect 10 out of 10, noting that "Book purists will certainly have their gripes, but I found 'The Old Gods and the New' to be nothing short of an intense triumph; (sic) filled with tons of cruelty and shock." Emily VanDerWerff of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave the episode an "A" and called it one of the best episodes of the series. She commented on how the plot was diverging more and more from
the novel, but argued that the heart of the story was kept and that the changes were necessary in order to explicitly express what in the novel was characters' internal monologues. She also praised the thematic unity of the episode, achieved by making the large number of character arcs take place in the course of a single day.
Jace Lacob of ''Televisionary'' echoed the above sentiments, calling the episode by far the best of the season thus far: "All in all, 'The Old Gods and New' represented a massive achievement for ''Game of Thrones'', a stunning display of well-crafted dialogue, subtle acting, deliberate pacing, and glorious setting, and the firm establishment that the show's continuity is well and truly separate from that of the novels." In particular, he praised the scenes between Arya and Tywin, as well as the riot in King's Landing and the near-rape of Sansa.
Accolades
This episode received a
Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series. It won for Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic).
[
]
References
External links
"The Old Gods and the New"
at HBO.com
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Gods and the New, The
Game of Thrones (season 2) episodes
2012 American television episodes
Television episodes directed by David Nutter
Television episodes written by Vanessa Taylor