Review of Game of Thrones ‘The Old Gods and the New’

SPOILERS: Do not read this if you have not seen Game of Thrones ‘The Old Gods and the New’

The slow burn nature of ‘Game of Thrones’ means that at some point there will be a payoff for investing time watching the less exciting episodes. The pace may be slow but when the rewards come they are big and this week was a fantastic episode that was well worth the wait.

With so many heart-pounding and tense moments in each of the strands it is difficult to know where to begin. ‘The Old Gods and the New’ commenced with a literal bang as a door was slammed open and Winterfell was taken by Theon (Alfie Allen). The fall of the castle to the Greyjoys was an intriguing storyline to follow and it revealed a lot about Theon’s character. The interaction between Bran and Theon made the latter’s superciliousness seem all the more ridiculous because Bran, who is just a child, came across as the smarter one. Even when speaking to a young boy Theon cannot command the respect and authority he craves.

There was also a scene of pure, graphic brutality when Theon obliterated Ser Rodrik Cassel (Ron Donachie). Although there was not a lot of onscreen violence, the implication was enough for any viewer to want to vomit into the nearest bin. The viciousness with which Theon dispatched of Ser Rodrik, a man who has been so good to him, shows that he is starting to lose his humanity. Bit by bit he will start to lose any sense of self, he is already suffering an identity crisis and this can only get worse. Perhaps Theon will end up going mad and turning into a babbling wreck from having to prove his loyalty the Iron way. After this episode he has earned himself a place on the ‘Characters who the audience want to see dead’ list which also includes Joffrey (Jack Gleeson).

Meanwhile there was an equally shocking scene in King’s Landing where Sansa (Sophie Turner) was nearly raped during a riot against the royal family. When the audience first met Sansa she was an irritable character because of her desire to please the Lannisters, now though there is a lot of sympathy for her because she is a hostage. Turner plays Sansa well enough however she should be commended for her performance in the attempted rape scene because of the dark nature and the physicality of it.

The riot offered an insight into the social situation in King’s Landing and the dissatisfaction amongst the people towards Joffrey and the royal family. Up until now there has been very little of anything outside the court but the plight of the ordinary citizens of the capital was shown. Along with the fight over the Iron Throne, does Joffrey face the threat of being ousted from the growing dissent among his own people?

Even Arya’s (Maisie Williams) plotline provided several tense sequences. Firstly when Lord Baelish (Aidan Gillen) visited Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) and Arya had to serve him wine. There was every possibility that he would recognise her as a daughter of the Starks, whether he did was uncertain. Baelish is a slippery character, who is looking to survive and serve himself therefore, he may well have recognised her and not said anything, who knows? The other edge-of-the-seat incident was at the end when Arya was discovered with a letter that she shouldn’t have had. Luckily, she was saved in a dramatic last-minute kill.

Although not much happened in Jon’s (Kit Harington) subplot it was welcome change of scenery. The aesthetics of the show is another reason to watch it and for the first time in ‘Game of Thrones’ there were some lengthy scenes in the snow-capped region beyond the Wall. It was great to finally see the endless icy expanse of the North in all its frosty beauty. For viewers, each episode is an involving cinematic experience and this is what sets it apart from other programmes on television at the moment.

Finally, at the end of the episode when there was some hope that Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) would finally get a ship to sail across the Narrow Sea, her Dothraki horde was slaughtered and her dragons were kidnapped. It was a nail-biting cliff hanger that will draw back viewers next week. Once again, this episode has surpassed the one before it.

For more information about the series, click here

Image credit: HBO

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• w3rl0ck

  More tittes many more tittes please. The plot can go and get f..ked. This is what gets the ratings, the story sure as hell doesn’t. This episode in particular has shown this, every single scene was flawed with its plot having more holes then the titantic.
   
  What an author does in writing is cover every single detail, while providing in depth character studies. There are no loose ends, everything ties together to provide a story. If this author doesn’t he won’t sell his books. Now the screenwriters come along an add in plenty of nudity and violence, while stroking there beards and rewriting the story. Due to their inherent lack of concentration they have managed to butcher this story into oblivion while providing the most illogical of plotlines.
   
  This episode has had gaping holes to little stupid ones in every single scene this episode. lets recap: Princess Marcella is being sent of to Dorne for protection. Dorne is below Kings landing near the bottom of the seven kingdoms. Well Stannis in the last episode had his navy sailing from below Kings Landing and named his pirate/smuggler Davos Seaworth as capitan of his navy with his buddy Salandor Saan the pirate. He happily boasted of sinking every ship he could and plundering to his hearts conetent. Small possibility this ship would have manoveured around this massive navy sailing from the same direction. Rodrick Casse a season veteran knightl previously was granted 200  Winterfell soliders from Brandon Stark to retake Torhen Square. Well this entire army was routed and sir Rodrick captured by a handful of Iron Islanders a longships worth a tiny raiding party, most of which grappled Winterfells walls. We saw Arya use her knowledge to read and tell of armies and banners the different houses etc. Well this bright child is so dumb that after reading a war plan of attack from Lord Tywin against her won brother Rob Stark, She has killed a dumb knight who cannot read who is going to see Lord Tywin. This would clearly have ended this series, we can’t have that now can we. Littlefinger has traveled across many battlegrounds to do a job that a raven couldn’t just so as to identify little Arya. Daenerys has had her Dothraki horde butchered and her dragons stolen while under the protection of Xaro, the richest man in Qarth to bad his riches couldn’t afford him a few soldiers to protect his wealth. The what was her face doctor who Rob Stark is fond of. She returned home the previous episode her home near Castely rock not Riverun where she as at currently many miles away. her hospital service makes so much sense at her new location.
   
  The awarding winning golden globe formula has changed from being one of the best screen adaptions following the book chapter for chapter and almost word. Hooking many of genre fans and many more. Well this has really changed this season, and it is shame watching this series unfold.

  More tittes for a perfect 10

• http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=622985034 Chris Murray

  What an utterly useless article. You can’t read it if you’re not up to date and if you are, what’s the point. That’s before you get onto the badly written, gushing nature of it. I’d have expected better from The Independent, even the online department.