There was no Stannis this episode, yet the episode was still a masterpiece. Even though they excluded somethings from the book, I really loved this episode. It was frightening, suspenseful, funny and dramatic. "The Old Gods and the New" is an achievement.
Right from the start, Theon captures Winterfell and orders Bran to yield the castle to him. Now if you remember from last episode, Bran's dream showed the ocean claiming Winterfell. As Theon does a dangerous decapitating a loyal soldier, the rain begins to fall harder and harder symbolizing the ocean Bran was referring to. By the end of the episode, Bran and his son sneak out of Winterfell undetected.
North of the Wall, Jon Snow continues his journey with the intent to kill as many wildlings as possible. During his mission, he and his group ambush a wildling campsite and Jon captures Ygritte, a female red head. Ygritte is an important character to this series for Jon Snow so be ready to see a lot of her. And after a failed attempt at executing her, Jon and Ygritte have a rundown. Even though Jon captures her again, he is unable to find his group before nightfall.
In Kings Landing, Cersei and Tyrion watch as they force the princess to leave the capital before the war hits. After a little threat from Cersei, King Joffery and the royal family are attacked by the people. Even though Tyrion tries to tell Joffery that this attack is all his fault, Joffery walks away and even lets Sansa to be attacked by three men. The Hound does save her just before she is raped but it will scar her for life that Joffery did not do anything for her.
In Harrenhal, Arya continues to be a cup bearer for Tywin. It seemed everything was fine until Littlefinger came in and began to talk to Tywin about Renly's wife and her family. It was intense since Littlefinger knows Arya when she was in King's Landing. It was great to see Arya try to hide her face as she refilled their wine cups and Littlefinger trying to see her face. Later in the episode, Arya steals a message about Robb heading south before Tywin can see the message. Though a red cloak caught her outside his chambers, she goes to Jacquen and tells him to kill the guard immediately. It was a funny scene of dialogue and close calls but the episode did it perfectly.
In Qarth, Daenerys tries to find any way to get ships to cross the sea towards Westeros. Unfortunately for her, she has no allies in Westeros and no one gives her the ships when she promises fortunes. At the end of the episode, her dragons are taken from her bedroom.
This was a fast paced episode. I was glad when I hit the half way mark because I wanted to see more of the story unfold. Yes, Stannis was left out this week but it didn't matter. His time will come in the later episodes. Still, it was a fantastic episode. Bravo.
10/10
Right from the start, Theon captures Winterfell and orders Bran to yield the castle to him. Now if you remember from last episode, Bran's dream showed the ocean claiming Winterfell. As Theon does a dangerous decapitating a loyal soldier, the rain begins to fall harder and harder symbolizing the ocean Bran was referring to. By the end of the episode, Bran and his son sneak out of Winterfell undetected.
North of the Wall, Jon Snow continues his journey with the intent to kill as many wildlings as possible. During his mission, he and his group ambush a wildling campsite and Jon captures Ygritte, a female red head. Ygritte is an important character to this series for Jon Snow so be ready to see a lot of her. And after a failed attempt at executing her, Jon and Ygritte have a rundown. Even though Jon captures her again, he is unable to find his group before nightfall.
In Kings Landing, Cersei and Tyrion watch as they force the princess to leave the capital before the war hits. After a little threat from Cersei, King Joffery and the royal family are attacked by the people. Even though Tyrion tries to tell Joffery that this attack is all his fault, Joffery walks away and even lets Sansa to be attacked by three men. The Hound does save her just before she is raped but it will scar her for life that Joffery did not do anything for her.
In Harrenhal, Arya continues to be a cup bearer for Tywin. It seemed everything was fine until Littlefinger came in and began to talk to Tywin about Renly's wife and her family. It was intense since Littlefinger knows Arya when she was in King's Landing. It was great to see Arya try to hide her face as she refilled their wine cups and Littlefinger trying to see her face. Later in the episode, Arya steals a message about Robb heading south before Tywin can see the message. Though a red cloak caught her outside his chambers, she goes to Jacquen and tells him to kill the guard immediately. It was a funny scene of dialogue and close calls but the episode did it perfectly.
In Qarth, Daenerys tries to find any way to get ships to cross the sea towards Westeros. Unfortunately for her, she has no allies in Westeros and no one gives her the ships when she promises fortunes. At the end of the episode, her dragons are taken from her bedroom.
This was a fast paced episode. I was glad when I hit the half way mark because I wanted to see more of the story unfold. Yes, Stannis was left out this week but it didn't matter. His time will come in the later episodes. Still, it was a fantastic episode. Bravo.
10/10