The Old Gods and the New

"The Old Gods and the New" is the sixth episode of the second season of Game of Thrones. It is the sixteenth episode of the series overall. It premiered on May 6, 2012. It was written by co-executive producer Vanessa Taylor and directed by David Nutter.

The episode won a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Make-Up (Non-Prosthetic) in September 2012.

In the Seven Kingdoms
At Winterfell, Maester Luwin frantically sends off a messenger raven just as a band of raiders from House Greyjoy, led by Theon Greyjoy, take over the undefended castle. Theon had lured the defenders away with a feint at Torrhen's Square and then infiltrated the castle using grappling claws. Theon tells Bran Stark to surrender the castle to him to save his people. Bran submits in front of his assembled people. Ser Rodrik Cassel is captured by Theon's men as he is returning from Torrhen's Square. He spits in Theon's face, and Dagmer Cleftjaw insists that Theon must kill him, or lose face in front of his ironborn raiders. Theon botches the beheading of Ser Rodrik, horrifying the people of Winterfell and sadden Bran. Later that night, Osha the wildling has sex with Theon, but then sneaks out of his room while he is asleep. Osha frees Bran, Rickon Stark, Hodor, and their direwolves, Summer and Shaggydog, smuggling them out of the castle and killing one of Theon's guards in the process.

At King Robb Stark's army camp in the Westerlands, Robb chats with Talisa, who has followed his forces on their campaign. Robb introduces Talisa to his mother Catelyn Stark, who has returned from the Stormlands along with Brienne of Tarth. They are interrupted when Lord Roose Bolton arrives with the terrible news sent by Luwin's last messenger raven. Furious at Theon's betrayal, Robb intends to march his army back to the North to repel the invasion. Roose advises that the few hundred soldiers left scattered in the North can be rallied by his bastard son, Ramsay Snow, who is in the North at the Dreadfort. They could overcome the small Ironborn invasion force. Roose warns that retreating the entire Northern army group would lose everything they have gained. Robb agrees, but insists that Bolton's men take Theon alive so Robb can look him in the eyes and ask "Why?" before personally executing him.

At Harrenhal castle, in the main base camp for the House Lannister army in the Riverlands, Tywin Lannister berates Ser Amory Lorch for delivering a letter to their enemies instead of their allies, because he cannot read properly. He discovers that his cupbearer "Arry" (secretly Arya Stark) can read. Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish arrives at camp and meets with Tywin. Arya tries to hide her face to prevent Littlefinger from identifying her. Baelish discusses the assassination of Renly Baratheon, and the subsequent rallying of the noble Houses from the Stormlands under the banner of his older brother Stannis Baratheon. However, House Tyrell of the Reach has retreated its large army back to their capital at Highgarden, and has not joined Stannis. Baelish discusses with Tywin the possibility of forming an alliance between House Lannister and House Tyrell.

Later Tywin questions Arya about her origins. While Tywin is distracted, Arya sees that a letter on his table is about her older brother Robb Stark, so she snatches it. She reads the letter and then runs downstairs with it. She bumps into Amory Lorch who sees that she is carrying the letter and grows suspicious. Arya runs away and Amory heads to tell Tywin. Arya runs to find Jaqen H'ghar. She tells Jaqen that Amory Lorch is the second name he owes her. Just as Amory Lorch opens Tywin's door, he falls down dead, a poisoned dart lodged in his neck.

In King's Landing, the royal court including King Joffrey Baratheon, Queen Regent Cersei Lannister, Prince Tommen Baratheon, and Sansa Stark are at the docks seeing off Princess Myrcella Baratheon as she departs in a ship bound for Dorne. Cersei is heartbroken and warns Tyrion that she will not forgive him for sending away her only daughter. As per Tyrion's plans, Myrcella will stay in Dorne with House Martell until she comes of age to fulfill the marriage alliance to their youngest son, Trystane Martell. The High Septon of the Faith of the Seven offers a blessing for her departure. The streets of the capital city are overflowing with starving refugees from the War of the Five Kings, as Cersei ignored both Tyrion and Janos Slynt's earlier warnings that something had to be done to care for the starving peasants or there would be mounting discontent with her son's rule.

As the royal party travels back to the Red Keep through the crowded streets, the starving refugees and commoners of King's Landing plead for bread and hurl insults at King Joffrey, and ultimately, someone throws cow excrement into Joffrey's face. Despite being accompanied by only a few dozen guards facing hundreds of peasants, Joffrey impetuously orders his soldiers to kill the entire crowd. A riot erupts and spreads throughout the city. The royal party's guards are soon overwhelmed, and Joffrey, Cersei and Tyrion barely make it back to the castle unscathed. The High Septon is literally torn apart by the mob.

Tyrion is enraged by Joffrey's shocking stupidity, for massively overreacting to having cow dung thrown at him, and for not realizing that his orders would cause a riot among the starving peasants and endanger the entire royal party. Joffrey, still manically cursing the mob and demanding they all be killed, shrieks that Tyrion cannot speak to him in that way. Tyrion then slaps him across the face. The scant two thousand City Watch guards have difficulty containing the riot, and chaos reigns throughout the city. Tyrion realizes to his horror that Sansa Stark was lost in the crowd. Joffrey petulantly refuses to send his men after her, oblivious to her importance as a hostage or the fact that if any harm comes to her, his uncle Jaime will be in danger. Outside, Sansa is dragged away by a mob of angry men and is about to be raped, when Sandor "The Hound" Clegane arrives and slays her assailants. He carries Sansa to the castle and orders handmaids to take care of her. Tyrion thanks him for saving Sansa's life, but Sandor bluntly responds that he didn't do it for him.

Beyond the Wall
The scouting party of the Night's Watch led by Qhorin Halfhand has left the expeditionary base their main force set up at the Fist of the First Men, and continues searching for the wildlings in the Frostfangs mountain range. They encounter a small group of wildling scouts and engage them in combat, killing all except one: a red-haired young woman named Ygritte. Qhorin orders Jon Snow to execute her while the rest of them continue on up the mountain. Jon hesitates, giving Ygritte enough time to make a run for it. Jon pursues and captures Ygritte, but they have become separated from Qhorin's scouting party. With darkness falling, Jon and his prisoner have to settle in for the night, hoping to link back up with Qhorin when daylight returns.

Across the Narrow Sea
In Qarth, Daenerys Targaryen tries to negotiate with the Spice King for ships to return to Westeros. However, he considers it to be too risky an investment - considering that she has no army and has no open supporters in Westeros - and she receives nothing. Returning with Xaro Xhoan Daxos to his mansion, they find Xaro's guards dead, Irri strangled to death, and Daenerys' dragons missing, their cages empty. A hooded figure carries the dragons in a covered box up steps towards a tower.

Recap

 * Main: The Old Gods and the New recap

A detailed recap of the episode scene by scene.

Memorable Quotes
[A city wide riot starts in King's Landing after King Joffrey orders his men to attack a crowd of peasants, and the royal party barely makes it back within the gate of the Red Keep as the streets descend into chaos]

King Joffrey Baratheon: "Traitors! I'll have all their heads!"

Tyrion Lannister: "Oh you blind, bloody fool!" Joffrey: "You can't insult me!"

Tyrion: "We've had vicious kings, and we've had idiot kings...but I don't know if we've ever been cursed with a vicious idiot for a king!"

Joffrey: "You, you can't!"

Tyrion: "I can, I am!"

Joffrey: "They attacked me!"

Tyrion: "They threw a cowpie at you! So you decide to kill them all?! They're starving, you fool! All because of a war you started!"

Joffrey: "You're talking to a king!"

[Tyrion slaps Joffrey across the face, sending him sprawling]

Tyrion: "And now I've struck a king! Did my hand fall from my wrist?!" [To the guards] "Where is the Stark girl?!"

Joffrey: [growling] "Let them have her!"

Tyrion: "If she dies you'll never get your uncle Jaime back! You owe him quite a bit, you know!"

[Ser Rodrik Cassel is brought in front of Prince Theon Greyjoy after he takes Winterfell]

Prince Theon Greyjoy: "Ser Rodrik, it grieves me that we meet as foes."

Ser Rodrik Cassel: "It grieves me that you have less honor than a back-alley whore. You were raised here, under this roof! These people are your people!"

Theon: "They are not my people."

Rodrik: "King Robb thought of you as his brother!"

Theon: "My brothers are dead! They died fighting Stark men, men like you!"

Rodrik: "Aye, they died fighting a war your father started! Lord Stark raised you among his own sons!"

Theon: "Among them, but not one of them! I was his hostage, taken from my home!"

Rodrik: "If he were alive to see this..."

Theon: "He's not, he's dead. Seven Kingdoms are at war and Winterfell is mine!"

Rodrik: "I should have put a sword in your belly instead of in your hand!"

Theon: "You've served this house faithfully, old man, but keep talking and I'll--" [Rodrik spits in Theon's face]  "Take him to the cells and lock him up--"

Dagmer: "You cannot let that stand, he must pay."

Theon: "I'll lock him in his cell until he rots--"

Dagmer: "No! He has to pay the iron price. They'll never respect you while he lives."

Appearances

 * Main: The Old Gods and the New/Appearances

First Appearances

 * Farlen
 * Palla
 * The High Septon
 * Ygritte
 * Quent

Deaths

 * Ser Rodrik Cassel
 * The High Septon
 * Ser Amory Lorch
 * Drennan
 * Irri

Cast
Starring
 * Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister
 * Lena Headey as Queen Cersei Lannister
 * Michelle Fairley as Lady Catelyn Stark
 * Emilia Clarke as Khaleesi Daenerys Targaryen
 * Aidan Gillen as Lord Petyr Baelish
 * Kit Harington as Jon Snow
 * Charles Dance as Lord Tywin Lannister
 * Isaac Hempstead-Wright as Prince Bran Stark
 * Richard Madden as King Robb Stark
 * Sophie Turner as Princess Sansa Stark
 * Maisie Williams as Princess Arya Stark
 * Alfie Allen as Prince Theon Greyjoy
 * Jack Gleeson as King Joffrey Baratheon
 * Sibel Kekilli as Shae
 * Rory McCann as Sandor Clegane

Guest starring
 * Donald Sumpter as Maester Luwin
 * Ron Donachie as Ser Rodrik Cassel
 * Natalia Tena as Osha
 * Michael McElhatton as Lord Roose Bolton
 * Nonso Anozie as Xaro Xhoan Daxos
 * Nicholas Blane as the Spice King
 * Tom Wlaschiha as Jaqen H'ghar
 * Rose Leslie as Ygritte
 * Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth
 * Oona Chaplin as Talisa Maegyr
 * Simon Armstrong as Qhorin Halfhand
 * Ralph Ineson as Dagmer Cleftjaw
 * Ian Beattie as Ser Meryn Trant
 * Fintan McKeown as Ser Amory Lorch
 * Forbes KB as Black Lorren
 * Amrita Acharia as Irri
 * Kristian Nairn as Hodor
 * Steven Cole as Kovarro
 * David Verrey as the High Septon
 * Peter Ballance as Farlen
 * David Coakley as Drennan
 * Aimee Richardson as Princess Myrcella Baratheon
 * Art Parkinson as Prince Rickon Stark
 * Callum Wharry as Prince Tommen Baratheon
 * Reg Wayment as a rioter
 * Aiden Condron as a Lannister captain
 * Marko Juraga as a rioter
 * Rea Separovic as a rioter
 * Paul Caddell as Jacks
 * Aidan Crowe as Quent

Uncredited
 * Unknown as Palla
 * Unknown as Malakho
 * Unknown as Ser Arys Oakheart
 * Unknown as Harker
 * Unknown as Stonesnake
 * Unknown as Borba
 * Unknown as a Stark guard

Cast notes

 * Only 15 of the 25 starring cast members for the second season appear in this episode.
 * Starring cast members John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), James Cosmo (Jeor Mormont), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), Stephen Dillane (Stannis Baratheon), Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont), Conleth Hill (Varys), and Carice van Houten (Melisandre) are not credited and do not appear in this episode.
 * Jack Gleeson is credited after Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams when he was credited ahead of them when they last appeared together in "Garden of Bones."
 * In the opening titles, Jack Gleeson, who plays Joffrey Baratheon, has his sigil changed to a Stark direwolf, rather than a Baratheon stag.