| "The Old Gods and the New" | |
|---|---|
| Game of Thrones episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 6 |
| Directed by | David Nutter |
| Written by | Vanessa Taylor |
| Featured music | Ramin Djawadi |
| Cinematography by | Martin Kenzie |
| Editing by | Oral Norrie Ottey |
| Original air date | May 6, 2012 |
| Running time | 54 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Old Gods and the New" is the sixth episode of the second season of HBO's medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones. The 16th episode of the series overall, "The Old Gods and the New" was written by Vanessa Taylor and directed by David Nutter, his directorial debut for the series.
In the episode, a riot breaks out in King's Landing as King Joffrey Baratheon passes through Flea Bottom; Theon Greyjoy seizes Winterfell and executes Ser Rodrik Cassel; Arya Stark 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 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 was acclaimed by critics, who praised the King's Landing riot sequence, character development, and final scenes, and won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic).[1]