Rate Episode 2x02

7/10

I gave this a 7 same as last week's opener for the season though only because the second half of the episode saved it from being an overall stinker. There were some brilliant scenes that cannot be ignored despite the overall theme of over-sexualized 'victimizing' going on (I'll get more into that in my symbolism post I intend to do this week).

Great Scenes:

- Yara's tricksy introduction to Theon. It was well done despite how awkward it was (and the same in the books).

- Balon Greyjoy and his speech to Theon about why he's no true Ironborn anymore and didn't pay the iron price for the jewelry he bought and how he will take his crown not buy it from Robb Stark.

- Tyrion cornering and swiftly getting rid of Janos Slynt was well done and quite clever as it was in the books.

- Gendry and Arya's reveal of who she really is and his teasing her about being a Lady. Really great warm moment between those two and well acted.

- Tyrion pointing out to Cersei that she's losing the people and when winter comes half of them will starve, the other half will rebel. Amazing foreshadowing for what's to come in Season 7 I think!

- Jon witnessing Craster leave his baby son out in the snow for the White Walkers.

So really if I only give a point or two for those scenes, I have to justify the 7 overall even with all the shitty whore scenes and sexposition this episode is riddled with and typically heavily criticized about.

But now that I can re-watch this episode with a much more critically observant perspective, I can say it's the heavy symbolism of what is real and what's perceived "Bought and paid for" theme of the episode that was intended and probably missed. Again, heavy symbolism on "victimizing" and using others to your benefit and to reach a goal. The entire episode was about that and a lot of female degradation which led to some heavy sexist criticism despite the fact George's story is strongly about female empowerment. That's the point of this one... lots of women (and men) are being brutalized and used but often-times that is an illusion and sometimes females are strong (Arya & Yara in this ep. for example).

I'm going to try and do a short symbolism writeup this week and would sure love some help when the show dips down in quality as this season has started out. We know it picks up again and gets awesome so let's sift through and find the good nuggets in there.

Six. And a low six really. A generous six. Which I guess speaks to my high opinion of the show that I can't bear to give any episode of it a five. There's plenty that works in the episode, our introduction to Balon and Yara, the beginning of Tyrion and Varys's friendship and respect for one another, the striking visual metaphor of Stannis and Mel screwing atop of Westeros...but there's a great deal that's off and doesn't work too. Way too much. Once again I blame the writing rather than Alan Taylor. The episode's worst problems were its pacing as with the s2 premiere and its over-reliance on scatological humour to carry scenes. GoT needs humour, it's true. It could get dark, dreary and even stuffy without it. But 202 seemed way too full of low-brow, low-hanging fruit moments and lines. From Edd's fart noise to the LF-Aremca cum-joke to the talk between Arya and her friends to the moment where Salladhor made weird insinuations about fucking Davos's son and Davos strangely seemed cool with it...the writers tried far too hard to lighten up the episode with an array of grimy invocations. Which really is not how to save an episode like this from its bad pacing. Not at all.

It is overall better-paced than 307 which is the only other six I'd dole out for this show. But 307's incessant lows were never quite so...low. And I'll get to that one's flaws in due course. I don't much like talking too negatively about this show given how much negativity is out there and imo unjustly over the last few years. But s2 has always been a weak stretch in my mind and its first two ep's particularly. Meeting Malahide's Balon and his great line "and how do you feel about that?" and Conleth's brilliant mix of humour and threat (despite that fish-pie line) and Carice's great dynamism and stillness holds it all together. Throws enough positivity into my view of the episode not to give it a five or lower. There is good stuff here. The Cersei-Tyrion scene portends much of her arc to come in her struggle against "the people" in maintaining her position which was later personified by Marge and the High Sparrow and in s7 likely will be by Dany. The Stannis-Mel scene does the same in suggesting and setting up a great deal and building towards her rift with Davos and hold over Stan and all the conflict that would arise from that dynamic. Even the LF-Ros scene (after its disgusting leadup) played out pretty interestingly and set up what happened to Ros in s3 pretty deftly. 202 has its moments. Some of which work really well and land and are worth recalling in later eps. and referring to and playing off of it. But too much is sloppy and gross and off. Which in a show like this is all-too rare and all-too sad to see. For the most part I love rewatching this show. But just around the beginning of s6...

I really enjoy your reviews konradsmith - you could be doing them for a high end professional media source, really! You're fair and concise and you back up your criticisms with examples that are valid and ties together the entire episode flow and theme very well. 

That bit above I highlighted from your write-up really sums up my feelings about the low moments that drag this episode down too far and it struggles to recover from far too often throughout. One or two 'low-brow' humor moments is forgivable and I usually do - but in this episode those moments just kept detracting from the high notes of the episode and the introductions of great characters which get forgotten in the soupy mess of "ugh" moments. 

I feel like in Season 1 the writers were super focused on being faithful to George's original material and paid careful attention to details and the 'lore' of the story but in season 2 they started trying their hand at injecting some of the sex/humor that HBO series are known for. And while yes the story itself does contain a lot of those sorts of moments, they are done carefully and not choked down the readers throat too much (sorry for the Aremca reference but it needs to be done).    I felt like it was we the viewers who needed to wipe the mouths of the writers who are being too college frat-boy in a show that has only a little wiggle room for that sort of nonsense because of how packed with amazing drama it is overall. There's just no time for that much of it. It ruins the good bits of this episode ... almost. I pulled them out and listed them on paper so I wouldn't rate it lower - reminding myself of how good the good parts were.

6. A few bright spots, Theon's return to Pyke (especially the music), Tyrion sending Slynt to the Wall, and Tyrion/Cersei. The rest was pretty poor, as others have mentioned. Definitely one of the worst episodes of the entire series.

I'm playing catch up - I give it a 5, and the only reason it gets a 5 is because I love Arya and Gendry's scenes and Davos so much.

You all already covered the stuff I didn't like about it. I forgot how much I hated Theon and his sex scenes in this episode.

ETA: I forgot, one thing I loved about this was how irrationally annoyed my husband was at Asha's name being changed to Yara.