How do you do your best to mitigate the insipidity that is bringing the grizzled, Hard-R character John Constantine to regular television? Well. You cancel the pilot. But if you’re not going to do that, and we both know NBC isn’t, then you bring in dude who directed one of Game of Thrones‘ biggest episodes.

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Does everyone remember this moment? Explosive, practically living wildfire punctuating the climax of the Clash of Kings. Half of HBO’s budget for season two of Game of Thrones blown in one orgiastic fell swoop.

When I popped the disc for Season 2 in for a replay this month, I realized how much the last two episodes work together as two halves of one finale that complement each other in surprising ways. They couldn’t be two more different episodes from one another.

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Yup.

Budrickton, Slacker in the North, First of His Name.

(some more specific thoughts from this otherwise straightforward-but-incredible spectacle to be rolled into a season-end post this week!  Finalé’s tonight at 9pm on HBO, and it’s clockin’ in at 64 minutes!  Adjust thy PVRs, and enjoy!)

Take a look at those two faces.  Those are probably the two smartest, and most well-connected men in King’s Landing, and even they’re confused and unprepared.  They don’t really have a handle on what’s coming next week.  The capital isn’t prepared for Stannis’ impending invasion fleet.  But, as with most story threads laid out in this week’s otherwise hollow episode, the hint of hope is teased for much more to come in the final two episodes of the season.

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