THERE WILL BE MAJOR SPOILERS FOR SEASON 1!
Released: 2012
Distributor: HBO
Cast:
Peter Dinklage: Tyrion Lannister
Lena Headey: Cersei Lannister
Michelle Fairley: Catelyn Stark
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau: Jamie Lannister
Emilia Clarke: Daenarys Targaryen
Iain Glen: Ser Jorah Mormont
Kit Harington: Jon Snow
Richard Madden: Robb Stark
Alfie Allen: Theon Greyjoy
Charles Dance: Tywin Lannister
Liam Cunningham: Ser Davos Seaworth
Aiden Gillen: Petyr Baelish
Jack Gleeson: King Joffrey Boratheon
Stephen Dillane: Lord Stannis Boratheon
Maisie Williams: Arya Stark
Sophie Turner: Sansa Stark
Gwendoline Christie: Brienne of Tarth
By the end of Season 1, we saw the death of King Robert Boratheon, and the ascension of his…maladjusted child Joffrey to the throne. Jon Snow has become a part of The Night’s Watch and encountered his first White Walker. Eddard Stark was arrested for treason and beheaded, while Jamie Lannister returned to his father, Tywin Lannister. Robb Stark has been declared the King In The North and marches his army towards King’s Landing. Daenarys Targaryen loses her husband, Khal Drogo to witchcraft and has the witch promptly burned with the body of Drogo. Stepping into the flames, it is revealed that she is impervious to flame, because she is known as the Dragon. With her are three young dragons which could help her retake the throne of King’s Landing. As you can imagine, there was a lot going on in the first season of Game of Thrones. The Seven Kingdoms are at war, with the added danger of an ancient undead army possibly coming from beyond the Wall.
Season 2 sees Joffrey Boratheon as the newly-crowned King of The Seven Kingdoms, but because of his lust for power and his execution of Eddard Stark, war has embroiled the country with several lords taking the title of King for themselves. Stannis Boratheon, who is the legitimate heir to the throne, comes from Dragonstone with a red-haired sorceress at his side. From Storm’s End comes Renly Boratheon, the youngest of the Boratheon brothers. Robb Stark, the proclaimed King In The North, comes down from Winterfell to bring his wrath against the Lannisters. From the Pyke Isles, Lord Greyjoy hatches his plan to bring war to the Starks. Across the Narrow Sea, Danaerys Targaryen seeks ships and men to help her take back the throne. At the center of the conflict is Tyrion Lannister who is trying to keep his…maladjusted nephew from making anymore mistakes while trying to keep King’s Landing from being invaded. Meanwhile, beyond the wall, Jon Snow and a host of the Night’s Watch are searching for Jon’s uncle, Ben Stark while trying to keep the Wildlings and possibly the White Walkers from invading Westeros. The first season of the show, while excellent, had problems with pacing and an absurd amount of exposition. It was a bit of a slog, until the last few episodes. That’s not the case here. The story is a little more streamlined. Don’t get me wrong, there are some major twists and turns that will surprise you.
With the continuation of the story that began in Season 1, we see a whole new host of characters, including Stannis Boratheon, Davos Seaworth, and Brienne of Tarth. All the new characters in this season have a major part to play. None of them are wasted. One of the most interesting characters is Brienne of Tarth. She’s a female knight in service to Renly Boratheon, and she is a force to be reckoned with. Gwendoline Christie does a phenomenal job as basically an underdog character. We can expect much more from her. Some of the best characters are more side characters than anything else like Iain Glen’s Jorah Mormont, who seems to be sworn to Daenarys’s service, but seems to be hiding something from her. Mr. Glen is amazing. The acting is still phenomenal in the second season.
Because the Seven Kingdoms are gearing up for a major war, the pacing in the second season is a little bit faster, because there isn’t as much setup that needs to be done. There’s a lot of thrilling moments in the show, especially the fight scenes that take place. It’s intense and it’s spectacular. In fact, the major battle of the season, The Battle of Blackwater Bay is probably one of the most epic battle sequences I’ve ever seen. It’s absolutely stunning. From the opening explosion using the chemical known as “wildfire,” to Stannis’ landing at the Mud Gate, it’s an extremely thrilling battle to behold. It’s very, very gory as people are sliced in half and dismembered left and right. This being Game of Thrones, nothing is held back. No punches are pulled, and it is seriously one of the most brutal sequences in the entire season.
As with the first season, the shots in the film are some of the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever seen. Some of the cities and the environments are really gorgeous. The set and costume designs are elaborate and insanely detailed. The armor looks practical and the weaponry is just astounding. Overall, I think that Season 2 is a vast improvement of the first one. That’s not to say that everything’s perfect, it’s not. One of my biggest issues is with the character of Sansa Stark, and it’s not necessarily Sophie Turner’s fault, she does fine. I don’t like the way the character is written. I didn’t like her character in the first two books that I’ve read, and I don’t like her now. That might change over time.
So far, so good. Season 2 is every bit as compelling as Season 1 and I’m really looking forward to tackling Season 3 tomorrow. I’m absolutely committed to this project that I’ve undertaken and I’m going to see it through to the end. When I was finished with Season 1, I was pretty exhausted, but that’s because there was so much detail and exposition that needed to be told. That’s not the case here, as I wanted to continue, but I’m taking a break until tomorrow to continue this journey. It’s going to be epic, I tell you: EPIC!
Score for Season 2: 9/10.