Zach
Goodier
(Note)
The first paragraph contains most of the detailed spoilers, but there will
obviously be a few around in the reviews, so be warned.
*Season
1 spoilers*
With the rise of the new Lannister dynasty following the
death of Robert Baratheon, and the revelation that king Jeoffrey is no true
heir to the throne, there is now a civil war erupting over the Iron
Throne. Following the news of Jeoffrey’s
lineage, Robert’s brothers, Stannis and Renley, each fight for the crown. In the North, Robb Stark seeks to avenge his
father’s murder and false accusation of treason against the crown, and to free
the North from the Iron Throne, and become the first King of Winter in over 3
centuries.
*End
Spoilers*
And remember, it does. |
This season picks right up with introducing us to the
contenders for the War of Five Kings, with an introduction to Stannis
Baratheon, which we never had last season, as well as his “Red Priestess,”
Melisandre. Stannis’ “Hand,” Davos
Seaworth, is concerned over the influence this woman holds over Stannis, and
that leads to many interesting scenes in this season, as Melisandre constantly
makes the audience wonder whether her intentions are truly in Stannis’ best
interest, or if her unnerving magic is leading him astray. Most of the other main characters are simply
the ones we met last season, with a couple new additions of note appearing
within the season.
The War provides a truly compelling element that we lacked
in most of season one, actively pitting these characters against each other. While season one contained a lot of politics
and plotting, with a fight here or there, the war adds a military element to
the game that keeps everyone on their toes.
While the Lannisters clearly have the other houses beat in terms of schemes
and wealth, even their massive army isn’t invincible when contenders like Robb
Stark and Stannis Baratheon prove to be very capable strategists. Even at the end of the first season, we saw
Robb prove himself a capable leader on the field.
Davos is another addition, and a very relate-able and honorable man, despite his past. |
Across the Narrow Sea, Dany is still struggling to recover
from the end of last season, and her dragons (that’s right, she has DRAGONS
now) are still too young to do her any good.
Still, Ser Jorah is at her side, guiding her and trying to help her back
to power, but life is difficult without armies, wealth, or friends, so she has
to strike out anew with her small band of followers to try to start over, which
offers her a new perspective on the world and the importance of power and how
it’s wielded.
Brienne of Tarth is another new face, and she place an important supporting role in the story. |
In the north, the Night’s Watch moves beyond the Wall, to
try to find out what threats lay beyond.
This journey takes most of the season, but we get a lot of added lore
for the Night’s Watch, as well as some of the history and legends in the North. The savage region is home to wildlings, and
worse, as we’ve begun to see. While this
storyline seems to be isolated and not so important to the kingdoms, you
quickly realize that these events are laying the groundwork for important
events to come, and Jon Snow is forced to make some difficult choices.
Renly, Stannis and Robert's brother, has raised his own banners to take over Westeros. |
This season is interesting, because the lines have been
drawn, and the banners gathered, but clearly this is anybody’s game right from
the outset, with nobody truly holding all of the cards. Robb Stark and Renly Baratheon are certainly
the most favorable men to lead of the group (both by the majority of the
audience and by the majority of their subjects), but Renly lacks experience and
the will needed to truly rule, while Robb lacks the soldiers and wealth that
the other contenders have. Tywin is
certainly the favorite to win, with the deepest pockets, massive armies, and
extensive experience in the field, but he finds himself with enemies at every
front, and Robb in particular proves to be troubling for him because of his
brilliant mind for both battle tactics and broader strategy.
"Impin' ain't easy." |
After the end of season one, I wasn’t sure if I would
continue to enjoy the series, due to how events played out in the story;
however, I found myself still very much hooked, and characters such as Robb,
Tyrion, and Davos, as well as some of the other new additions, actually manage
to fill the void left after season one with much larger and stronger roles in
this season. Tyrion in particular
becomes a standout character of the series, walking in a moral grey area where
he isn’t a hero, but isn’t nearly as bad as his fellow Lannisters. This, as well as Peter Dinklage and his
excellent acting, actually make the show feel even better, somehow.
If there's one thing you need to know about GoT, it's that we HATE Joffrey... He is the Justin Beiber of Westeros, plain and simple. |
The first season had a 10 rating from us, and season two,
with its expanded visual effects, which you’ll see later in this season, truly
adds to the sense of scale of this war, and just how dangerous the “game” has
started to become, making the series even greater. All of the storylines manage to progress at a
natural, yet exciting pace, keeping the show well balanced between excitement
and suspense, while not relying on action to keep those feelings going.
Robb is in a tough position, but there's hardly a better man alive for the job than him. |
If you have yet to pick up this series, or didn’t want to
continue after season one, I would highly recommend you do so. Despite the reservations even I had at some
of the twists and turns this story took, the show still keeps going strong,
getting even better in many ways, as I’ve already said. As soon I started season two, I was hooked
all over again, and for all the same reasons.
The story is original, suspenseful, exciting, and the twists and turns
keep on coming. While the raw and
unrestrained elements definitely will alienate a sizeable part of potential
viewers, as I’ve said of season one, it manages to entertain those who
appreciate fan-service while adding to the brutal, dog-eat-dog feeling of the
series as a whole. Life in Westeros…
well, everywhere actually… is brutal, and people survive however they can, and
that’s one important element to this series that makes it feel original and
unpredictable, and keeps people like me coming back for more time and time
again.
Good:
-More excellent story
-Standouts like Robb and Tyrion, who have expanded roles
from season one, as well as the extensive list of amazing characters that join
them.
-THERE BE DRAGONS… even if they are still small.
-More twists, turns, and just plain awesome than you can
shake a dozen sticks at.
Bad:
-Still a very RAW series, which doesn’t hurt my rating but
should always be noted for potential viewers.
Scully Rating: 10 out of 10
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