Game of Thrones (Season 2)

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.

  

Lord Stannis, King Robert's brother, and Melisandre, the mysterious "Red Woman"

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