Written by: Kevin Berge
The promise of season 2 is gold and fire. In other words, more fun happy times. (Image Courtesy of: youtube.com)
Quick Take: The second season of Game of Thrones takes the opening salvo of the ending of season one and trucks ahead at full force, never backing down. The stakes are massive. The characters develop quickly and in unique ways. The overall quality has been elevated to rival the best of television right now, and it's hard to look away.
***Everything that follows will be heavily focused on aspects of the story of Game of Thrones through the end of season 2. If you have not seen all the way through season 2 and plan to do so, you should not read further as crucial plot elements will be spoiled for new viewers. You should also have checked out the first season review for context.***
All right, now that we've given full spoiler warnings...
Ned Stark is dead! I mean, we all should have seen it coming with or without reading the books. Sure, Sean Bean was the highest profile actor in the whole series, but he is also Sean Bean. The guy dies on TV more often than most actors ever get first billing. Still, it was quite a shock even as a book reader because the show makes Ned feel even more than the central lead character than the books do.
That said, everything that comes later comes back to the death of Ned Stark. Ned may be dead, but season 2 is just as much his season as last season as his death guides the action of a season that amps everything up to the next level. The one good man dies, but his impact is far reaching as he begins (as was the title of the second book this season is based upon) The Clash of Kings.
With his final act, Ned uncovered the truth that sent Jon Arryn and Robert Baratheon to their death before him and made certain that truth was revealed even though the audience knew the truth by the end of the first episode. The Lannister kingship is void. Joffrey Lannister is not truly by blood king of the Seven Kingdom.
By sending out this truth throughout the kingdom, Ned began the bid for kingship that engulfs three different men: Robert's two brother Renly and Stannis as well as Ned's son Robb. This full scale war makes this second chapter more of a combative arc rather that differs from the usual political turmoil of the rest of the series.
This comes completely to the forefront in the season's strongest episode: Blackwater. The only episode that stays focused on one location the entire hour (a trend that would continue for episode nines in the series), this was a gigantic battle at the gates of King's Landing where many characters died and others were permanently scarred.
The season though was not all about war. It was also about developing bonds of family. With the death of Ned, the Starks' story turns from outsiders to fugitives. The Lannisters must battle with rumors and their limited ability in wartime. The two remaining Baratheons are front and center and ready to kill one another for the right they both feel they deserve.
It's a season with very little order. There is constant chaos that continues to rise until the only thing left to do is find a winner who can declare order even if nothing can quite be the same. Even at the close of this season though, there is a sense of foreboding disunity. The war seems to be over, but no one is putting down their swords.
All right, now that we've given full spoiler warnings...
Ned Stark is dead! I mean, we all should have seen it coming with or without reading the books. Sure, Sean Bean was the highest profile actor in the whole series, but he is also Sean Bean. The guy dies on TV more often than most actors ever get first billing. Still, it was quite a shock even as a book reader because the show makes Ned feel even more than the central lead character than the books do.
That said, everything that comes later comes back to the death of Ned Stark. Ned may be dead, but season 2 is just as much his season as last season as his death guides the action of a season that amps everything up to the next level. The one good man dies, but his impact is far reaching as he begins (as was the title of the second book this season is based upon) The Clash of Kings.
With his final act, Ned uncovered the truth that sent Jon Arryn and Robert Baratheon to their death before him and made certain that truth was revealed even though the audience knew the truth by the end of the first episode. The Lannister kingship is void. Joffrey Lannister is not truly by blood king of the Seven Kingdom.
By sending out this truth throughout the kingdom, Ned began the bid for kingship that engulfs three different men: Robert's two brother Renly and Stannis as well as Ned's son Robb. This full scale war makes this second chapter more of a combative arc rather that differs from the usual political turmoil of the rest of the series.
This comes completely to the forefront in the season's strongest episode: Blackwater. The only episode that stays focused on one location the entire hour (a trend that would continue for episode nines in the series), this was a gigantic battle at the gates of King's Landing where many characters died and others were permanently scarred.
The season though was not all about war. It was also about developing bonds of family. With the death of Ned, the Starks' story turns from outsiders to fugitives. The Lannisters must battle with rumors and their limited ability in wartime. The two remaining Baratheons are front and center and ready to kill one another for the right they both feel they deserve.
It's a season with very little order. There is constant chaos that continues to rise until the only thing left to do is find a winner who can declare order even if nothing can quite be the same. Even at the close of this season though, there is a sense of foreboding disunity. The war seems to be over, but no one is putting down their swords.
Ned Stark died so that Tyrion Lannister could be the new model for action heroes. Dinklage hasn't quite gotten his Fast and the Furious invite, but it's coming. (Image Courtesy of: fanpop.com)
While the series lost a powerhouse in Sean Bean, the acting as a whole is improved in this second season. Maisie Turner (Arya), Richard Madden (Robb), and Sophie Turner (Sansa) all have meatier and more meaningful roles to play with characters that they grow into well. Kit Harrington gets the meatiest individual story with Jon Snow as the politics and prejudices of the Night's Watch begin to develop fully.
The best performance is still Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister who basically becomes the series' top star. His work to save King's Landing as the Hand of the King while struggling with a lack of respect for his efforts is the truly memorable element of the season. He plays well off Lena Headey's Cersei and Jerome Flynn's Bronn.
Emilia Clarke is a standout once more as Daenerys, but her story often feels isolated from the rest of the series. Her character has authority because she survived a bath of flames and has birthed three dragons. Her adversaries are similarly bizarre. In a series that prides itself on being grounded and finding its own fantastical elements strange, Daeny is off in her own world until everyone begins to believe in the fantastic.
The introduction of Stannis Baratheon played by Stephen Dillane is the series' most notable addition to the story. He brings with him a host of quality characters including the sexually charged Red Priestess Melisandre (Carice van Houten) and the loyal to a fault Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunnigham).
What is most interesting about the cast of Game of Thrones though is not the headliners but the rest of the cast. Little by little, characters are taken out, leaving known but underused names to step up. You can see at this stage certain great talents getting time to develop but not the stories yet to thrive.
This includes somewhat main cast stars like Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister and Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister who are underused at this stage but also more sly inclusions like Aidan Gillen as Littlefinger and Conleth Hill as Varys who are always key elements that hide in the shadows.
The best performance is still Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister who basically becomes the series' top star. His work to save King's Landing as the Hand of the King while struggling with a lack of respect for his efforts is the truly memorable element of the season. He plays well off Lena Headey's Cersei and Jerome Flynn's Bronn.
Emilia Clarke is a standout once more as Daenerys, but her story often feels isolated from the rest of the series. Her character has authority because she survived a bath of flames and has birthed three dragons. Her adversaries are similarly bizarre. In a series that prides itself on being grounded and finding its own fantastical elements strange, Daeny is off in her own world until everyone begins to believe in the fantastic.
The introduction of Stannis Baratheon played by Stephen Dillane is the series' most notable addition to the story. He brings with him a host of quality characters including the sexually charged Red Priestess Melisandre (Carice van Houten) and the loyal to a fault Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunnigham).
What is most interesting about the cast of Game of Thrones though is not the headliners but the rest of the cast. Little by little, characters are taken out, leaving known but underused names to step up. You can see at this stage certain great talents getting time to develop but not the stories yet to thrive.
This includes somewhat main cast stars like Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister and Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister who are underused at this stage but also more sly inclusions like Aidan Gillen as Littlefinger and Conleth Hill as Varys who are always key elements that hide in the shadows.
No matter how detestable anyone else in this series can be, there will never be a face you more want to punch than Joffrey's. (Image Courtesy of: thinkhero.com)
The series is once more primarily in the hands of writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss where they co-wrote six of the season's episodes, leaving the other four to Vanessa Taylor, Bryan Cogman, and George R. R. Martin himself who wrote Blackwater. There is a gravity to the dialogue in this season even more than the first which is hard to ignore, and that is a credit to all the writers.
What is interesting about this season that becomes more and more prevalent with each season is how the series chooses to be faithful to the source material. New characters pop up every now and then while others are never introduced. That said, at this point, the writers stay largely true to the books with clearly some design to evolve aspects.
The direction for this season is never much an issue with Alan Taylor taking up the majority of episodes with Alik Sakharov, David Petrarca, and David Nutter sharing the rest of the load. Interestingly, the series' most unique and full scale episode, Blackwater, is directed by Neil Marshall who has a completely unique style to the rest of the directors that allows him to elevate the action to a higher level than the other episodes can.
While everything has been elevated, this season also shows some of the flaws that comes with a series with this wide a scope. The acting in the series is largely extremely strong which makes those particularly in important positions that are less good stand out poorly. For example, when the series lingers on Bran Stark's storyline, Isaac Hempstead-Wright clearly doesn't quite have the charisma to make the scenes exciting.
At this point, there are very few stories that are truly uneventful, but there are elements of stories that linger in the wrong way. With characters like Tyrion, Daenerys, and Jon Snow around, it can be tough to take twenty minutes away from all of them for discussions with lesser known or developed characters.
With the action ramping up, the stories truly making clear that deaths can happen but also truly matter, and acting that continues to improve with time, this season is absolutely a step up from the first, no longer concerned with world building or establishing rules.
It quickly becomes all about the lure of power and watching characters each see their opportunity and decide how to seize it. As the first season established, everyone is playing a part in the Game of Thrones. They just must make sure that they are playing to win because most are going to lose.
What is interesting about this season that becomes more and more prevalent with each season is how the series chooses to be faithful to the source material. New characters pop up every now and then while others are never introduced. That said, at this point, the writers stay largely true to the books with clearly some design to evolve aspects.
The direction for this season is never much an issue with Alan Taylor taking up the majority of episodes with Alik Sakharov, David Petrarca, and David Nutter sharing the rest of the load. Interestingly, the series' most unique and full scale episode, Blackwater, is directed by Neil Marshall who has a completely unique style to the rest of the directors that allows him to elevate the action to a higher level than the other episodes can.
While everything has been elevated, this season also shows some of the flaws that comes with a series with this wide a scope. The acting in the series is largely extremely strong which makes those particularly in important positions that are less good stand out poorly. For example, when the series lingers on Bran Stark's storyline, Isaac Hempstead-Wright clearly doesn't quite have the charisma to make the scenes exciting.
At this point, there are very few stories that are truly uneventful, but there are elements of stories that linger in the wrong way. With characters like Tyrion, Daenerys, and Jon Snow around, it can be tough to take twenty minutes away from all of them for discussions with lesser known or developed characters.
With the action ramping up, the stories truly making clear that deaths can happen but also truly matter, and acting that continues to improve with time, this season is absolutely a step up from the first, no longer concerned with world building or establishing rules.
It quickly becomes all about the lure of power and watching characters each see their opportunity and decide how to seize it. As the first season established, everyone is playing a part in the Game of Thrones. They just must make sure that they are playing to win because most are going to lose.