With Mark Addy and Sean Bean having their characters going with the gods last season, when the opening credits for Game of Thrones roll this time around, it’s Peter Dinklage, playing Tyrion Lannister, whose name comes up first, and it’s only appropriate as he is the strongest part of the first two episodes of the highly anticipated second season. But that’s not to say the rest of the premiere is weak; far from it. In fact, the second season is merely more of the same in the best way possible as it picks up almost immediately after the end of the first season as war begins between the Lannisters and the Starks and the stakes and drama have never been higher. And along with all the familiar faces fighting for their families honor and respect amongst the rest of the kingdoms, there’s plenty of new characters to keep things interesting. Read my full take on the second season premiere of Game of Thrones after the jump.
There’s not much bloodshed in the same vein that brought many sword battles and throat slitting in the first season, but that’s not to say that death isn’t still the driving force of a lot of drama, especially in the case of one particular action by the sniveling, weasel of a king that is Joffrey Lannister (Jack Gleeson). This season further proves that while the entire Lannister clan is full of conniving, deceptive, excuses for human beings, at a young age, Joffrey might very well be the worst of them all. Even Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) seems a little less villainous by comparison after the first couple episodes.
Meanwhile, Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau)is still in the custody of the Starks with Robb (Richard Madden) now leading his army as best he can, with the still present influence of his father still on his mind. A worried Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) does her best to help guide, but the war is inevitable, and the Stark clan must be bold in their moves from now on. However, with the Stark daughters Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Arya (Maisie Williams) each in their own risky prisons, they must also be careful. In these dealings it is clear that the politics of this world will very much be at play here, perhaps more than the sword even, though a big battle is certainly on the horizon.
Back at King’s Landing, Tyrion Lannister is at his best. Ruling with a sharp tongue in his father’s absence at war, his dwarf stature doesn’t stop him from standing as tall as any other king in the land. Dinklage is clearly the top performer in the entire series. Don’t get me wrong, the rest of the cast is phenomenal, but Dinklage is in a league all his own. Following close behind is Kit Harrington as Jon Snow, who now finds himself stuck on the Night’s Watch when he would rather be fighting alongside his family, bastard or not. Harrington is subtle, serious and always great. Of course, Emilia Clarke also continues to hold her own as Daenerys Targaryen, despite the fact that she’s merely wandering the desert, with three small dragons at her disposal. Clarke has the ability to feel so young and innocent with a strange darkness and danger under her piercing eyes and soft face.
So that’s what’s happening with most of the major players from last season, but now we also have Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane), brother of the late King Robert, in the mix from Dragonstone, leading his own people, with the assistance of a mysterious sorcereress named Melisandre (Carice van Houten). And Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) helps expand our character roster as he goes to visit his father Lord Balon Greyjoy (Patrick Malahide) and his strong-willed, warrior-worthy sister Yara (Gemma Whelan). The most interesting characters out of this batch are the two new women in Melisandre, a sexual, older sorceress whose motivations aren’t clear, and the spunky Greyjoy sister who has quite a hilarious introduction.
Yes, the characters that all perished last year are being replaced by new ones, so if following all these different houses and family lines was difficult then, it’s not going to be easier now. But that’s part of the appeal of this show. Game of Thrones doesn’t lay everything out for you in simplest terms. It lets you figure out who certain characters are in the same way that a stranger would. You’re along for the ride and not having obvious exposition spoon fed to you every minute. For fans looking for all the goodness that the first season of Game of Thrones delivered, this will continue to be one of the best epic fantasy adaptations you’ve ever seen. With sharp writing that makes the medieval tongue sound as contemporary as it can, and a tone and style that makes Lord of the Rings look like kiddie fare, this series is one of the best on television. The action may be a little stagnant to start off, but winter is coming, and it will bring more blood shed with it.
The second season of Games of Thrones premieres Sunday, April 1st at 9/8c on HBO.
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i thought this was a well written and fairly well thought out article until the very end. Honestly, the end of a book, of a song, of a movie are the things people look forward to. to find out what happens, that’s what the journey is about. and to say “style that makes the Lord of the Rings look like kiddie fare?” totally blew it.
i mean, George R. R. Martin was influenced, as was a giant heaping majority of fantasy writers, by J. R. R. Tolkien. and there’s a reason for that: the Lord of the Rings created a whole world, a tone, a style, a breadth that impressed everyone from George R. R. Martin to LED ZEPPELIN.
A Game of Thrones is a great series, for sure, especially when placed in the context of all the other mindless drivel on TV these days.
but to say it makes the Lord of The Rings look like “kiddie fare?”
you clearly have no idea what kiddie fare is or have never read the books.
otherwise, well done.
that is stupid and so are you. to say someone cant make something better cause he was inspired by it that is like saying star wars is nothing compared to john carter cause Lucas took inspiration by it
g.r.r.m. was inspired by and has surpassed Tolkien get over it lord of the rings was ridiculous walking and no real characters just a bunch or archetypes the strong warrior the headstrong dwarf the noble elf archer I mean come on at least with game of thrones you get real characters acting in a humanly way mixed subtle with fantasy elements
You must not have read A Feast for Crows or A Dance With Dragons. If you did, you’d know that Martin’s writing has taken a serious dive, and he wrote almost 2,000 pages with very little happening. That’s worse than anything Tolkien has evern done.
fuck of author with your lotr comparison.Nothin can be compare with LOTR,esp. in fantasy genre,so plz STFU idiot.im not some fanboy but plz restrain your self from idiocy.
not a big LOTR fan, but knew that line was going to cause a stir haha
Yeah, while I’ve liked some of his earlier pieces Anderson comes off like a a bit of an idiot here. They’re completely different, man. Context is important, you know?
I’m pretty sure he meant LOTRs the movies, not the books. Something I also agree with.
Just to clarify, I didn’t mean to disregard the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, but rather I meant that the series makes The Lord of the Rings films feel like kiddie fare simply because Game of Thrones as a series is so much more mature and less whimsical. It’s edgy, gritty and just a much more grounded series for the fantasy genre.
Lord of the Rings is still one of my favorite film and book series, and I don’t mean to take anything away from them, but Game of Thrones is just a much more hard-hitting, adult-oriented story.
Grey-Joys sister is named Asha. Dit they change that in the series or a mistake in the article?
The producers changed it, they were worried Asha and Osha the wildling woman at Winterfell were too similar and the audience that haven’t read the books would get confused.
I was wondering the same thing. Glad that’s cleared up.
Randy,
Yes, they’ve changed the named of the Greyjoy sister from the book. If I remember correctly, it was to avoid confusion between her and Osha since their names sound so similar and there’s already quite the cast of characters to keep track of without having names that sound the same.
stop comparing got to lotr.its like comparing a ferrari to a bycicle.lotr ftw
Thanks for putting a huge first season spoiler right in the first line of the review, I’m planning on finishing the last few episodes tonight…
I would apologize, but I really don’t know why you’re reading the review of the premiere of the second season, which would clearly mention how the season begins, without having finished the first season.
It just doesn’t make sense to me and that was a risk you should have known you were taking.
What kind of jack ass reads a review of the start of season 2 without finishing the first season. You deserve the spoiler.
It shows up on the homepage, I can’t help scrolling through it…
Geez Deepak, I would have thought your Chi would have been a little more centered than to get all pissy about a spoiler for the second season of a show you haven’t caught up on.
You probably should – i don’t know – meditate, or embrace logical contradictions, or write a bunch of self help books or something to chill yourself out.
ethan you iz stupid lotr iz da best treebearddddddddddddd
Softcore porn, gore and f-bombs does not a mature series make, I’m sorry. I am sick of people attributing the terms “mature” or “realistic” with juvenile behavior. The LOTR films are brilliant and not less “realistic” because they don’t paint the screen red and show entrails and drop f-bombs all over the place. Please get a grip. Just because you have full frontal nudity does not mean your property is more realistic. If we wanted to complain about realism in any entertainment property with humans, why don’t we film every time they take a dump. That would make it so much more “grittier,” “edgy,” “realistic” and way more “mature.”
Maybe the proper thing to say would have been, “I prefer GOT to the LOTR movies because I like profanity, nudity and gore in my fantasy-based TV show or movie.
More accurately, you could state that maybe you like GOT over LOTR because it deals with realpolitik in a manner in which LOTR doesn’t relate to. But that’s just me.
Actually, the reason that it feels more realistic is because things like profanity and gore make it more raw and grounded in reality. Whether there was nudity or not, the series will still have the same tone and style as the politics and conflict in the show don’t come from an inciting incident that triggers teams of good and evil. The characters are no different than houses of families from medieval times merely trying to survive, keep their honor and stay true to their family’s name. These characters just happen to live in a fantasy world where there are dragons and more. No one is saying it’s flat out better than Lord of the Rings, but it’s on a different level, hence the comparison to the lighter fantasy fare that it offers.
author,please next time your reviewing the episode,restrain yourself from Lord of the Rings compere.First,there is to many LotR fans out there who rage at anything negative about anything lotr wise,and second you cant compere a master with apprentice.Martin is a great writer,in some things better than Tolkien yet tolkien sold 150 million copies of LotR and INVENTED the genre as we know it with dragons,woody elfs,noble humans….
So please do yourself a favor
just watched the episode … looks like it’s going to be a repeat of last season … nothing interesting until the end of the season. No foreshadowing … just boring backstory of who the character are rehashed.
I absolutely love GOT(bought and read all 5 books), and I did NOT like LOTR. I completely agree with this review. And it has nothing to do with the nudity, profanity, and gore as mentioned by a previous comment. I also agree that Dinklage is amazing in the role of Tyrion. I’m impatiently waiting on George’s next book!!!!
ui ddnt like lotr books yet 150 millions did.
U liked soiaf books yet it sold ten times less copies,and half of it was on some kindles.
Please stfu,Tolkie is a ruler,no one comes close,and as much is series good,the lotr movies are simply untouched.
Did they re-edit the episode after they sent out copies for reviewers? I’ve seen the season premiere twice now and I didn’t see any intro to Greyjoy’s sister.
In the review, at least once in the second paragraph, I mention that I’ve seen the first two episodes of the second season, and it’s in the second episode that the Greyjoy sister will appear.
I’ve only watched 2 episodes of season 1 and I am already hooked..
http://carieg.hubpages.com/_1821m0cvqgv7a/hub/The-Best-Of-TV