“Game of Thrones” Season 2 Starts Sunday and Here’s How to Get Ready

March 29, 2012 by

I recently watched Season 1 of "Game of Thrones" again and it was great. Even better the 2nd time around. It starts again on Sunday night and below are a few things to get you up to speed, remind you of where the story left off, and give you a peek at what is coming up.

Season 1 Recap

This is a 22 minute clip from HBO that goes over most of the major themes from Season 1 and even ties together some things that weren't as obvious during the season. It is named, "You Win or You Die"

This is where season 1 left off:

  • Ned Stark is dead. Damn.
  • The little jerk Joffrey is now king and his mother does not seem to be able to control him.
  • Khal Drago is dead and his wife, the queen, Daenerys Targaryen lost her baby. But… she did walk into the fire that was burning her husband's body with 3 dragon eggs and they've now hatched. She is now the mother of 3 cute baby dragons who could grow and strike fear in everyone across the kingdoms.
  • Tyrion Lannister has earned the respect of his father for the moment and is headed to King's Landing to watch over that rat Joffrey.
  • Jaime Lannister has been captured by the Starks during battle and told Catlyn Stark that he pushed her youngest son Bran out the window to cripple him. What a nastry piece of work Jaime is.
  • Rob has united the tribes of the North and has been declared King, and is leading the army which had its first battle with the Lannister's and came out victorious.
  • Benjen Stark, brother of Ned, uncle of Jon and Rob, and First Ranger of the Night Watch, has gone missing while out on patrol. The rest of the Night Watch, including Ned Stark's bastard son Jon, are going out to look for him. There have been "reports" of much danger beyond the wall. They are riding into it. 
  • Arya Stark was there when her father was beheaded and was taken by Yoren,  a Night Watch friend of Benjen Stark, out of town. He has to cut off her hair and is telling everyone she's a boy. Arya has already killed one boy with her sword and was in trouble again, but was help by the intervenion of an iron worker Ned Stark thought was the based son of King Robert Baratheon. The iron worker is traveling with Arya as she leaves King's Landing. That seems like it could be a big plot point going forward.
  • Sansa Stark realized what a terrible mistake she's made by siding with Joffrey, but there's no way out right now. She's in grave danger and thought about trying to kill the king, but the Mountain stopped her. 

Background on the kingdoms and families

The HBO site has some great tools to help you understand all the different stories going on and who is doing what.

Here's an interactive map that gives you an idea of the layout of the 5 kingdoms and what families are where.

This page gives you backgfound on each of the families. Here are all the Starks in a family tree.

A Preview of Season 2

TGDaily interviews the two lead writers of TV series and they talk in general about season 2. There are no spoilers:

"This season is largely about how Ned Stark’s death leads to a series of events that ultimately culminate in a war, pulling all the different factions in this world into open-armed conflict with each other. Almost every character is directly affected by the war in some way or another – even Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, who are on far different corners of the world, feel the effects of the events that spring from Ned’s death.
 
"Ned Stark’s death had a profound effect – he was the moral center of the first season and he lingers on as that moral presence. For his son Robb, especially, Ned’s death is really a driving force. King Joffrey killed his father, and Robb isn’t going to stop until he has avenged his father’s death. This vengeance motive feeds into Robb’s larger desire to see the North rule itself, to see it freed and lifted out from the under the thumb of a person who’s sure to be one of the worst kings in recorded memory. As the second season will make abundantly clear, Joffrey is not the guy you want sitting in the big chair."
 
Here's HBO's preview trailer for season 2. It looks good!
 

 
 

The first reviews from Season 2 are great! (No spoilers)

Variety was one of the first to release their review of season 2 and it is a very positive review:

More magic begins creeping into the second season of "Game of Thrones," literally speaking, but the magic conjured by season one continues virtually unabated: a dizzying array of characters, splendid performances, and a scope and grandeur like nothing else on television. Combine that with the handful of warring factions vying for the Iron Throne, and pervasive ruthlessness that leaves no one — including children — safe, and HBO has the ingredients for a series that puts nearly every other genre offering to shame. "Winter is coming" is the show's catchphrase, but it was worth the wait till spring to receive it.

The Holloywood Reporter is on board too:

It’s a pleasure to see that Game of Thrones hasn’t lost a grip on its ability to tell a vast, interconnected story without slowing down the pace. What’s truly impressive is that as life is breathed into these storylines, Game of Thrones just gets better and more fulfilling as a top-tier television series. The intrigue of the plot and the keenly drawn characters – plus the sense instilled in Season 1 that absolutely anything can happen and no one is safe – makes the show all the more compelling.

A few more links

Here's some other great links from around the web:

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