If Winter is coming then it’s a blizzard up in this here mofo! Yes the second season of Game Of Thrones premieres this Sunday and it’s pretty damn amazing. “Yes, well what do you know?” you may be asking in a snarky voice that really isn’t very helpful to anyone. I know because I watched the first four episodes and was totally blown away. I hadn’t planned on watching all four since I didn’t want to get too far ahead of the game and have to wait forever for the rest of the season but if I’m known for anything, other than the sweet as roses smell of my feet, it’s that I have very little self control. So without giving to much away here’s my review of the first four. First off after reading the book series I was a little worried about how the show would handle some specific things from a special effects perspective. And by that I mean growing dragons, growing wolves and growing babies that aren’t so much human as not even made of matter (You’ll know it when you see it.) Read More
But thankfully all of those creatures look really damn believable when they could’ve looked ridiculous and that’s just a testament to good TV making. The show creators have also done an amazing job in condensing overlong storylines from A Clash of Kings into more digestible bites without losing any of the meaning and at times even expanding on scenes and plot points that I thought were glossed over in the books. So with that out of the way here’s a quick recap.
Joffrey is the evil unworthy young king of the 7 kingdoms who’s as cocky as he is stupid. He’s one of the most hated characters in the series and is particularly sadistic in the new episodes. 
Tyrion has arrived at King’s Landing to actually rule in a way that isn’t just about killing everyone and tossing their heads on pikes. Tyrion’s political machinations to consolidate power and then embark on an effective program of governance may sound boring but it’s one of the best things about Clash and is done really well in the show. There’s one particularly great sequence in the third episode where he plays the small council like fiddles in some sort of fiddling contest where the prize is awesomeness.
Meanwhile Arya is pretending to be a boy with a batch of new recruits heading to the night’s watch. The idea is for her to blend in until they get to Winterfell then it’s back with the Stark clan, but it’s not quite that easy and the poor girl has to endure some of the toughest hardships of any of the characters. Once you see it you’ll be shocked what she has togood through and that’s streamlined, in a good way, from the books.
Theon leaves Robb Stark’s side to go back home to the iron islands to convince his father Baylon Greyjoy to join with Robb and beat the Lannisters. But his dad’s a total dick and treats Theon like a prissy girlie boy.
Jon Snow is north of the Wall on the heels of Mance Rayder and is very, very cold.
Daenerys leads her rag tag group through a miserable desert and nothing much happens until they reach a middle east type city.
Stannis, who is really the only true king, cozies up with a priestess named Melisandre and the two plot to take over the kingdom. Magic ensues.
Renly, yet another king, is gayer than ever, which was never really that explicit in the book other than numerous mentions of his love of fabrics and his personal security called Rainbow Guards. But he is now married to Margery, has 100,000 troops and plotting to take over the iron throne.
The biggest and possibly best difference between the book is Robb Stark’s role in the show. Robb’s one of my favorite characters and though he appears in the second book you don’t hear or see much of him and he never gets his own chapter. The series on the other hand really showcases him and he’s pretty awesome. He’s a good, decisive and tough leader who’s clearly his father’s son. Some of the best scenes of the first few episodes involve him.
It’s better than ever and rest assured, or stay awake frantically, but I’ll be posting more recaps once it gets underway.
