Still reeling from the execution of beloved Ned Stark, nothing
delayed me in adding the second sequence of Game Of Thrones to my old Lovefilm
list. As one of the show’s only fans in
those distant days, I had little competition for the DVD discs which soon
appeared in the post for immediate viewing.
That said, the picture quality of DVDs is now tantamount to watching content
through a butter-smeared cataract, so I’m surprised I was able to make out anything. Now no longer shameful of its fantasy
origins, with no apologies necessary for things like zombies and dragons, the
second series offers an emboldened portrayal of Westeros, enriched by all the layers
of storytelling its previous instalments had laid down. I would quantify the action as aplenty, yet
the dialogue scenes still sparkle with political tussling, knowing wit and rich
imagery. Some battles are only alluded
to, due to their production cost (such as a Robb Stark ambush on the
Lannisters) but this clearly allowed them to save enough budget to enact a
naval battle in the series’ penultimate instalment, Blackwater. So it’s swings and roundabouts, slash,
creative editing and wildfire.
But I’m not cussing the production for being efficient, not
least because all our scenes north of the Wall seem to be filmed in real
snow. No film or TV show ever has nailed
realistic-looking fake snow, so the Night’s Watch in their almost entirety are
shipped off to some godforsaken winter wonderland, not for a skiing break but
to traipse through snowdrifts in their big black cloaks whilst in pursuit of
Mance Rayder. It’s a visual joy worth
every penny and for which I am happy to sacrifice any other battles in this
series. And like all our theatres of
action in this season, things get dark.
While those who have taken the black come face to face with the awful
Craster and an army of the undead (and nobody can decide which one is worse)
grim and ghoulish characters dominate scenes throughout each storyline. From the blue-stained mouth of Pyat Pree in
Qarth to basically anyone in the Iron Islands (though Yara Greyjoy turns out to
be a babe), the baddies outnumber the goodies.
Even solid Lannister-alternative Stannis is joyless and potentially a
bit evil, while darling Joffrey plumbs new depths of depravity yet still channels
American daytime soap-operatic expressions to great effect. Hating him more than anything unites us on
the side of Sansa in the coming battles.
And indeed, that is the main thrust of this second series –
the worsening of the war. The Tyrells switch
sides, Dorne is brought to heal, massacres run in the Riverlands and wildlings
prepare for invasion. As a result, the
violence multiplies and grows more extreme, and it’s made clear it’s the
smallfolk who suffer at the hands of the powerful in their petty
squabbles. Nowhere is this easier to see
than at the doomed holdfast of Harrenhal.
I remember finding the tension here unbearable on my first viewing. When the daily selection of torture victims
threatens to end Gendry’s journey through a hot rat to the stomach (really) I
almost lost my mind. Furthermore, Tywin
Lannister’s selection of Arya Stark as his cupbearer leads to an oblivious
truce so paper-thin that you’re screaming at the TV each time the youngest
daughter of Ned nearly opens up Tywin’s neck with her mutton knife.
Nevertheless, there is also greater confidence with LOLs, as
humour creeps through even against the bleakest backdrops. Ygritte’s goading of Jon Snow (for knowing
nothing) draws a wry smile in the Arctic tundra, while some of Samwell Tarly’s
comedic potential is slowly revealed.
There’s even space for dark humour, with the slightly slapstick approach
to Jaqen H’ghar’s assassinations on behalf of new bestie, Arya. Indeed, offsetting this lighter touch is a
heck tonne of foreshadowing as well. Reviewing
these earlier series with the benefit of having seen everything, certain lines
make more sense, certain expressions are more significant and certain
background observations feel strangely pivotal.
But the expansion of the Game Of Thrones universe satiates our yearning
for more of what we love. Everything is
spiralling out of control and starting to go very wrong (especially for the
Starks) so the only response is a desperate need to return for more series to
find out what happens next and to answer the ever more unanswerable question
about how this can ever be resolved.
Best newcomer
Podrick Payne is who I’m going to single out of the many new
faces to grace Westeros. While he at first
simply makes up the numbers in his initial scenes, he later becomes a source of
great humour. But it is his prowess in
the Battle of Blackwater that marks him a true hero, most particularly as he
saves Tyrion Lannister from his sister’s sketchy third-party attempt on his
life, ensuring one of our most beloved characters makes it through to the end. We also learn in season three about his
massive willy, so it’s important that this too is acknowledged.
Most valuable character
I would like to make a big fuss here of Osha, as her
achievements are wrongfully unsung.
While she enters the fray as a sinister Wildling, her loyalty to House
Stark soon grows strong. Determined to
save Bran and Rickon from Iron Islander clutches, she takes one for the team by
seducing Theon Greyjoy and offing a number of his guards. With Bran’s survival pivotal to so many of
the subsequent series (with many a great character meeting a grisly end while
he just daydreams sitting down) it’s thanks to Osha that he survives this
moment and lives on to warg another day.
Best death
Picking up where the first season left off, this sophomore
series doesn’t hold back with the dispatching, so there was a wealth of offing
to choose from. I’ve gone with the dual
ends of Xaro Xhoan Daxos and Doreah in Daxos’s own vault deep in Qarth. Sealed in while still alive by Daenerys as
punishment for betraying her and stealing her dragons, this first glimpse into
her vengeful spirit is not only terrifying in and of itself, but being locked
in a dark room until you die feels like a dreadful way to go, and the whimpers
of Doreah as her fate is sealed (geddit?) still haunt me to this day.
Jaw-dropper moment
Meeting Melisandre is traumatic for all of us, not least
because she talks only in the mantras of her Lord of Light religion, constantly
gets her boobs out and pulls some wonderfully patronising facial expressions. She likes setting fire to things (and people). But, as she ascends in the camp of Stannis Baratheon’s
claim to the Iron Throne, she makes sure to do away with any doubters by using
the dark magic for which we love her.
While I could mention the smoke baby that ends Renly’s campaign after
emerging from twixt her legs, it’s the poison goblet switcharoo she does with Maester
Cressen which is both believable and terrifying enough to make it clear that
this is a woman who can’t be trifled with (and is dark and full of terrors).
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