TV Series Review: GAME OF THRONES – Season 2 (2012)

I’ve had to wait more than 1 year, to continue one of the most awesome fantasy series on television with Season 2 of GAME OF THRONES. With an amazingly successful Season 1, GOT returns with a bang!

Season 2 is a direct continuation of all the threats, characters and schemes introduced in Season 1. Danereas Targaryn has 3 dragons to her name, while the Bastard Jon Snow marches North of the Wall. Ned Stark is dead and his youngest daughter Arya is pretending to be a boy as she also marches North to the Wall with a friend of her dad’s. War is breaking out all over the land, as the Starks fight the Lannisters and there are multiple claims to the throne and all is going buck crazy this Season! I can’t breathe!

GAME OF THRONES is a fast paced adventure story with incredible conflicts, great writing and performances, along with a deadly plot. However, I’m sad to say that Season 2, kind of squandered a lot of it’s content.

Season 2, is incredibly slow and at times dull. The highlight of the Season finale from last year, was Danearis having Dragons, but this Season, she didn’t really do much with that, at all. The 1^st three episodes were spent with her just wandering the dessert, followed by finally meeting some new characters by the 6^th episode or so. The pacing of that storyline was stretched out unnecessarily as it seems like the writers couldn’t figure out what to do with her.

The rest of the story unfolds pretty well. It’s all intense as the war continues, prisoners are taken and people are killed. The standout of Season 2 MUST be Peter Dinklage’s Tyrion Lannister. No wonder Dinklage gets top billing this season after Sean Bean’s character’s death.

Dinklage gives a great performance of being the orchestrator of the entire Season, and shows Tyrion’s political talents. It’s amazing to see how the rogue and rebel of the show, ends up in a position of power and responsibility, and more so that he excels at it.

Season 2 of GAME OF THRONES suffers however, from the typical things that sophomore Seasons of shows seem to, arrogance. This entire season seemed to not be as exciting or fast paced, because it felt like the writers had a ‘save the best for last’ sort of mentality. The writing felt as if the entire season had things being set up, but not completely being committed to telling the story of this season itself. This was confirmed by the extreme cliffhanger in the Season Finale.

GAME OF THRONES Season 2 does up the ante, makes things a lot more difficult to follow with multiple threats from almost every subplot, however, some things are never explained, presumably as they wait to tie ends up in the next season. I wish HBO shows would take a cue from DEXTER, and not hold anything back from Season to Season. It takes away from the enjoyment of a Season, when majority of what’s being viewed, is filler and set up for the next installment… like IRON MAN 2.

GAME OF THRONES is still an awesome show, and Season 2 does not disappoint, unless having previous expectations and comparisons. I will still be clutching to the edge of my seat as I await Season 3!

Get Season 2 On Blu ray