Game of Thrones: Season 2

Just under a year ago, I finished the first season of Game of Thrones and posted about it here on this blog. My excitement was palpable in that post as I eagerly awaited the beginning of the second season. Well, I saw that second season, and then I read all five extant books, and then I pitched the shit out of the show to most of you, and after five separate posts by you guys on Seasons 1 and 2, here I am again, bringing all of this full circle in a way, ready to share some thoughts on the second season after seeing it as a seasoned Game of Thrones veteran a year after eagerly looking forward to what could possibly happen to the Starks, the Lannisters, and Daenerys after the thrilling conclusion to Season 1. Last May, as Season 2 ended, I had mixed feelings. I still loved the show, don't get me wrong, but there were some pacing problems and a few plot developments felt under-explained. Having read the books before watching it all unfold once more, I was a little more clear on some points of confusion, but also a little more annoyed at some of the season's weaker points because they had been played out so much better in the book. Since I believe the majority of my reading audience has now seen the second season of the show, I will go forth with a few spoilers - but none that give away elements of the story beyond the ending of the second book and season.

Highlights:

• Theon's character arc. Theon does some terrible things this season, betraying his lord who had treated him like kin, then disobeying his father out of stubborn ambition, and then murdering so many former friends and innocent people just so he can impress his men and be taken seriously. But that's just the thing - where other characters in this series have done terrible things simply out of a hunger for power, Theon very honestly seems to be doing it all just to gain some respect from his family. He was taken away from his home as a child, and then when he finally returned home he found his father cold and untrusting; when he took Winterfell - something no one had done for a thousand years - no one was impressed and no one really even congratulated him. Instead, all he got was a scolding from his sister and a mutiny of sorts from his men. Theon's actions are despicable, but his motivations alone earn him sympathy. It'll be interesting to see where they go in the third season with him; he's entirely absent for the third and fourth books, but when he reappears in the fifth he's a very changed man. Will the show keep him in the spotlight, or are we done with him for a few years?
• Tyrion. In the wake of Ned Stark's death, we the audience needed a new primary protagonist, and at least for the second book and season, Tyrion fills in admirably. I can attest that Tyrion's chapters in the books are among the most interesting and well-characterized, and it's only fitting that the best performance in the show is routinely given by Peter Dinklage. Tyrion isn't even all that decent a human being, but compared to the wicked monsters that are his father, sister, and king nephew, he's incredibly easy to root for. In fact, were it not for Tyrion's presence at King's Landing, we'd have spent the whole season rooting for it to get sacked by Renly or Stannis or Robb. Speaking of which...
• The Battle of the Blackwater. The entire ninth episode did something none of the eighteen before it had done, and focused entirely on one geographical location and one night: the night of the aforementioned battle. You know the summary. Stannis's fleet sails in toward King's Landing. Tyrion has laid a trap. Most of the fleet goes up in flames, but enough ships still land to mount a land battle. The Lannisters are losing. Joffrey is a pussy and runs away to his mother. The Hound has a great character moment where he says, "fuck all of this," and walks away. Tyrion is the last man standing, so to speak, to lead his low-morale troops to certain suicide against Stannis's forces. Dude takes a sword to the face. Suddenly in rides his father with the Tyrells at his side, and they all win. Tyrion's heroics are instantly forgotten and all he has to show for his efforts is a hideous scar. Oh, and meanwhile Cersei and Sansa and Shae talk about heavy subjects like whether or not praying is foolish, since the gods have no mercy, or if taking their own lives is a better option than being raped. A lot of this stuff wasn't in the book, and the battle in general goes differently than it did in the book, and this is the best (perhaps only) example I can think of where the show was better than its source material.

Lowlights:

• Daenerys in Qarth. For reference's sake, Dany has five chapters in the entire second book. She finds Qarth in the first one, enters it in the second one, is enticed to enter "the house of the undying" in the third one, does so in the fourth one... and then the fifth one concerns stuff the second season didn't even get to. The book kept her Qarth adventure short and sweet. Dragons were never kidnapped. Her handmaidens never betrayed her. Xaro Xhoan Daxos was a background character at most. I understand that in the TV world you have contractual obligations to actors and all, but really, Dany just didn't need half the screen time she was given in Season 2. This was especially disappointing coming off of her Season 1 arc, which saw her start out as what was essentially a sex slave and end up as the most feared woman in the world thanks to three baby dragons. Her story will be far more interesting in Season 3, I promise.
• A rushed conclusion at Winterfell. I've already cited Theon's arc as one of my favorites in the season, but its rushed ending left me scratching my head the first time around and irritated by its clumsiness the second time around. I won't say what happens in the book, in case the show revisits that early in the third season, but suffice it to say that it's much more clear cut why Winterfell is suddenly being burnt to the ground and the Stark boys are running away after Theon's men decide it's time to go home.
• Unnecessary name changes. More of a pet peeve than anything major, but I wasn't fond of the show changing a few character names, simply because there was no reason to do so. In the books, Theon's sister's name is Asha. Here, in the show, she's been renamed Yara, presumably so as to avoid audience confusion with the wildling woman taking care of the Stark boys, Osha. But "Asha" and "Osha" are as different as "Evan" and "Ivan," and don't really even sound alike. Nor is Osha an important enough character to justify renaming Asha, in my mind; Asha - or Yara, I guess - plays a much bigger role in the story yet to be told than Osha does. In fact, on the literary side, Osha hasn't been seen since the end of the second book. Meanwhile, Robb Stark's wife is called Talisa in the show, whereas she was Jeyne Westerling in the books. Why? Presumably, again, this was done to avoid confusion with another character, in this case Jeyne Poole, Sansa's friend who may have made one or two total appearances in Season 1. Ugh. A third name change, back in Season 1, was when they turned Robert, the mildly retarded boy from the Vale, into Robin. This one seemed legitimate, since the king of the realm was named Robert, and confusion may have easily occurred when discussing "Lord Robert" and "King Robert." Fine.

Anyway, what did all of you think? Let's hear some Season 3 predictions, except from those of you who've read the books already. I'm pumped as hell for March 31st.