Game of Thrones
Season Two, Episode 2 – The Night Lands
Directed by: Alan Taylor
Written by: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
Starring: Mark Addy, Alfie Allen, Emilia Clarke, Liam Cunningham, Charles Dance, Stephen Dillane, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Fairley, Aidan Gillen, Jack Gleeson, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Conleth Hill, Carice van Houten, Harry Lloyd, Richard Madden, Patrick Malahide, Rory McCann, Sophie Turner, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maisie Williams, and Issac Hempstead-Wright.

Game of Thrones continues some world building in order to set the stage for what’s to come in the week’s ahead, but how does it compare to last week’s outstanding season two premiere? Found out after the break.

One of the things that Game of Thrones does so well is the ability to handle multiple plots without wasting a single character or moment in order to accomplish great storytelling that gets me engaged in each character introduced. I think a lesser show wouldn’t be able to handle the amount of juggling that’s needed for this series, and that’s why the show has been a master class in character development. Each character featured throughout the episode has at least one, if not more, important moment that not only reinforces, but advances their plot and their character.

Game of Thrones
Season Two, Episode 1 – The North Remembers
Directed by: Alan Taylor
Written by: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
Starring: Mark Addy, Alfie Allen, Emilia Clarke, Liam Cunningham, Charles Dance, Stephen Dillane, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Fairley, Aidan Gillen, Jack Gleeson, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Conleth Hill, Carice van Houten, Harry Lloyd, Richard Madden, Rory McCann, Sophie Turner, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maisie Williams, and Issac Hempstead-Wright

After an outstanding first season, Game of Thrones roared back to life last night with the Season Two premiere, “The North Remembers.” Below, we’ve got your full spoiler-free review.

Doom has come to Westeros.

Throughout the course of “The North Remembers,” there is a feeling of persistent fear and danger. Since the opening shots of the series premiere, this world has been on the brink of many things, but the season two premiere escalates these feelings even more. I think that few shows truly handle the concept of fear and what it can mean for characters in the show, but Game of Thrones proved that no character is safe from whatever uncertain danger lies ahead and the season two premiere looks to continue this trend. No one is safe and anything can happen and many of our characters are still dealing with the fallout from past episodes.

Game of Thrones
Season One, Episode Ten – Fire & Blood
Directed by: Alan Taylor
Written by: David Beinoff and D.B. Weiss
Starring: Mark Addy, Alfie Allen, Sean Bean, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Fairley, Aidan Gillen, Jack Gleeson, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Issac Hempstead-Wright, Harry Lloyd, Richard Madden, Rory McCann, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Conleth Hill, and Charles Dance

I hope everyone enjoyed the first episode of Season Two of Game of Thrones.

Confused? Let me explain.

“Fire and Blood” is in a unique position in that it feels more like the first episode of season two rather than the season one finale. The cliffhanger in “Baelor” felt more like a traditional finale, where the majority of this episode sets up our various players for the next round of the game.

Game Of Thrones
Season One, Episode Nine – Baelor
Directed by: Alan Taylor
Written by: David Beinoff and D.B. Weiss
Starring: Mark Addy, Alfie Allen, Sean Bean, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Fairley, Aidan Gillen, Jack Gleeson, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Issac Hempstead-Wright, Harry Lloyd, Richard Madden, Rory McCann, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Conleth Hill

Game of Thrones has been a slow burn.

There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, I much prefer shows that have a tendency to draw things out and build on previous episodes. All the best television series (The Wire, Mad Men, Breaking Bad) do this and when done properly, the results can be astonishing. The latest episode, “Baelor,” was no exception to this rule. The stakes have slowly been rising over the past couple of weeks and it was time for the dominoes to begin to fall.

And boy do they fall.