tv: I spent the first season of Game Of Thrones watching treachery at the top of the royal family of the seven kingdoms be uncovered as a push and pull between two families. The Lanisters, who were, and still are, currently part of the royal family in King's Landing, the capitol in the south, and the Starks, the nobles of the Winterfeld in the north at odds over not only the legitimacy of succession of the throne, but also as a result of the attempted murder of the youngest Stark, Bran, for witnessing the incest between the queen, Cersei Lanister and her brother Jamie that has bred, quite literally, the illegitimacy of succession. The plan of the series seemed all but certain. Starks, noble, vs. Lanisters, cunning and corrupt. As the second season begins, so does this post, with lots of characters playing roles larger than what would have originally indicated and a plot not quite what it seems. And also larger.
As the second season begins, Ned Stark, Hand (chief adviser) to the king is dead at the hand of newly anointed and totally psychotic King Joffery. Rob Stark, Ned's eldest son, and Catelyn, his widow, are waging civil war against the throne. Stannis Baratheon, eldest brother of the former king, is getting ready to invade the seven kingdoms from exile to claim the throne. Jamie Lanister is in captivity due to a miscue when battling the Starks. Tyrion Lanister, Jamie's and Cersei's midget and shunned brother is now the Hand of the King. And how could we forget Daenerys Targaryen, a descendant of a former king, looking to regain the throne behind her army of horsemen and newly born dragons.
Thanks to the end of the first season, which is Daenerys standing in the wasteland, faced by her followers, naked with her dragons on her shoulders, and the looming civil war, I couldn't even begin to think where this story is going given the fact that the main character, Ned Stark, has been beheaded. Civil war and the question of who is the rightful heir to the throne seems to be the question of the second season. Based on the first season, I doubt that this may be the stories larger pupose even.
All I know is that this show has put its viewers in a place where no one is safe. No story is too important or trivial. The battle for the throne is up for grabs and the who will win is anyone's guess. I don't even believe that dragons could guarantee a victory. The smartest man in the show is the Hand. The most intriguing is the young woman sold for an army now possessing dragons. The most dangerous, and psychotic, are those already in power, and the rightful king is in exile with a dark mistress with powers yet to be revealed. This is not to mention a dark power coming from beyond the wall in the north that threatens everyone involved based nothing but a myth of savagery.
Your guess is as good as mine as to what will happen or what this show is really about. All I know is that a show labelled as fantasy and best known for its blood and tits is shaping up to look more like the medieval Sopranos. I have not read the books so I cannot see the future of the second season. But given that the series in book form is unfinished, I wonder if fans of the books can see where this is going.
I know I just spat a ton of characters and random information about a fantasy series at anyone who reads this but that's what the show feels like. There are somewhere between fifteen and twenty main characters acting in as many as six or seven independent parts of the universe. All of whom could end up being part of the stories end game, or dead. To sum this story up with any amount of detail would literally take novels. All I know is that I can't wait to see what happens and that I couldn't even begin to venture a guess at what that happening is.
One thing I can say is that this is story, whether of the shows creators design, or of the books, is truly unpredictable and unique. I have never seen a show in which I didn't know what I was going to see in this way. Its not Lost, where it was all cliffhangers and questions, or 23 with pulse pounding action. It is more a question of big picture goals. What is this really about? Who are the people that really matter? In the second season no one can say they know the answers to these questions.
My opinion on this will in all likelihood change from week to week. In the spirit of the show I can only mask my desire for the greater answers and possibly greater questions by raising a glass to the best blood and tits on tv. No one will ever guess who lives or dies. No one will find a king with clear vision. If you play the game of thrones you either win or you die. Cheers!
p.s. As a fanboy that image of Daenerys at the end of season one has been permanently burned into my brain.
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