Game On

So now two of my favorite dramas are on Sunday nights, Game Of Thrones and Mad Men. (Sorry Once Upon A Time, but I can still take you or leave you.) I watched season one again so I was ready for the second season debut of GOT. Haven't had time to watch Mad Men yet--will this be a trend?

If you haven't watched GOT, there'll be spoilers, but then, you probably wouldn't be interested anyway.

Anyway, we start "The North Remembers" with Joffrey acting like the nasty young man he is, while his queen, Sansa Stark, has learned, unhappily, to bow to him. In walks Tyrion Lannister (who's got the Emmy nomination and is now top-billed), ready to be Hand of the king in place of father Tywin.  Last season he'd just been assigned this post, so we can't be more than a few weeks beyond season one.  Joffrey is not happy about the Imp, nor is Cersei, but there's not much they can do. Besides, he's smart enough that he might even figure out how to get Jaime back. They've already got Sansa as a hostage, now where's Arya?

Back in Winterfell, poor Bran is stuck holding the fort.  There's always a Stark in Winterfell, but most of his family is now dead or scattered.  He's having more of his dreams, though he denies it.  There's also a comet in the sky which his helper correctly recognizes as an omen for the return of dragons.  (Ah yes, this is fantasy, and magic is allowed.)

As you'd guess, we cut to Daenerys and her small band of followers (who witnessed her surviving fire and helping to hatch the dragon eggs).  She's still got adviser Ser Jorah, but even their horses are dying of starvation.  The group has no power until the dragons grow up.  Though they're already pretty far east, they're going as far east as they can manage, where they can hide from Dothraki and other bands who'd kill them and take her dragons.

Up north, the Men of the Watch travel beyong the Wall, enjoying the hospitality of a grumpy old man who marries his daughters and kills his sons.  Everyone else around is leaving for the South.  Jon Snow is still being groomed for leadership but, according to his master, he's nowhere near ready.

Now we meet a new character we've heard plenty about--Stannis Baratheon.  He's as humorless and merciless as everyone says, but he also knows he's the proper heir now that his older brother is dead.  He sends out messages to everyone in Westeros to that effect.  He's not afraid of the fallout, and if he is one thing, he's a great warrior. He's also a religious convert, turning his back on the old religion and is now in thrall to the red priestess Melisandre, to the chagrin of his older, more sensible advisors.  She proves tough to take out.

At Robb Stark's war camp, we see a young man who's got a canny sense of strategy and has won a few battles.(Only a few--last we saw him, he'd won just one.) He got that raven from Stannis so now the forbidden love of his prisoner, Jaime Lannister, is out.  And Robb sees why everything, including a dead father and crippled brother, has happened.  But Jaime isn't ready to admit it.

Back in King's Landing, we see the Imp brought his consort, but still fears his father enough to tell her to keep it on the down low.  In the courtyard, Cersei and Lord Baelish have words.  He's a powerful man, but she reminds him not to get too smart--she could have him killed any time she chooses.  She wants him to find Arya, but I wonder if she's being smart to make him too worried. He knows how to get things done.  She only took over because he betrayed Ned Stark, after all.

Robb sends out his terms for peace, which include Joffrey and Cersei to give up all claims to the North, which he knows they can never be accept.  Meanwhile, advisor Theon explains he can't take King's Landing without ships, which the Greyjoys have--time to go into an alliance, with captured Theon's help.  But can Theon be trusted?  Mom Catelyn sure doesn't trust him.  Anyway, she wants to go back to Winterfell, but son Robb tells her he needs her around to negotiate with Renly Baratheon, who's got a huge army and his own claim to the throne (which honorable Ned could not accept or all this might have been avoided),  In an alliance, they could make the Lannisters sue for peace.

Back at the palace, Joffrey is redoing the throne room.  His mom talks to him about these rumors as to his birth, and it gets very unpleasant. She also realizes her horrible son is getting out of her control.  (She slaps him, like the Imp did so long ago--no one's gonna slap him again, though.)  Joffrey (I'm guessing) decides to have all of Robert Baratheon's bastards killed, which will take some doing, since he messed around quite a bit.

Because of this, the Lannisters get a lead on Arya.  We already know, of course, she's disguised as a boy and with the Night's Watch recruiter and Baratheon bastard Gendry.  The last thing we see is her traveling up north.

So we leave Game Of Thrones with a new table just about set.  "The North Remembers" gives us a chance to catch up on where we are, as most of the characters position themselves in a new world with Ned Stark dead, Joffrey king and everyone else angling to be in charge. Some have complained that's all they do on this show, but, to be fair, plenty of people die while others rise. Besides, the scheming is its glory. It doesn't have the money or time to pull off grand battles, so far better to have people strategizing.  Good characters and dialogue defeat weapons and gore and day.