I could not agree more with Douglas Wolk writing for the LA Times:
Game of Thrones' second episode had many heroes, but the direwolves definitely deserve first prize. Even beyond the Stark children's brutal saviors though there was little to critique in last night's show. Taking advantage of the first week's setup, episode 2 took off on firm footing with the series now in full stride.
In fact, "King's Road" almost feels like an encore follow-up to last week's premier, which was awesome in its grandeur but wholly overwhelming as the story jumped from location to location while throwing about fantastical names left and right. Instead, the series' second hour goes a long way toward developing a handful of characters, including Tyrion Lannister (Peter Drinklage) and Jon Snow (Kit Harrington), whose roles as societal outcasts play interestingly in a world where stature and status mean everything.
Lady Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) also made bold advances as the former goes from grieving for her child to actively investigating his "accident," and the latter seeks to turn her sexual imprisonment into a means for liberation and possible political power. In both cases the show demonstrates the conflicts between honor and expediency as the "right" course of action is nearly always the least gratifying and most dooming.
Though I can claim that "King's Road" had no weak moments, there was at least one arguably large oversight. Vanity Fair's Mike Ryan gets it right when he points out the following:
Still that being said, last night was 6o minutes of constant plot progression and character development that more than made up for the premier's slow start and lays many promises for continued excellence in the series' future.
If anyone was scared away the first time around, I guarantee you won't regret giving the show a much deserved second chance.
Contrary to what various characters keep saying in "Game of Thrones," direwolves seem to make excellent pets, especially if creeps with blades are lurking about.
Game of Thrones' second episode had many heroes, but the direwolves definitely deserve first prize. Even beyond the Stark children's brutal saviors though there was little to critique in last night's show. Taking advantage of the first week's setup, episode 2 took off on firm footing with the series now in full stride.
In fact, "King's Road" almost feels like an encore follow-up to last week's premier, which was awesome in its grandeur but wholly overwhelming as the story jumped from location to location while throwing about fantastical names left and right. Instead, the series' second hour goes a long way toward developing a handful of characters, including Tyrion Lannister (Peter Drinklage) and Jon Snow (Kit Harrington), whose roles as societal outcasts play interestingly in a world where stature and status mean everything.
Lady Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) also made bold advances as the former goes from grieving for her child to actively investigating his "accident," and the latter seeks to turn her sexual imprisonment into a means for liberation and possible political power. In both cases the show demonstrates the conflicts between honor and expediency as the "right" course of action is nearly always the least gratifying and most dooming.
Though I can claim that "King's Road" had no weak moments, there was at least one arguably large oversight. Vanity Fair's Mike Ryan gets it right when he points out the following:
I know Ned Stark (Sean Bean) is supposed to be a pretty stoic guy, but his lack of, really, any reaction at all to Bran’s (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) debilitating fall comes across as an oversight in editing. Sure, he has bigger things to worry about—as the king reminds us, “there’s a war coming.” But the problem is that it’s pretty obvious how much Ned cares about his children—even evidenced near the end of this episode when Arya (Maisie Williams) is brought before the king for her role in Prince Joffrey’s (Jack Gleeson) light mauling. So for it to be business as usual for Ned so early in the episode just seems rushed.With all of the family upset and worried over the plight of Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), there is good account I can think of for why Ned would not at least mention episode 1's shocking conclusion.
Still that being said, last night was 6o minutes of constant plot progression and character development that more than made up for the premier's slow start and lays many promises for continued excellence in the series' future.
If anyone was scared away the first time around, I guarantee you won't regret giving the show a much deserved second chance.