I finished the second season of Game of Thrones over the weekend. Season 3 is in the mail! (Netflix DVD)
Season 2 got off to a rough start, in my opinion. As a matter of fact, book 2 is when I stopped reading the books, and I was close to dropping the series for many of the same reasons. I sometimes joke about it being because all the good characters get killed off, but that’s not really it. In fact, I respect Martin for making things realistic enough that major, named, and in the case of Edard Stark, beloved characters die. The trouble is in two parts. First, there are a LOT of characters. So many that I have trouble keeping track of them all. Second, I don’t care about all the characters equally. I’d even go so far as to say some hold no interest for me at all.
I dropped the books years and years ago, well before the TV show came to the air, and my memories of this were the main reason that I’m four years behind the popular curve on this. 🙂
Sure enough, as I watch season 2 things start to get overwhelming again. The show bounces back and forth between dozens of important characters and there simply is no clear “main” character or even characters. In a way, this is an amazing feat. Any of them could die. Any of them could win. Most of them will lose. It’s like life. And that’s pretty cool.
The TV show did have one BIG advantage over the books — it was shorter. It also kept things moving from place to place, scene to scene, so I didn’t wonder when I was ever going to get back to my favorite characters. In most episodes, I felt certain, I would get to visit my favorites. (The imp, the dragon lady, and Arya)
After about the halfway point I felt like I had a handle on the massive story and cast of characters. The season rallied by the end, and the last couple of episodes were exceptional. I look forward to season 3.