What I’m Watching: Game of Thrones (Season Premiere)

Game of Thrones: Season 2, Episode 1 “The North Remembers” (B+)

Getting back into this show means diving deep into a world full of war, deception, treachery, and the onslaught of another long and foreboding winter. I’ll admit it’s extremely difficult to keep track of which declared kingdom is fighting another such entity, and the names generally escape me since they’re near impossible to remember. Joffrey is exerting his power as often as possible, watching people fight to the death and nearly having a drunken man drowned by drink for his offenses. Sansa may still have a heart, but she’s learned when to say the right thing, as evidenced by her stern response to Tyrion’s expression of sympathies for her deceased father. We didn’t see any of Arya until the very last shot of the episode, and Tyrion rightfully chastised his sister for ridding herself of two of three potential Stark bargaining chips. It’s interesting that Cersei and Jamie’s relationship is so well known, but it also makes both parties even more volatile than ever. Petyr nearly lost his head indicating to Cersei that knowledge is power, and though Jamie is in not currently in a good position, he’s sure to assert himself soon, despite Robb’s explicit explanation of what he knows and what he plans to do with it. Robb’s declaration that he doesn’t need a servant to do his beheading for him makes him quite a formidable threat, though he’s not the one going around murdering babies. Of the many new additions to the cast, I’m most excited about that of Liam Cunningham, star of last year’s brilliant sci-fi series “Outcasts,” playing Davos, advisor to Stannis. This is sure to be an intense and terrific season full of violence and chaos.