HBO’s Game of Thrones has drawn critical and audience acclaim, but it’ll be a long ten months until we get to see any new episodes. However, because the show is a tirelessly faithful adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels, literary viewers can simply pick up the second book, A Clash of Kings, to continue the story. And judging by the Amazon rankings, many have done just that.
But what if you desperately want to know what happens next, and don’t have the time (or the patience) to flip through almost 800 pages of tedious fantasy? In that case, this article is for you. We couldn’t get away with this for something like Dexter or True Blood, which differ from the source material.
If season 1 was any indication, Season 2 of Game of Thrones will be essentially the same story as A Clash of Kings (with perhaps a few cuts made in the name of time or budget).
So without further ado, here’s what you can expect from Game of Thrones next year. It goes without saying that
The following contains MANY spoilers!!!
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The Five Kings
The central conflict in the second season will revolve around no less than five different claimants to the iron throne: Joffrey Baratheon, who currently rules in King’s Landing; Stannis Baratheon, Robert’s younger brother who claims the throne after accusing Joffrey of being illegitimate; Renly Baratheon, Robert’s youngest brother who is both more charismatic and better-armed than Stannis; Balon Greyjoy, the Lord of the Iron Islands (vikings, essentially) who rebelled unsuccessfully ten years ago, and Robb Stark, who’s fighting the Lannisters to free his sisters from captivity and return to Winterfell to rule as King in the North.
Daenerys Targaryen is traveling across the eastern continent with her small band of loyal men and freed slaves, and three newly-hatched dragons, trying to secure an army to invade Westeros. Meanwhile, Jon Snow and an expeditionary force of the Night’s Watch travel north of the Wall to investigate the White Walkers, scout out Mance Rayder’s army, and learn what happened to Benjen Stark. Young Arya Stark is traveling north, posing as a boy in Yoren’s party bound for the Wall.
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King’s Landing
Tyrion Lannister arrives in King’s Landing to serve as Hand of the King in place of his father Tywin. He acts immediately and decisively to refill the crown’s strained coffers and build up the city’s defenses. His actions, while prudent and frugal, earn him the ire of Queen Cersei and most of the peasants as well, who are starving after the destruction of so much of the surrounding country.
Tyrion constantly plots to hoard his own power against Cersei’s, making Littlefinger Lord of Harrenhall, imprisoning Maester Pycell, and putting in his own commander of the city watch. He commissions the construction of a gigantic iron chain and large quantities of “wildfire,” a napalm-like substance made by alchemists. He treats with various lords and knights to win their support and keep them from joining with Renly or Stannis.
Sansa Stark continues to suffer in her captivity. She is still betrothed to Joffrey, who constantly abuses her through his thugs in the Kingsguard. Sansa plots with disgraced knight Ser Dontos to escape. Cersei continues her tryst with her cousin Lancel Lannister.
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The Iron Islands
Robb Stark sends Theon Greyjoy to treat with his father Balon, in the hopes of winning him and his men to his cause. Instead, Theon abandons Robb, never having forgotten that he was a hostage as well as a ward, and prepares to help his father rebel once again and conquer Westeros. Upon returning to the Iron Islands, Balon sends Theon, his daughter Asha, and the rest of his navy to raid the northern coast and punish the Starks for putting down the previous rebellion.
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Dragonstone
Stannis Baratheon stews in his castle, furious that his younger brother Renly has declared himself king. His wife’s foreign priestess, Melisandre, performs cruel magic that convinces most of Stannis’ bannermen to change religions to The Lord of Light, eventually turning Stannis himself to the new faith. The only holdout is Ser Davos Seaworth, a former smuggler and Stannis’ most trusted advisor. At the urging of Melisandre, Stannis prepares both naval and ground forces and marches to war. He besieges Storm’s End while Renly is away, and prepares to meet his brother in battle.
Read on for more on Storm’s End, The Eastern Continent, North of the Wall and the King’s Road!
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“but can’t bring yourself to read the novels?”
Why that’s the exact opposite of encouraging people to read
You could have just saved yourself the time by doing this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire
I’m usually extremely positive when it comes to posting but if a person wanted spoilers that is all they had to do, haha.
[Book 3 Spoiler]
That happens in “A Storm of Swords”, not the second book.
You’re right, thanks for the catch. After reading all four books in a couple of months, they tend to run together in your head. I updated it with some more info on Sansa’s abuse in captivity.
Sure thing, keep up the great work. Love the site!
‘Tedious fantasy?’ Really? I understand what you were trying to say but……
I read all four books and, for the most part, enjoyed them thoroughly. And yes, I plan to pick up A Dance With Dragons next month. But there were absolutely large parts that were very, very tedious. Whenever I turned the page to a Catelyn or Brienne chapter I was temped to just skip it and catch up in a hundred pages or so, when everything would be explained and there was still nothing going on. I think all of the ASOIAF books could be seriously improved with some merciless editing.
Totally agree with this post by M. Crider about Catelyn Tully Stark (yawn). Catelyn’s POV was a bore. But I do like Brienne’s story line. Catelyn’s chapters were the only ones that made me feel like tossing the book in the fire.
One of the producers said in an interview that an event in Book 3 will take place toward the end of Season 2. I’m getting the books on Thursday so I can’t wait to start reading them. Spring 2012 is a long time to wait.
Right, I’m betting that that is Catelyn releasing Jaime and sending him with Brienne to King’s Landing. The character needs some more screen time than he gets in the book.
I read these novels 4 years ago. Waiting for the last two to come out has been frustrating to say the least. Don’t get your hopes up to get much satisfaction from the existing books….they WILL leave you wanting.
Quick fix, Stannis is Robert’s elder brother. He has the legit claim to sucession because of it. I picked up the 4 pack of books after seeing the first episode. I’m 670+ pages into #4 A Feast of Crows and can’t wait for #5 A Dance of Dragons. I can’t believe I’ll be buying a hardback, but it’s better than waiting practicaly FOREVER for the paperback. Love the site.
Stannis is younger than Robert, hence he is Robert’s younger brother. Renly is his youngEST brother.
My bad.
I just finished reading the fourth book and I can’t help but think the producers are going to have to take a different road somewhere in the story or it will end up bleeding away a lot of viewers. I love the series and think the books are fabulous but this is not heroic fantasy and most non-reading TV viewers have only ever been exposed to heroic fantasy (LOTR, Harry Potter, Narnia) and as this series progresses they are going to be completely enraged and upset, especially by the Red Wedding.
I also an having my own issues with the series as every single protagonist I start to root for ends up getting screwed over way too early. By the end of the fourth book, I have given up rooting for anybody and dread how my favorite characters will fall in the end.
People have compared The Game of Thrones to Lord of the Rings and that is a terrible comparison and not a true statement. I feel Game of Thrones compares to literary greats like John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway. This is a tragic tale set in the trappings of fantasy and will end up being poorly judge by the same people who took offense to the death of Ned Stark.
I cheer for Game of Thrones but eventually it will have to judge itself against the 3 Act philosophy of American TV and Movies or making a classic show based beyond the preconceived notions of fantasy entitlements.
The Red Wedding will be the real test of longevity for this series.
I am actually looking forward to it just to see the on-line reaction!
GRRM writes Steinbeck, writes Hemmingway. Outwardly focused authors.
Tolkien writes Shakespeare (specifically Hamlet), where the focus delves inward.
Two different styles.
I think ASOIAF is absolutely an epic fantasy like LOTR though I do agree it is more like Steinbeck (Grapes of Wrath) and even more like Greek epics like Homer’s The Odyssey. I hope to God they do not change the story! It would completely ruin the series. The red wedding and a lot of other events are terrible, but they are also essential to the plot of the story. ASOIAF isn’t a fairy tale where everything is going to be neat and happy in the end. Bad things happen and people die and good doesn’t always win. That is what sets this series apart from a lot of the others out there. The reader (viewer) doesn’t know from the first moment who is going to be standing in the end. Sometimes I don’t even know what I want to happen mainly because there isn’t one clear protagonist throughout the series. Many of my favorite characters are enemies and either way the story goes, someone I like will be defeated.
I also love that it isn’t always easy to see who is good and who is evil. The characters are so multi-dimensional that there are “good” characters with big flaws who do terrible things and bad “characters” that have wonderfully kind moments. Even more, characters change so much throughout the series that I hate some people I loved at the beginning and love some that I once despised. The characters in this series are some of the most realistic and well developed characters I’ve come across.
People should be emotionally affected by the things they read or watch and it shouldn’t always be in the way expected. I honestly think the majority of viewers out there can handle GRRM’s original story even if it means losing characters they love or seeing them make horrible decisions. I was a huge Lost fan and I was devastated when my favorite characters died (sometimes very unexpectedly)but I wouldn’t have changed it to be “happier” because it would have ruined what made the story great. I feel like this series is the same way and I hope the producers don’t butcher it in efforts to give viewers an fairy tale story instead of the one the author has already spent close to 2 decades developing.
I think the philosophy of American TV has changed. Look at shows like The Wire, The Sopranos and Lost. These don’t follow the old structures; audiences–at least HBO audiences–are familiar with or at least open to more complex stories.
“Lost” broke the mold. So did “Battlestar Gallactica (except for the last show). HBO prides itself on being edgy. Nothing edgier than Valerian steel.
True dat. When Wallace got got, when D’Angelo got got, when Bodie got got, when Omar got got…I wasn’t happy about it, but I still consider The Wire to be the best TV series all time.
“Nothing edgier than Valerian Steel” – Billy Bowesss
yeah. If the reaction to Ned is any indication, Screen Rant will truly live up to its name after the Red Wedding. It will be the swan song for the series or its death knell.
Not to beat a dead Ned here but, as an avid fan of the books, my favorite part of all the attention the books and show are getting is reading non-reader reactions. It reminds me a lot of why I started reading this series and I enjoy the show much more (if possible) because of “newbie” comments. The reactions are so real and strong it’s great. Just another example of why this story is brilliant. Also, FANBOY RAGE RISING…..”tedious fantasy!?”
Haha, I was going to say the same thing! 25% through “A Feast For Crows” and I have “A Dance with Dragons” pre-ordered!
I know Screen Rant is a movie and TV site but maybe they can post a thread for all “A Song of Ice and Fire” future discussions? It would be nice to speculate on characters and story lines that are introduced further down the line without spoiling it for people who are just watching the show.
Attention, all non-readers who were appalled that Ned died:
Wait till the third season. That one’ll fry your hair.
Agreed. I’m somewhat amazed that these people are still watching anyway. Wasn’t the nature of this series pretty clear in the first episode when Bran, a young child, was pushed out a window to fall to his death (or intended death)?
If the viewers are so attached to Ned after 10 or 11 episodes, I’d hate to see how they’d react if they spent a few hundred pages with him as one of the main narrators only to have that suddenly end. I think we (as the reader or viewer) are supposed to feel the way Sansa must have felt at that moment. I mean Sansa went there fully convinced her father was going to live (as were the people watching/reading) only to have the complete opposite happen. The way his death was written or shown, was intended to shock and outrage the audience because that is the way she felt. Her life was turned completely upside down at that moment. Her character would be completely pointless without this event, as would Joffrey’s, IMO. All the new people need to go ahead and except that NO ONE is safe, but should also know, when bad things happen it is always for a well thought out reason.
After reading Book 4 and waiting for Book 5, I believe that by Book 6 the only characters that are going to be left not in dire straits (death, blindness, awaiting trial, betrayed) will be the damn white walkers. Considering what happened in 4 which dealt with half the characters, I can only fear for the worse for the other half in Book 5.
Now THAT’s funny! All the more so because it might be the sad truth…
i love renly he is so super sexy im not very happy he died
[[ASOIAF isn’t a fairy tale where everything is going to be neat and happy in the end. Bad things happen and people die and good doesn’t always win. That is what sets this series apart from a lot of the others out there. The reader (viewer) doesn’t know from the first moment who is going to be standing in the end. Sometimes I don’t even know what I want to happen mainly because there isn’t one clear protagonist throughout the series. Many of my favorite characters are enemies and either way the story goes, someone I like will be defeated. I also love that it isn’t always easy to see who is good and who is evil. The characters are so multi-dimensional that there are “good” characters with big flaws who do terrible things and bad “characters” that have wonderfully kind moments. Even more, characters change so much throughout the series that I hate some people I loved at the beginning and love some that I once despised. The characters in this series are some of the most realistic and well developed characters I’ve come across. People should be emotionally affected by the things they read or watch and it shouldn’t always be in the way expected. I honestly think the majority of viewers out there can handle GRRM’s original story even if it means losing characters they love or seeing them make horrible decisions.]]
This is one of the best, most on target posts I have seen on this website (regarding any movie or show). Bravo Grace!
Thanks! I wrote it very late and made a lot of mistakes so I’m glad it made sense and that someone got my point.
The way I see it, there has to be “bad” in a story to get any kind of character development. The evolution of those characters pushes the plot of a story forward and makes it interesting. I don’t think a story should ever be changed from what the creator envisioned it to be to fit what the audience thinks they want to see. Obviously, things must be altered or left out for the sake of time, but not because the audience will be outraged by the events that take place. I also understand that producers will make some changes to make things more interesting or to add to the story, but they should never alter the main plot of the work, especially one as well developed as this. That is what fanfic is for. Those viewers that are so outraged can go write their own happy ending for themselves.
Didn’t Martin once say that the last book in the series was going to be 400 pages of snow blowing across tombstones?
Love the TV series, and now… after avoiding the books because they are 400+ pages in paperback, looks like I’ll be doing some serious reading between now and Spring 2012!
I am very very disapointed in having to wait a whole year almost before season 2 comes out for Game Of Thrones, just for that I will not be interested in watching episode 2 Spring of 2012 Seriously how do they expect to keep viewers
Never heard of the series till HBO put it on. Loved every minute of the show and when it finished I wanted more. However, I have trouble reading big books so I bought the audiobooks and they are excellent, even though Crows has a lesser reader than the other books. I listened to books 2, 3 & 4 before July 12 and then finished listening to A Dance with Dragons in a couple of days. I don’t think there will be any problem with the HBO series running its course. This ‘song of Ice and Fire” is a massive achievement and I can only hope he keeps this world alive and kicking for the next two or three books. I wouldn’t want to live there but I will miss getting back in until 201X.
I know in life that the good guys don’t always win but I am hoping for some serious payback as the stories meld together.
As far as a ten month hiatus, the same held true for Lost and holds true for Justified, True Blood and other high quality shows. Given the state of common culture it is a delight to get books (and audio) of this quality.
After reading the spoilers here, did not realize Renly and Loras were ‘secret lovers’…. Is this something HBO just dropped into the mix for season 2 ?? Certainly did NOT pick that up from the books…… Almost finished with “Storm of Swords”, and yes the Red Wedding was a REAL shocker !! Have “Feast of Crows” and just picked up a copy of “A Dance With Dragons” so have LOTS of reading before season 2 gets here !!
Really? They were very clearly lovers in the books, it’s remarked upon by several chracters, usually in digs toward Renly.
There’s an abundance of them kissing and a scene when Loras goes down on Renly in the first season, too.
While the book never comes out and directly says they were lovers, there is a lot of hinting and gossip thrown around about their relationship. That is one thing you have to learn about the books that I find quite interesting is that when characters speak, what they are telling you is not always the truth or what is really going on.
I have never really seen that done in fiction before and it is subtle but as the books go on and more things happen, you never quite know what is true and what is false when characters are talking.
This never more true then at the end of book 5 where you would think that things are wrapping up, but instead continue down the dangerous path of the Game of Thrones.
By the end of Dance of Dragons, Martin creates more questions and leaves less answers.
It sounds by your description (very well summed up btw) like there is a lot of overlap in season 2 between the second and third books. Although I found Clash of Kings fabulous, Storm of Swords was better storywise (in my opinion).
I love the characters and the casting is spot on. Tyrion is, of course, my favorite and am glad we’ll be seeing alot of him in season 2.
Still trying to get over Ned Stark though (its a shame to lose Sean Bean.)
The poor Starks are dropping like flies.
Great that the series so far has kept to the storyline. I accept that the main characters have to be a bit older than in the books (aren’t Rob and Jon supposed to be 14, Sansa 11 at the start) but aren’t Ned, Robert, Catelyn, Jaime and Cersei all supposed to be contemporaries (aged about 35) in which case either Cersei and Jaime atr too young or Catelyn and Ned too old? Shouldn’t the Lannisters all be blond and Catelyn, Robb,Bran and Rickon, as well as Sansa, red haired? Minor issues but no great problem for the producers I would have thought.
Oh, you think the Starks are dropping now? Just wait for a Feast for Crows. The body count is staggering.
So we lost Drago. Guess that means no more Jason Momoa. That really sucks…
I’m so looking forward to The Battle of the Blackwater! As long as they show a teeny tiny bit of it, I’ll be happy XD
Hey read the books. They explain much more and give a much better overview of the characters. They are long books but I think they are as good, in a different way to the Dune books.
I sure hope that Martin lives to finish these series of stories, as he is getting up there in age and each book seems to take him over 1 year to write and publish. By end of Dance with Dragons there is still a lot going on and no closure to anything in sight.
I am afraid to ask if all the fur in this movie is real..? If so it’s disgusting – and will be the reason I stop watching it. Animal fur is for ANIMALS – Not people! I hope it’s fake, if it’s not, you will have to answer to the ‘global’ activists who are petitioning to have all aerial shootings, poisonings, dennings and trapping removed from our Natural Wildlife Areas. This show could do horrific damage if you are condoning the use of real fur on your show. Plus, you will loose more than one watcher. I will have to post and make sure everyone knows you are ‘poaching’ Wolf pelts. Call it a Campaign.
KW
are you for real Kathleen?
this is a blog site about the show, who the hell cares if the fur is real? go try and save the world somewere alse because no one really gives a crap here.
Trapping and killing certain animals has become an ecological necessity amongst certain predators as we drastically altered their natural environment. Do some research. If it wasn’t legal many innocent species would be taken out in a short number of years. The wildlife game commissions also have actually done way more good for wild animals by monitoring hunting and the populations of species than all of the animal rights groups combined.
Excuse me, tedious fantasy?? These series are amongst the best fantasy ever written, loved and read by many, and you’re calling it tedious fantasy? As an avid reader of fantasy I’m rather offended. What’s next, calling Jane Austen’s work a bunch of chick lit books?