Arya eventually escapes with her pals, a Baratheon bastard named Gendry and an aspiring baker named Hot Pie. Arya strikes up a fateful friendship with Jaqen H’ghar - the Faceless Man who kills some folks for her - and briefly receives a tenderhearted mentorship at Harenhall from Tywin Lannister (his lone sympathetic arc in the story).
“There are many who know that, without you, this city faced certain defeat,” Varys tells the scarred imp.Įlsewhere, Bran and Rickon flee with Hodor and Osha, after Theon’s misguided and ultimately short-lived conquest of Winterfell, and Sansa endures an attack from Flea Bottom predators and abuse from Joffrey before he throws her over for the striving Margaery. By season’s end, Tyrion is recovering from a mid-battle attempt on his life, ordered by either Cersei or (more likely) Joffrey, as Tywin claims the glory that should be his, the latest offense in a relationship that won’t end well. He banishes Janos Slynt to the Wall for overseeing the terrible slaughter of King Robert’s bastards, formulates a plan to defend against Stannis’s coming assault on the city and even leads the counterattack before his father sweeps in to clean things up and take all the credit. Sent by his father, Tywin Lannister, to guide Joffrey as the hand of the king, Tyrion works the angles on the small council, jousts with Cersei and otherwise fills the leadership gap. Joffrey may be the nominal ruler in King’s Landing, but Season 2 is largely about the emergence of his uncle Tyrion “the Imp” Lannister as an adroit diplomat. The uncharmed include the fiancée he is about to jilt, the prostitutes he abuses, the citizens he forsakes, the uncle sent to rein him in and even his devoted mother, Cersei, who wonders if the sadistic boy-king, born of her twincest with Jaime “is the price for what we’ve done, for our sins.” (Balon Greyjoy is the fifth.)īut Joffrey also has few fans in his own city, his own castle or even his own family. His strongest critics are the armies rising against him, of course, as competing Baratheon forces - one led by the cheerless Stannis, the other by the dilettante rebel Renly - join the clashing Lannister and Stark brigades in the newly branded War of the Five Kings. ‘ Game of Thrones ’ Where to watch: HBO Add it to your Watchlist Almost no one is happy about it, as the thin-skinned tyrant is too interested in bizarre cruelties, casual misogyny and ego massages to actually govern. In Season 2 of “Game of Thrones,” the reality sets in that the petulant King Joffrey is in charge.
We’ve also looked at Seasons 1, 3, 4 and 5. Each recap will contain spoilers for all six seasons. To prepare for Season 7, we’re reviewing and reassessing the first six seasons of the show, with the benefit of hindsight. You may have heard that “Game of Thrones” is returning to HBO on July 16.
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