Product Description
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In the second season of the epic HBO original series Game of
Thrones, kings from across the fictional continent of Westeros
vie for the Iron Throne. As winter approaches, the cruel young
Joffrey sits upon the Throne in King's Landing, counseled by his
conniving mother Cersei and his uncle Tyrion, who has been
appointed the new Hand of the King. But the Lannister hold on
power is under assault on many fronts, with two Baratheons
donning crowns, and Robb Stark fighting as the King in the North.
With tensions and treaties, animosity and alliances, Season Two
is a thrilling journey through a riveting and unforgettable
landscape.
.com
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The epic of the grand television fantasy series Game of
Thrones is matched by the extraordinary wealth of extras found in
its sopre-season set. Based on A Clash of Kings, the second
novel in George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, season
two of Game of Thrones admirably encapsulates the sprawling War
of the Five Kings, which pits the malevolent Joffrey (Jack
Gleeson) against a host of contenders for the throne of the late
King Robert (Mark Addy), including his brothers Stannis (Stephen
Dillane) and Renly (Gethin Anthony). Further complicating matters
is the appointment of Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) as Hand
of the King to Joffrey, which sets off an intense
behind-the-scenes power struggle with his siblings, Cersei (Lena
Headey) and Je (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who carry on an
incestuous affair. Meanwhile, there's also the issue of Daenerys
(Emilia Clarke) and her three dragons; Daenerys spends much of
season two making her way across the Red Waste in order to launch
her own plan of conquest. These central conflicts are supported
by a host of secondary storylines, including Alfie Allen's Theon
Greyjoy, who is faced with dreadful choices in his own quest to
prove his worth, and new cast member Carice van Houten as
Melisandre, a priestess who uses a variety of wiles, including
sex, to spur Stannis's assault against Joffrey's forces in the
series' showstopping set piece, the Battle of Blackwater Bay.
That Game of Thrones manages to not only weave together all of
these myriad threads but also make them compelling and fully
realized is among the keys to the show's astonishing popularity,
as are the performances, which, along with the direction and
writing, help to make the series the best costume fantasy drama
ever produced on television. Its blend of historically inspired
intrigue and supernatural elements keeps it far afield of camp
territory, where most TV fantasy has bogged down in the past,
while the cast, led by the extraordinary Peter Dinklage as the
wily Tyrion, rivals any modern day/dress series. Of course, the
show's copious violence and sexuality (the latter of which
borders on excessive this season) are also key factors, but the
visceral nature of these parts mesh well with the show's overall
theme of a medieval land gripped by extraordinary bloodshed.
The five-disc DVD set of Game of Thrones' second season provides
an exceptional a of supplemental material on the show's
production, primarily through 12 commentary tracks, including
multiple tracks on single episodes. Among the participants are
the main cast, including Dinklage, Headey, and Coster-Waldau, as
well as series cocreators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss; director
Neil Marshall (The Descent), who helmed "Blackwater"; and Martin
himself, who explains many of the differences between his source
novel and the program. The Battle of Blackwater Bay gets its own
half-hour making-of featurette, while a quintet of the actors,
including Headey and Clarke, participate in an informative
roundtable discussion about their characters and the show's
locations. Martin also returns for a brief conversation about the
various religions of his fictional world along with Benioff and
Weiss. Both die-hard fans and first-time viewers will appreciate
the length and depth of the extra material included in the set,
which expands greatly on the already massive world of Game of
Thrones. --Paul Gaita