Game of Thrones for Dummies

Start of Season Two on HBO tonite at 6PM PDT


The Iron Chair symbol of ultimate power in the realm


Tyrion, aka The Imp and The Half Man plays a huge role in Season Two


Lady Catelyn Stark of House Tully and wife of Eddard Stark


Queen Cersei, Queen Regent and Protector of the Realm


Princess Arya, a girl of ten, Lady Catelyn's daughter


Daenerys Targaryen aka Stormborn, Mother of Dragons and Khaleesi of the Dothraki


George R.R. Martin, the creative genius behind the Game of Thrones franchise of 5 volumes

Tonite on HBO begins Season Two of the wildly popular Game of Thrones series. If by chance you missed Season One last spring, you can catch up quickly by just reading the following:

The story takes place in a fantasy continent called Westeros in a galaxy of time far-far-far in the past. It is a time of gods, dragons, witches, sorcerers, comets and an assortment of flawed and crazy characters after power, glory and sex not too dissimilar from our current White House and Congress crews. Maybe that's why "GOT" is so popular today...it's a mirror of us with a slightly different backdrop of knights, castles, wolves, violence, mud, swords, horses and wenches.

Westeros is an island somewhere out there in fantasy land and measures about half the size of Australia. Within this realm lies seven ruling families that aren't too happy with their own little fiefdoms. They all share one thing in common. They have all been damaged by one or all of the other families. And they want justice and more power usually by violent force. GOT is kindof a Middle Age/Mafia-style revenge-dripping drama. Instead of "drop the gun and take the cannoli", it's more like "bring me his head and put it on a stake for all to see".

Last year, Season One, set up the multiple storylines of all the families and exposed the ancient hurts and planned revenge of family against family. This season, Season Two, war is raging across Westeros with all the families taking sides all the while killing and maiming one another. Blood red is the dominant color in Season Two. No one is safe this Season. So, why can't they all just get along?

And what are they after? The Throne. See the picture above. The Throne represents control and power of the realm but sitting in it proves to be uncomfortable and tenuous. The seat doesn't get too warm for too long.

Characters to watch in Season Two:

Tyrion, the Imp. Very clever little man who has a thirst for women and wine.
The Queens. Catelyn. Cersei. Daenerys. Very powerful women who stop at nothing to protect their own.
Catelyn's children. Robb. Sansa. Arya. Bran. Rickon. They all play huge roles in this unfolding epic.
The Children's direwolfs. These huge man eating wolves protect the kids from harm.
Lannisters. One of the ruling families who are incestuous and vicious.
Baratheons. One of the ruling families who are equally vicious but possess a rightful claim to the throne through birth. Stannis Baratheon is a new character this year. Joffrey Baratheon, a boy of 13 years, is the King for now.
Lord Petyr Baelish and Varys the eunuch. Two crafty and unscrupulous members of the King Joffrey's council.
Jon Snow. Eddard Stark's bastard boy. He is serving the realm on "The Wall."
Wildings. Dead men with blue eyes north of "The Wall".

Places in Westeros to know:

The Wall. A vertical ice wall of 800 feet tall and as wide by 300 miles long which separates the arctic wilds from temperate civilization.
Kings Landing. Castle home of the realm and the Iron Chair.
Winterfell. Castle home of Family Stark in the far north.
Red Waste. A wasteland that Daenerys must cross on her return to Westeros from Dothraki.

A word of caution to the uninitiated, if television violence disturbs you, do not watch this show.

For the rest of you, enjoy a journey that is unlike anything you have EVER seen on television.

"Cold winds are rising."