The noble families of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros renew their violent quests for power as the epic medieval fantasy series Game of Thrones returns April 1 for a second season on HBO.
AP
Peter Dinklage may have designs on the throne in 'Game of Thrones.'
The head certainly lies uneasy for anyone wearing a crown on the Iron Throne in this lavish Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning program based on George R.R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire novels (there have been five so far). The TV show takes its name and first season plotlines from the initial book in the series. The second season will draw largely from the next one, A Clash of Kings.
For those wishing to catch up with the story or brush up on the extensive family trees and sprawling landscape, there is Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season (2011, HBO, TV-MA, $60; Blu-ray, $80), a five-disc set stuffed with immersive bonus materials. That's helpful when trying to figure out how all the parties are interrelated and who put the knife (or would like to) in whose back. Game of Thrones is not a show where you should become too attached to any one character.
Westeros is a land where summer can last a generation, but winter can also last for years, bringing with it total darkness and untold horrors that lurk in the frozen lands beyond the 700-foot ice Wall that protects its northern border. Winter is surely coming. And as a civil war rages, exiles with designs on the throne are marshaling forces to lay waste to all that stand in their way. Lord Eddard "Ned Stark" (Sean Bean), is an honorable man who rules the northern lands and lives with his wife Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) and their children Robb (Richard Madden), Sansa (Sophie Turner), Arya (Maisie Williams), Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and Rickon (Art Parkinson). Kit Harington plays Ned's illegitimate son Jon Snow, and Alfie Allen plays Theon Greyjoy, ward of Lord Stark.
Lord Eddard's relative contentment is disrupted by the arrival of King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), his brother-in-arms who wants him to leave his family because he needs a trusted friend in the political viper's nest of King's Landing. The king has reason for concern as his conniving wife, Queen Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), despises him. Her brothers, twin Ser Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and dwarf Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), have no love for the king, and she's determine that her oldest son, Prince Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) will sit on the throne.
The children of the former king — Viserys (Harry Lloyd) and Daenerys "Dany" Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) — also want the throne back. Viserys arranges for his sister to marry Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), leader of the warlike Dothraki people in exchange for an army with which to conquer Westeros.
The Blu-ray set includes an interactive compendium of the noble houses and lands, with histories told by the characters; an in-depth episode guide; an in-episode experience that explores the development of Episode 6, A Golden Crown; and hidden dragon eggs that unlock additional content. Both sets have a 30-minute feature with cast and crew on the making of Game of Thrones; audio commentaries from the cast; a feature on the creation of the Dothraki language; character profiles and an in-depth look at The Night Watch, the mysterious order that patrols the Wall.
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