Game of Thrones (season 2)

"Game of Thrones: Season Two" redirects here. For the canceled video game, see Game of Thrones: Season Two (video game).

Game of Thrones (season 2)
Region 1 DVD artwork
Starring	See List of Game of Thrones cast
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	10
Release
Original network	HBO
Original release	April 1 (2012-04-01) – June 3, 2012 (2012-06-03)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 1 Next → Season 3
List of Game of Thrones episodes

The second season of the fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones premiered in the United States on HBO on April 1, 2012, and concluded on June 3, 2012. It was broadcast on Sunday at 9:00 pm in the United States, consisting of 10 episodes, each running approximately 50–60 minutes. The season mostly covers the events of A Clash of Kings, the second novel of the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, adapted for television by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. HBO ordered the second season on April 19, 2011, which began filming in July 2011, primarily in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Croatia and Iceland.

The story takes place in a fictional world, primarily upon a continent called Westeros, with one storyline occurring on another continent to the east known as Essos. Like the novel, the season follows the dramatic death of Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark, with all of the Starks being separated across Westeros. Season two mainly centres around the War of the Five Kings, fought between the leaders of Westerosi factions who are either staking a claim on the Iron Throne, or seeking independence from it.

Game of Thrones features a large ensemble cast, including Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Michelle Fairley and Emilia Clarke. The season introduced a number of new cast members, including Stephen Dillane, Natalie Dormer, Carice van Houten and Liam Cunningham.

Critics praised the show's production values and cast. Viewership rose compared to the previous season. The second season won six of the eleven Emmy Awards for which it was nominated. It received a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Peter Dinklage) and Outstanding Drama Series. U.S. viewership rose by approximately 8% over the course of the season, from 3.9 million to 4.2 million by the season finale.

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Contents

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  1 Episodes
  


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  2 Cast
  
  
  
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    2.1 Main cast
    
    
    
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      2.1.1 Starring
      
    
    
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      2.1.2 Also starring
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
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    2.2 Guest cast
    
    
    
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      2.2.1 At and beyond the Wall
      
    
    
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      2.2.2 In King's Landing
      
    
    
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      2.2.3 In the Stormlands
      
    
    
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      2.2.4 On Dragonstone
      
    
    
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      2.2.5 On the Iron Islands
      
    
    
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      2.2.6 In the North
      
    
    
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      2.2.7 In the Riverlands
      
    
    
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      2.2.8 In Essos
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


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  3 Production
  
  
  
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    3.1 Crew
    
  
  
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    3.2 Casting
    
  
  
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    3.3 Locations
    
  
  
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    3.4 Music
    
  
  
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    3.5 Promotion
    
  
  
  
  


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  4 Reception
  
  
  
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    4.1 Critical response
    
  
  
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    4.2 Ratings
    
  
  
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    4.3 Accolades
    
  
  
  
  


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  5 Release
  
  
  
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    5.1 Broadcast
    
  
  
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    5.2 Home media
    
  
  
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    5.3 Copyright infringement
    
  
  
  
  


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  6 References
  


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  7 External links
  

Episodes

See also: List of Game of Thrones episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
11	1	"The North Remembers"	Alan Taylor	David Benioff & D. B. Weiss	April 1, 2012 (2012-04-01)	3.86[1]
To Cersei's dismay, Tyrion takes up his post as acting Hand at King's Landing. At Dragonstone, Stannis proclaims allegiance to Melisandre's new god, lays public claim to the Iron Throne, and reveals Joffrey's bastardy. Joffrey orders the soldiers to slaughter Robert's bastards, one of whom, named Gendry, manages to escape King's Landing along with Arya. Having won three victories, Robb offers the Lannisters peace in exchange for the North's independence and Sansa's return. He sends Theon to gain the support of Balon Greyjoy, his father, and Catelyn to seek alliance with Renly Baratheon, who also claims the throne. Beyond the Wall, the Night's Watch finds shelter with Craster and his daughters/wives. In Essos, as her people slowly die in the Red Waste, Daenerys sends out riders to conduct reconnaissance.
12	2	"The Night Lands"	Alan Taylor	David Benioff & D. B. Weiss	April 8, 2012 (2012-04-08)	3.76[2]
Returning to his home of Pyke after nine years as the Starks' ward, Theon is reunited with his sister, Yara, and his father, Balon, who despises Theon for his Northern ways and intends to win back his crown by force. Cersei rejects Robb's terms, and Tyrion exiles Slynt, head of the Gold Cloaks, to the Wall, and promotes Bronn to Commander of the Watch. On the road to the Wall, Arya reveals her true identity to Gendry. North of the Wall, Tarly is approached by one of Craster's daughters, Gilly, who is pregnant and fears for her unborn son; Snow is reluctant to help her despite Tarly's pleas. In the Red Waste, one of the horses returns to Daenerys with the severed head of its rider in a pouch, a message from one of her enemies. In Dragonstone, Davos, Stannis' henchman, recruits the pirate Salladhor Saan to Stannis' side, and Stannis has sex with Melisandre to obtain the son his wife cannot give him. Snow discovers that Craster sacrifices his sons to the White Walkers; Craster sees him spying and knocks Snow unconscious.
13	3	"What Is Dead May Never Die"	Alik Sakharov	Bryan Cogman	April 15, 2012 (2012-04-15)	3.77[3]
Catelyn arrives at Renly's camp to negotiate an alliance, watching the female warrior Brienne of Tarth winning the right to join Renly's guard. Renly has recently married Margaery, Loras's sister, but doesn't have sex with her due to his feelings for Loras. In the Iron Islands, Balon makes a plan to attack the North, led by Yara. After burning a letter warning Robb of Balon's impending attack, Theon re-joins the Greyjoys in a water-based ceremony. In King's Landing, Tyrion crafts a plan to find who is in Cersei's confidence; he finds it is Pycelle and imprisons him. Tyrion assigns his lover, Shae, as handmaiden to Sansa. Beyond the Wall, Craster demands the Night's Watchmen leave. Snow finds out that Jeor already knew about Craster's felonies. On the road to the wall, the band of Night's Watch recruits are attacked by Lannister soldiers. Yoren is killed, and Arya is taken prisoner. Arya states that Gendry was the boy the soldiers had killed.
14	4	"Garden of Bones"	David Petrarca	Vanessa Taylor	April 22, 2012 (2012-04-22)	3.65[4]
Catelyn tries to convince the Baratheon brothers to abandon their quarrel and unite against the Lannisters, but Stannis demands Renly submit to his command. Baelish visits her and offers a trade of Jaime for her daughters. Melisandre gives birth to a shadow creature. Sansa is abused by Joffrey in revenge for Robb's victories. Tyrion intervenes and in return, Joffrey is cruel to the prostitutes Tyrion sends him as "gifts". Tyrion releases Pycelle, but fires him from the Small Council. Tyrion also finds out about the incestuous relationship between Cersei and their cousin, Lancel, and forces the latter to spy on her by threatening to reveal it to Joffrey. Arya and Gendry are taken as captives to the castle of Harrenhal, where prisoners are tortured until death. Tywin arrives, stops the torture, and picks Arya as his servant without knowing her true identity. After her exhausting journey through the desert, Daenerys arrives at the gates of the prosperous city of Qarth, where Daxos, a member of the Council of Thirteen, convinces the others to let her caravan enter the city.
15	5	"The Ghost of Harrenhal"	David Petrarca	David Benioff & D. B. Weiss	April 29, 2012 (2012-04-29)	3.90[5]
H'ghar, one of the three caged prisoners Arya saved, pledges to kill three people of her choosing in order to repay his debt to her. She accepts and first chooses the Tickler, the man who mortally tortured the captives. After Renly's death at the hands of Melisandre's shadowy assassin, Catelyn and Brienne, who are accused of the murder, are forced to flee from the camp. Excluding the Tyrells, Renly's forces submit to Stannis. Brienne swears loyalty to Catelyn. Theon sails from Pyke prepared to prove that he is a true Ironborn, with plans to capture Winterfell while Robb is absent. Tyrion learns from Lancel about the wildfire, a burning substance mass produced to destroy Stannis' fleet and army during the upcoming siege. Tyrion takes control of the scheme. The Night's Watch arrives at an ancient fortress called the Fist of the First Men, where Jeor allows Snow to join the team led by a veteran named Halfhand, in order to kill the enemy leader. In Qarth, Daxos proposes marriage to Daenerys in exchange for providing her with the wealth to conquer the Seven Kingdoms. Jorah convinces her to gain the support of the Westerosi people instead.
16	6	"The Old Gods and the New"	David Nutter	Vanessa Taylor	May 6, 2012 (2012-05-06)	3.88[6]
Myrcella, Cersei's daughter, is sent away from King's Landing. Theon manages to take Winterfell and executes Cassel, a henchman, for insulting him. Osha, the captured Wildling, helps Brandon and Rickon escape. Robb reunites with the healer Maegyr. At the Fist of the First Men, Snow captures a Wildling named Ygritte, but gets separated from his patrol when she tries to escape and he is forced to chase her. Joffrey incites a riot at King's Landing, in which he is nearly killed and Sansa is nearly raped. Tywin allows Baelish to seek the allegiance of the Tyrells. An officer suspects Arya, and she has H'ghar kill him. Robb receives news of Theon's plans and sends men to retake Winterfell. At Qarth, Daenerys tries to procure a ship to take her people to Westeros, all the while keeping Daxos at bay. Daenerys' dragons are stolen.
17	7	"A Man Without Honor"	David Nutter	David Benioff & D. B. Weiss	May 13, 2012 (2012-05-13)	3.69[7]
Theon begins tracking Brandon and Rickon. Tywin begins searching Harrenhal for his officer's murderer. Ygritte continues her attempts to seduce Snow and, after a momentary lapse in Jon's concentration, she escapes and leads him into a trap. Still shaken from the riot, Sansa is horrified when she awakens to find that she has begun menstruating and can thus bear Joffrey's children. Cersei warns her to love no one but her children, not even Joffrey. In Robb's camp, a failed escape attempt by Jaime leaves a guard dead and some soldiers seeking retribution. In Qarth, the warlock Pree reveals to Daenerys that he stole her dragons, but gives her the opportunity to reunite with them before slaughtering the Council of Thirteen and establishing Daxos as the king. Theon presents to Luwin and his subjects the charred corpses of two boys, claiming that he has tracked down and killed Brandon and Rickon.
18	8	"The Prince of Winterfell"	Alan Taylor	David Benioff & D. B. Weiss	May 20, 2012 (2012-05-20)	3.86[8]
Robb learns that Catelyn has secretly freed Jaime, now escorted by Brienne, in order to ransom Sansa and Arya; Robb locks her in her tent and sends men to find them. He also enters into a romantic relationship with Talisa. Yara arrives at Winterfell to bring Theon back to Pyke, criticizing him for his actions. Tywin leaves Harrenhal to attack Robb, which leads Arya, Gendry, and their friend Hot Pie to attempt an escape with the help of H'ghar, who agrees in order for Arya to refrain from naming H'ghar himself as the third man to kill. In King's Landing, Cersei attempts to blackmail Tyrion by abducting Ros, whom the former believes to be his secret lover. On the way to King's Landing, Stannis promises Davos he'll make him his Hand of the King. Beyond the Wall, the Wildling leader "Rattleshirt" leads the captured Snow and Halfhand to his king, Rayder. At the Fist of the First Men, the brothers of the Night's Watch find a hidden cache of dragonglass. In Qarth, Jorah agrees to accompany Daenerys into the House of the Undying to retrieve her dragons. Brandon and Rickon are revealed to be alive and hiding in Winterfell.
19	9	"Blackwater"	Neil Marshall	George R. R. Martin	May 27, 2012 (2012-05-27)	3.38[9]
Baratheon's fleet assaults King's Landing. Leading the defense, Tyrion destroys many of the attacking ships with an exploding ship full of wildfire, forcing the former to attack on land. Sandor leads the defense outside the gate, but is defeated and returns inside, denouncing Joffrey and leaving. Joffrey also escapes. Tyrion convinces the Gold Cloaks to fight with him. Baratheon's forces make it inside the castle, but Tyrion leads his men behind the Baratheon forces via underground tunnels and mounts a rearguard attack. Cersei goes to the throne room with Tommen, intending to kill him. Shae convinces Sansa to go to her chamber, where Sandor offers to take her back to Winterfell, but she decides to stay. As Tyrion lies wounded and Cersei is about to poison Tommen, Tywin's forces, joined by Loras, arrive and defeat Baratheon's forces, forcing the latter to retreat.
20	10	"Valar Morghulis"	Alan Taylor	David Benioff & D. B. Weiss	June 3, 2012 (2012-06-03)	4.20[10]
Joffrey sets Sansa aside in favor of marrying Margaery. Tyrion fears for his and Shae's safety now that Tywin has replaced him as Hand and relieved Bronn from his command. Melisandre gives Stannis a new hope. Brienne and Jaime are spotted by three Stark soldiers, whom she kills. Catelyn fails to dissuade Robb from marrying Talisa. In Qarth, Daenerys ventures into the House of the Undying and successfully retrieves her dragons, who kill Pree. She then seals Daxos inside his own vault and claims his wealth for herself. In Winterfell, Theon tries to convince his men to fight Robb's army, but they knock him unconscious and leave. A dying Luwin convinces Brandon's party to go to the Wall. Arya, having escaped Harrenhal with Hot Pie and Gendry, receives the gift of a valuable coin from H'ghar, who magically changes his face. North of the Wall, Halfhand forces Snow to kill him to prove his loyalty to the Wildlings. An army of White Walkers surrounds the Fist of the First Men.

Cast

See also: List of Game of Thrones characters

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Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) and Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister)

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) and Michelle Fairley (Catelyn Stark)

Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) and Aidan Gillen (Petyr Baelish)

Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont) and Kit Harington (Jon Snow)

Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth) and Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark)

Richard Madden (Robb Stark) and Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark)

Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) and Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy)

Main cast

Starring

Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister[11] Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister[11] Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister[11] Michelle Fairley as Catelyn Stark[11] Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen[11] Aidan Gillen as Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish[11] Iain Glen as Jorah Mormont[11] Kit Harington as Jon Snow[11] Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth[11] Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark[11] Richard Madden as Robb Stark[11] Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark[11] Maisie Williams as Arya Stark[11]

Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy[11] John Bradley as Samwell Tarly[11] Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon[11] Rory McCann as Sandor "The Hound" Clegane[11] Stephen Dillane as Stannis Baratheon[11] Carice van Houten as Melisandre[11] James Cosmo as Jeor Mormont[11] Jerome Flynn as Bronn[11] Conleth Hill as Varys[11] Sibel Kekilli as Shae[11] Natalie Dormer as Margaery Tyrell[11] Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister[11]

Also starring

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  Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo
  

Guest cast

The recurring actors listed here are those who appeared in season 2. They are listed by the region in which they first appear:

At and beyond the Wall Simon Armstrong as Qhorin Halfhand Ben Crompton as Eddison Tollett Mark Stanley as Grenn Edward Dogliani as the Lord of Bones Rose Leslie as Ygritte Robert Pugh as Craster Hannah Murray as Gilly Ian Whyte & Ross Mullan as White Walkers In King's Landing Callum Wharry as Tommen Baratheon Aimee Richardson as Myrcella Baratheon Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle Dominic Carter as Janos Slynt Ian Beattie as Meryn Trant Eugene Simon as Lancel Lannister Wilko Johnson as Ilyn Payne Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne Tony Way as Dontos Hollard Roy Dotrice as Wisdom Hallyne Andrew Wilde as Tobho Mott Esmé Bianco as Ros Antonia Christophers as Mhaegen Sahara Knite as Armeca Maisie Dee as Daisy Josephine Gillan as Marei In the Stormlands Gethin Anthony as Renly Baratheon[11] Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth Finn Jones as Loras Tyrell On Dragonstone Kerr Logan as Matthos Seaworth Lucian Msamati as Salladhor Saan Oliver Ford Davies as Maester Cressen On the Iron Islands Patrick Malahide as Balon Greyjoy Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy Ralph Ineson as Dagmer Cleftjaw Forbes KB as Black Lorren David Coakley as Drennan

In the North Art Parkinson as Rickon Stark Donald Sumpter as Maester Luwin[11] Ron Donachie as Rodrik Cassel[11] Peter Ballance as Farlen Kristian Nairn as Hodor Natalia Tena as Osha In the Riverlands Oona Chaplin as Talisa Maegyr Michael McElhatton as Roose Bolton John Stahl as Rickard Karstark Paul Caddell as Jacks Aidan Crowe as Quent Tyrone McElhennon as Torrhen Karstark Fintan McKeown as Amory Lorch Ian Gelder as Kevan Lannister Ian Whyte as Gregor Clegane Karl Davies as Alton Lannister Anthony Morris as the Tickler Andy Kellegher as Polliver David Fynn as Rennick Francis Magee as Yoren Joe Dempsie as Gendry Ben Hawkey as Hot Pie Eros Vlahos as Lommy Greenhands Tom Wlaschiha as Jaqen H'ghar Andy Beckwith as Rorge Gerard Jordan as Biter In Essos Nonso Anozie as Xaro Xhoan Daxos Ian Hanmore as Pyat Pree Nicholas Blane as the Spice King Slavko Juraga as the Silk King Laura Pradelska as Quaithe Steven Cole as Kovarro Elyes Gabel as Rakharo Roxanne McKee as Doreah Amrita Acharia as Irri

Production

HBO ordered a second season of Game of Thrones on April 19, 2011, two days after the series premiere.^[12] The second season obtained a 15% increase in budget in order to be able to stage the war's most important battle,^[13] the Battle of the Blackwater, in episode nine.

Filming took place during 106 shooting days. During three-quarters of those, two crews ("Dragon" and "Wolf") were working simultaneously in different locations.^[14]

Crew

David Benioff and D. B. Weiss serve as main writers and showrunners for the second season. They co-wrote six out of ten episodes. The remaining four episodes were written by story editor Bryan Cogman, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin, and new series writer and co-executive producer Vanessa Taylor, who wrote two episodes.

Alan Taylor was promoted to co-executive producer and directed four episodes, including the season premiere and finale. David Petrarca and David Nutter each directed two episodes, while series cinematographer Alik Sakharov and filmmaker Neil Marshall directed the remaining two.

Casting

The casting for the second season began in May 2011.^[15] Although a large portion of the first-season cast were returning, the producers were still faced with a huge number of new characters to be cast. The producers decided that several characters from A Clash of Kings, including the Freys and Crannogmen Reeds at Winterfell, Frey bannermen of the Starks, the Tullys, Stannis' wife and daughter, Theon's uncle Aeron Greyjoy and the bastard Ramsay Snow would not be cast despite appearing in the novel. Showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss commented on this saying that certain character introductions taking place in A Clash of Kings would be delayed until the third season. This was done due to the large number of characters already introduced in season two, and because they couldn't afford to have people "waiting around" for their characters to become central to the plot.^[16] Having to fill so many speaking roles, the showrunners not only "postponed" the introduction of several key characters, but they also merged some into one, or certain plot-functions were given to different characters. Many physical traits were also altered, such as the ethnicity or age of characters. The cast was estimated to be the largest on television.^[17] Scattered around two fictional continents characters include, by order of importance:

Stephen Dillane (Stannis Baratheon)

Carice van Houten (Melisandre)

Emerging as the fourth claimant to the throne is the estranged brother of the late king Robert, Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane).^[18] The foreign priestess Melisandre, portrayed by Carice van Houten poses as an influential, yet manipulative advisor to Stannis. Van Houten was previously asked (but unable) to audition for the role of Cersei in season one. While her character retains her signature red robes and hair, unlike in the novels Melisandre is not portrayed as having red eyes, making her appear somewhat more human.^[19]Liam Cunningham stars as Ser Davos Seaworth, the "Onion Knight", a bannerman of Stannis and a former smuggler.^[20] Cunningham had already been in talks for a role in the first season. As he is left-handed, his Davos has the fingers of the right hand shortened, unlike in the novels where his left hand is crippled. In an interview, Cunningham said that a lot of new dialogue had to be written for his character, because in the novels Davos, a point-of-view character, is portrayed more through his thoughts than through his actions.^[21] These three characters headed a new storyline set on a different location, that by the end of the season merged with the main plot.

Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen), a main cast member from the first season, but with lesser importance than the others, came to prominence during the second season, as his story unfolded and his character became more central. Gemma Whelan appeared as his sister, Yara Greyjoy. Named "Asha" in the novels, the character's name was changed to avoid confusion with the Wildling Osha, Bran Stark's companion.^[22] "Asha" is portrayed as a fairly provocative and independent woman, a captain of thirty ships, as opposed to her television counterpart Yara, who did not retain "Asha's" traits, although her rivalry with Theon remained intact. Their father Balon Greyjoy was played by Patrick Malahide.^[23] Many of the characters involved in the Greyjoys' storyline weren't introduced, most notably Balon's brother Aeron Greyjoy. Nonetheless, the storyline received enormous praise, with the alternation of Yara's name and persona being the only criticism.

Tom Wlaschiha is cast as Jaqen H'ghar, a mysterious prisoner who develops a murderous relationship with young Arya Stark (Maisie Williams).^[24] Wlaschiha's pronunciation of his character's name, Jack-in, was adopted for use in the show.^[25]Natalie Dormer, best known for her portrayal as seductive Anne Boleyn in Showtime's The Tudors, was cast in a similar role as Margaery Tyrell, a noblewoman and the wife of the third claimant to the throne, Renly Baratheon.^[26]Gwendoline Christie played, to much praise, Brienne of Tarth, a female warrior who joins Renly Baratheon's guard, but later becomes a follower of Catelyn Stark.^[27] To prepare for the role, Christie took up an intense training regimen, adding over a stone (6.4 kg) of muscle mass.^[28] So that she could be mistaken for a man, her armor was decorated with lines that slant away from her hips.^[29] On the other side of the fictional world, two female roles with rising prominence were added to the cast: Skins star Hannah Murray filled the role of Craster's daughter Gilly, a love interest to Samwell Tarly;^[30] while the second role, the one of Ygritte, Jon Snow's love interest among the Wildlings, was played by Rose Leslie.^[31]

Daenerys Targaryen's (Emilia Clarke) stay at Qarth, opened the way for several recurring characters. Nonso Anozie played Daenerys's host at Qarth, Xaro Xhoan Daxos.^[32] The character differed a lot from his novel counterpart. Xaro's homosexuality, femininity and caucasian origin were overshadowed by dark skinned Anozie's masculinity and heterosexuality. Acting as one of her suitors is the treacherous warlock Pyat Pree portrayed by Ian Hanmore. Her third and final suitor was the masked priestess Quaithe (Laura Pradelska). Specially created for the television series was the so-called "Spice King", a rich merchant from Qarth, played by Nicholas Blane. Also an original creation of the show is the character of Talisa (Oona Chaplin), a healer from Volantis and a romantic interest for Robb. She fills the role of another female interest of Robb's, called Jeyne Westerling, who has no similarities with Talisa whatsoever. In addition to Talisa, Michael McElhatton joins the cast in the role of Roose Bolton, an important character in Robb Stark's storyline. Lastly, Simon Armstrong plays the legendary Night's Watch ranger Qhorin Halfhand.

Others were also added to the cast, either in a small recurring role or with reduced prominence. The most notable example is Tony Way's Ser Dontos Hollard, a drunkard knight, who had a pivotal role in Sansa Stark's storyline that ran in the course of two novels, while in the series the role was reduced to a small scene in the opening episode. Others include: Ben Crompton as "Dolorous Edd" Tollet, a man of the Night's Watch.^[33]Robert Pugh as the Wildling Craster, father and husband to Gilly.^[34] Kerr Logan as Davos Seaworth's pious son Matthos.^[35]Karl Davies as Ser Alton Lannister, a character created for the series^[36] who replaces Cleos Frey as envoy from the Starks to the Lannisters. Daniel Portman took the role of Podrick Payne, the squire to Tyrion Lannister.^[37] The 19-year-old Portman plays Podrick as about 16 years old, instead of about 12 as in the novels. To be able to portray Podrick as awkward, shy and weak, Portman, previously a sportsman, stopped his fitness regimen and gained some weight to appear more endearing.^[38]Lucian Msamati played Salladhor Saan, a Lysene pirate and friend of Davos Seaworth. Finally, Edward Dogliani appeared briefly as the "Lord of Bones" (or "Rattleshirt" in the novels), a Wildling leader and Oliver Ford Davies as Stannis's maester Cressen.^[39]

All of the recurring characters from the first season returned, with one notable exception: Conan Stevens, whose role of Gregor Clegane was recast with Ian Whyte, did not return.^[40]Roy Dotrice, a friend of George R. R. Martin, known for reading the audio versions of the novels and having previously rejected a role due to health reasons, appears this season as Pyromancer Hallyne, an elderly alchemist at King's Landing.^[41]

Locations

The walled city of Dubrovnik stands in for King's Landing in season 2

For the second season, the city of Dubrovnik, Croatia, was used instead of Malta for scenes in King's Landing and Daenerys' scenes in Qarth.^[42] For example, the Minčeta Tower in Dubrovnik was used as the House of the Undying. Scenes set north of the Wall were filmed in Iceland in November 2011. The main locations are the Vatnajökull glacier,^[43] the Svínafellsjökull glacier near Skaftafell, and the Mýrdalsjökull glacier near Vik used as the location for the Fist of the First Men with Höfðabrekka as the Frostfang Mountains.^[44][45][46] New shooting locations in Northern Ireland include The Linen Mill Film & Television Studios in Banbridge, Ballintoy Harbour^[47] and Downhill Strand. As the story in the second season required that the Winterfell set be expanded, a new set for Winterfell was built at the Moneyglass Estate near Toome village.^[48]

Music

Main article: Game of Thrones: Season 2 (soundtrack)

The music for the second season was again composed by Ramin Djawadi. It contains a rendition of a song often mentioned or sung in the novels, The Rains of Castamere, by the indie rock band The National.^[49]

The soundtrack for the season was released on June 19, 2012.^[50]

Promotion

HBO released numerous teaser trailers for the second season, beginning on December 11, 2011.^[51] The second trailer, published on January 29, 2012,^[52] was viewed 3.5 million times in the first three days after publication, a record for HBO promotional content.^[53] Other trailers were released on February 24,^[54] March 3 (set to Florence and the Machine's Seven Devils)^[55] as well as subsequently.

HBO also published other promotional material, such as cast photographs^[56] and teaser posters, prior to the airing of the first episode. The second issue of Entertainment Weekly in March 2012 had four alternative covers dedicated to in-costume photographs of Peter Dinklage (Tyrion), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys), Kit Harington (Jon Snow) or Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Lena Headey (Jaime and Cersei Lannister).^[57]

Reception

Thanks to the critical and commercial success of the first season, as well as HBO's marketing efforts, the second season received intensive media coverage well before it started airing. Sunday is Coming, a two-minute short film for Funny or Die, satirized viewers' excitement about the return of Game of Thrones.^[58]

Critical response

Several media outlets reviewed the season's first four episodes before they were broadcast, and rendered almost uniformly positive verdicts. The season holds a Metacritic score of 90 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[59] On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has a 96% approval rating from 37 critics with an average rating of 8.82 out of 10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Game of Thrones follows up a strong debut with an even better second season, combining elegant storytelling and vivid characters to create a rich fantasy world."^[60]

Entertainment Weekly rated the new season "A-" and praised the "vivid, vital, and just plain fun" storytelling. In the reviewer's opinion, the greatly enlarged cast did not feel like bloat and the show remained accessible to those who had not read the novel.^[61]The Huffington Post called the start of the second season "far more elegant and engaging" than that of the first, and appreciated the show's maturation, increased assurance and momentum as well as the visually improved settings and the new actors' performance.^[62]Newsday's review gave it an "A+", calling it the "best show on television" and warranting the preparation required by viewers.^[63]

The Hollywood Reporter also wrote that Game of Thrones made a "strong case for being one of TV's best series". Impressed that the series continued to improve in quality as it breathed life into its vast web of interconnected storylines, the reviewer considered that, unlike other genre shows, Game of Thrones had gravitas such that it should not be considered dramatically inferior to shows like Mad Men or Breaking Bad.^[64]HitFix's Alan Sepinwall gave the new, "bigger and better" season an "A", praising its increased confidence and smoothness despite its even greater use of "sexposition".^[65] New to the series, the Chicago Sun-Times's reviewer found the season premiere "engrossing" and praised the "top-notch" acting, writing, sets and storytelling.^[66] The New York Times was the only major publication to publish a mixed review. It criticized the lack of complexity in the characters apart from Dinklage's, the confusing multitude of characters and the meandering plot.^[67]

Game of Thrones (season 2): Critical reception by episode

Season 2 (2012): Percentage of positive reviews tracked by the website Rotten Tomatoes[60]

Ratings

Main article: Game of Thrones § Viewer numbers

Accolades

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Game of Thrones

The second season was nominated for 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, which included Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Peter Dinklage. It won six awards, for, Outstanding Costumes for a Series, Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series, Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic), Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour), and Outstanding Special Visual Effects.^[68]

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2012	AFI Awards	AFI TV Award	Game of Thrones	Won	[69]
	Artios Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Television Series Drama	Nina Gold	Nominated	[70]
	ASCAP Awards	Top Television Series	Ramin Djawadi	Won	[71]
	Portal Award	Best Actor	Peter Dinklage	Nominated	[72]
		Best Actress	Lena Headey	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Aidan Gillen	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Michelle Fairley	Nominated
			Maisie Williams	Won
		Best Episode	Ghost of Harrenhal	Nominated
		Best Series	Game of Thrones	Won
		Best Young Actor	Jack Gleeson	Nominated
			Maisie Williams	Won
	EWwy Award	Best Supporting Actress, Drama	Lena Headey	Won	[73]
	64th Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Drama Series	David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Frank Doelger, Carolyn Strauss, George R. R. Martin, Vanessa Taylor, Alan Taylor, Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis and Bernadette Caulfield	Nominated	[68]
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Peter Dinklage	Nominated
	64th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series	Gemma Jackson, Frank Walsh, and Tina Jones for "Garden of Bones", "The Ghost of Harrenhal" and "A Man Without Honor"[Nb 1]	Won
		Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series	Nina Gold and Robert Sterne	Nominated
		Outstanding Costumes for a Series	Michele Clapton, Alexander Fordham, and Chloe Aubry for "The Prince of Winterfell"	Won
		Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media	HBO	Nominated
		Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series	Kevin Alexander, Candice Banks, Rosalia Culora, and Gary Machin for "The Old Gods and the New"	Nominated
		Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic)	Paul Engelen and Melissa Lackersteen for "The Old Gods and the New"	Won
		Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special	Paul Engelen, Conor O'Sullivan, and Rob Trenton for "Valar Morghulis"	Nominated
		Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series	Peter Brown, Kira Roessler, Tim Hands, Paul Aulicino, Stephen P. Robinson, Vanessa Lapato, Brett Voss, James Moriana, Jeffrey Wilhoit, and David Klotz for "Blackwater"	Won
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Series (1 hour)	Matthew Waters, Onnalee Blank, Ronan Hill, and Mervyn Moore for "Blackwater"	Won
		Outstanding Special Visual Effects	Rainer Gombos, Juri Stanossek, Sven Martin, Steve Kullback, Jan Fiedler, Chris Stenner, Tobias Mannewitz, Thilo Ewers, and Adam Chazen for "Valar Morghulis"	Won
	2nd Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Drama Series	Game of Thrones	Nominated	[74]
		Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Peter Dinklage	Nominated
	Hollywood Post Alliance Awards	Outstanding Visual Effects – Television	"The Prince of Winterfell"	Won	[75]
	Golden Nymph awards	Outstanding International Producer	David Benioff, Frank Doelger, Carolyn Strauss and D. B. Weiss	Won	[76]
		Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series	Emilia Clarke	Nominated
			Lena Headey	Nominated
		Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	Peter Dinklage	Nominated
			Kit Harington	Nominated
	British Society of Cinematographers	Best Cinematography in a Television Drama	Sam McCurdy for "Blackwater"	Nominated	[77]
	17th Satellite Awards	Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Peter Dinklage	Nominated	[78]
		Best Television Series – Drama	Game of Thrones	Nominated
	IGN Awards	Best TV Episode	Blackwater	Won	[79]
		Best TV DVD or Blu-ray	For the complete first season on Blu-ray	Won
		Best TV Series	Game of Thrones	Nominated
		Best TV Drama Series	Game of Thrones	Nominated
		Best TV Villain	Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon	Nominated
	IGN People's Choice Award	Best TV Episode	Blackwater	Won
		Best TV Drama Series	Game of Thrones	Won
		Best TV Villain	Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon	Won
		Best TV DVD or Blu-ray	For the complete first season on Blu-ray	Won
		Best TV Series	Game of Thrones	Won
	28th TCA Awards	Program of the Year	Game of Thrones	Won	[80]
		Individual Achievement in Drama	Peter Dinklage	Nominated
		Outstanding Achievement in Drama	Game of Thrones	Nominated
	Gold Derby TV Awards 2012	Best Drama Series	Game of Thrones	Nominated	[81]
		Best Drama Supporting Actor	Peter Dinklage	Nominated
		Best Drama Supporting Actress	Lena Headey	Nominated
		Breakthrough Performer of the Year	Maisie Williams	Nominated
		Ensemble of the Year	The cast of Game of Thrones	Nominated
2013	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Thriller Show	Game of Thrones	Nominated	[82]
	ADG Excellence in Production Design Award	One-Hour Single Camera Television Series	Gemma Jackson for "The Ghost of Harrenhal"	Won	[83]
	American Society of Cinematographers	Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in One-Hour Episodic Television Series	Kramer Morgenthau for "The North Remembers"	Won	[84]
	SFX Awards	Best Actress	Emilia Clarke	Won	[85]
		Best Actress	Lena Headey	Nominated
		Best Actor	Peter Dinklage	Nominated
	NewNowNext Awards	Cause You’re Hot	Richard Madden	Nominated	[86]
	British Academy Television Awards	International	Game of Thrones	Nominated	[87]
		Radio Times Audience Award	Game of Thrones	Won
	Costume Designers Guild Awards	Outstanding Period/Fantasy Television Series	Game of Thrones	Nominated	[88]
	Cinema Audio Society Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing – Television Series – One Hour	Ronan Hill, Onnalee Blank, Mathew Waters, and Brett Voss for "Blackwater"	Nominated	[89]
	Dorian Awards	TV Drama of the Year	Game of Thrones	Nominated	[90]
	10th Irish Film & Television Awards	Best Television Drama	Game of Thrones	Nominated	[91]
		Best Director of Photography	P.J. Dillon	Nominated
		Best Sound	Ronan Hill, Mervyn Moore	Nominated
	Astra Awards	Favourite Program – International Drama	Game of Thrones	Won	[92]
	Golden Reel Awards	Best Sound Editing – Long Form Dialogue and ADR in Television	Game of Thrones for "Valar Morghulis"	Won	[93]
		Best Sound Editing – Long Form Sound Effects and Foley in Television	Game of Thrones for "Valar Morghulis"	Won
		Best Sound Editing — Short Form Dialogue and ADR in Television	Game of Thrones for "Blackwater"	Nominated
		Best Sound Editing – Short Form Music in Television	Game of Thrones for "Blackwater"	Nominated
		Best Sound Editing – Short Form Sound Effects and Foley in Television	Game of Thrones for "Blackwater"	Nominated
	Hugo Awards	Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form	Neil Marshall (director) and George R. R. Martin (writer) for "Blackwater"	Won	[94]
	Producers Guild Awards	"The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama"	David Benioff, Bernadette Caulfield, Frank Doelger, Carolyn Strauss, D. B. Weiss	Nominated	[95]
	Saturn Award	Best Television Presentation	Game of Thrones	Nominated	[96]
	19th Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series	Rob Cooper, Jamie Edgell, Dave Fisher, Dave Forman, Paul Herbert, Michelle McKeown, Sian Miline, Jimmy O’Dee, Domonkos Pardanyi, Marcus Shakesheff, CC Smiff, and Mark Southworth	Won	[97]
	Visual Effects Society	Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial or Broadcast Program	Irfan Celik, Florian Friedmann, Ingo Schachner, Chris Stenner for "Training the Dragons"	Won	[98]
		Outstanding Compositing in a Broadcast Program	Falk Boje, Esther Engel, Alexey Kuchinsky, Klaus Wuchta for "White Walker Army"	Won
		Outstanding Created Environment in a Commercial or Broadcast Program	Rene Borst, Thilo Ewers, Adam Figielski, Jonas Stuckenbrock for "Pyke"	Won
		Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program	Rainer Gombos, Steve Kullback, Sven Martin, Juri Stanossek for "Valar Morghulis"	Won
	Writers Guild of America Awards	Television Drama Series	David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, George R. R. Martin, Vanessa Taylor, D. B. Weiss	Nominated	[99]
	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Series – Supporting Young Actor	Isaac Hempstead-Wright	Nominated	[100]
		Best Performance in a TV Series – Supporting Young Actress	Sophie Turner	Nominated
		Best Performance in a TV Series – Supporting Young Actress	Maisie Williams	Nominated
	IGN Awards	Best TV DVD or Blu-ray	For the complete second season on Blu-ray	Nominated	[101]

Release

Broadcast

The second season of Game of Thrones was broadcast on HBO in the United States from April 1, 2012 to June 3, 2012.^[102][103]

Home media

DVD/Blu-ray box sets and digital downloads of the second season were released in North America on February 19, 2013.^[104] The DVD set contains a 30-minute feature covering the production of the episode "Blackwater", actor interviews, character profiles, twelve audio commentaries by cast and crew, and a discussion about Westerosi religions by the showrunners and George R. R. Martin. The Blu-ray set additionally contains a feature about the "War of the Five Kings" that breaks out in season two, as well as 19 animated histories of the mythology of Westeros and Essos.^[105]

Game of Thrones: The Complete Second Season
Set details		Special features
Format: AC-3, Blu-ray, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen Language: English, French, Castilian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Spanish Subtitles: English, Castilian, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Serbian, Swedish, Turkish 16:9 aspect ratio 5-disc set, 10 episodes		"Creating the Battle of Blackwater Bay": A 30-minute feature including new footage from the set and interviews. "Game of Thrones: Inner Circle": Interviews with several cast member to talk about their experiences shooting season two, moderated by executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. "The Religions of Westeros": George R. R. Martin, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss discuss the competing religions in the series and how they influence the various characters in Westeros and beyond. "Character Profiles": Profiles of seven major characters as described by the actors portraying them including Renly Baratheon, Stannis Baratheon, Robb Stark, Theon Greyjoy and more. Twelve audio commentaries by, among others, Benioff, Weiss, Martin, Clarke, Dinklage, Harington and more. Blu-ray exclusive: "War of the Five Kingss": Track the claims, strategies and key players involved in the battle for the Iron Throne with this interactive guide that follows the movements of various armies detailing their victories and defeats. "Histories & Lore": 19 animated histories detailing the mythology of Westeros and Essos as told from the varying perspectives of the characters themselves and featuring, in-part, illustrations from Game of Thrones storyboard artist Will Simpson. "In-Episode Guide": In-feature resource that provides background information about on-screen characters, locations and relevant histories. "Hidden Dragon Eggs", easter eggs.[104]
DVD release dates
Region 1		Region 2		Region 4
February 19, 2013[106]		March 4, 2013[107]		March 6, 2013[108]

Copyright infringement

The second season of Game of Thrones was the most-pirated TV series in 2012.^[109]

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External links

• 
  Game of Thrones – official US site


• 
  Game of Thrones – official UK site


• 
  Game of Thrones – The Viewers Guide on HBO.com


• Making Game of Thrones on HBO.com


• List of Game of Thrones episodes on IMDb
  


• List of Game of Thrones episodes at TV.com
  


• 
  Game of Thrones: Season 2 at Rotten Tomatoes
  

v t e George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire
A Game of Thrones (1996) A Clash of Kings (1998) A Storm of Swords (2000) A Feast for Crows (2005) A Dance with Dragons (2011) The Winds of Winter (TBA)
Franchise media	Novellas Tales of Dunk and Egg (1998–2010) The Princess and the Queen (2013) The Rogue Prince (2014) The Sons of the Dragon (2017) TV series Episodes Season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Awards Characters Music "Game of Thrones Theme" "The Rains of Castamere" "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" "Light of the Seven" Catch the Throne Live Concert Experience Soundtracks Season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Title sequence After the Thrones Thronecast Video games A Game of Thrones: Genesis Game of Thrones (2012) Game of Thrones Ascent Game of Thrones (2014) Reigns: Game of Thrones Other media The World of Ice & Fire (2014) Fire & Blood (2018) Board game Card game (Second edition) Comic book series
Characters	Petyr Baelish Joffrey Baratheon Myrcella Baratheon Renly Baratheon Robert Baratheon Stannis Baratheon Tommen Baratheon Ramsay Bolton Roose Bolton Bronn Gregor Clegane Sandor Clegane Khal Drogo Gendry Tormund Giantsbane Gilly Theon Greyjoy Hodor Cersei Lannister Jaime Lannister Tyrion Lannister Tywin Lannister Oberyn Martell Melisandre Missandei Jorah Mormont Daario Naharis Ellaria Sand Davos Seaworth Jon Snow High Sparrow Arya Stark Bran Stark Catelyn Stark Ned Stark Rickon Stark Robb Stark Sansa Stark Daenerys Targaryen Viserys Targaryen Samwell Tarly Brienne of Tarth Margaery Tyrell Olenna Tyrell Varys Ygritte
The Known World	Languages Dothraki Valyrian Themes Iron Throne White Walker
Miscellaneous	Fandom
Book Category Portal Outline

v t e Game of Thrones episodes
Season 1	"Winter Is Coming" "The Kingsroad" "Lord Snow" "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" "The Wolf and the Lion" "A Golden Crown" "You Win or You Die" "The Pointy End" "Baelor" "Fire and Blood"
Season 2	"The North Remembers" "The Night Lands" "What Is Dead May Never Die" "Garden of Bones" "The Ghost of Harrenhal" "The Old Gods and the New" "A Man Without Honor" "The Prince of Winterfell" "Blackwater" "Valar Morghulis"
Season 3	"Valar Dohaeris" "Dark Wings, Dark Words" "Walk of Punishment" "And Now His Watch Is Ended" "Kissed by Fire" "The Climb" "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" "Second Sons" "The Rains of Castamere" "Mhysa"
Season 4	"Two Swords" "The Lion and the Rose" "Breaker of Chains" "Oathkeeper" "First of His Name" "The Laws of Gods and Men" "Mockingbird" "The Mountain and the Viper" "The Watchers on the Wall" "The Children"
Season 5	"The Wars to Come" "The House of Black and White" "High Sparrow" "Sons of the Harpy" "Kill the Boy" "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" "The Gift" "Hardhome" "The Dance of Dragons" "Mother's Mercy"
Season 6	"The Red Woman" "Home" "Oathbreaker" "Book of the Stranger" "The Door" "Blood of My Blood" "The Broken Man" "No One" "Battle of the Bastards" "The Winds of Winter"
Season 7	"Dragonstone" "Stormborn" "The Queen's Justice" "The Spoils of War" "Eastwatch" "Beyond the Wall" "The Dragon and the Wolf"
Season 8	"Winterfell"

v t e Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
24, season 6 (2007) Heroes, season 3, part I (2008) 24, season 7 (2009) True Blood, season 3 (2010) Game of Thrones, season 1 (2011) Game of Thrones, season 2 (2012) Game of Thrones, season 3 (2013) Game of Thrones, season 4 (2014) Game of Thrones, season 5 (2015) Game of Thrones, season 6 (2016) Game of Thrones, season 7 (2017) GLOW, season 2 (2018)

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