The Film
There are a few minor spoilers ahead. Sorry, but it's just impossible to talk about Game of Thrones: The Complete Second Season without giving anything away. The debut season was slightly easier, but it's tough to be completely spoiler-free this time around. You've been warned!!
Shows that tend to have a blockbuster first season have a really tough time maintaining an audience. After all, it's hard to keep that audience guessing, surprised, and intrigured. That's not the case with Game of Thrones. In fact, it's just one of the many reasons to invest in the Game of Thrones: The Complete Second Season Limited Edition Steelbook Blu-ray. (We'll get into a few other reasons in the sections down below.)
Of course, Season 1 is required viewing. This isn't the type of show where you could miss a scene, let alone an entire season. However, Season 2 picks up exactly where the last one left off -- and it's not a pretty place.
Last season, we saw a lot of characters come and go. Some of those departures were pretty shocking. However, Season 2 has even more kings, queens, and the stench of death. That's because tension between the Starks and the Lannisters is at an all-time high. Plus, there's more magic than ever before, as well as dragons.
I can't even begin to recap everything that went down this season. Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) has been captured by Robb Stark (Richard Madden), but his mother Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) is hoping to trade "the Kingslayer" for her two daughters -- not realizing that Ayra (Maisie Williams) isn't even available for the trade. She left Winterfell long ago and that's a good thing, since Theon (Alfie Allen) has decided to claim it as his own. Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) has a much larger role this season (yay!), but so does Joffrey (Jack Gleeson). Ugh. He's still the character that you love to hate and he's meaner than ever. Is that what being the king is all about? Others seem to want to handle things quite differently -- and the race for the throne is on.
It's hard to get into too much about this season without writing a full book or delivering a ton of spoilers. However, my two standouts for Season 2 (besides Tyrion) are Arya and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie). These are two very different, very strong women. Arya goes into hiding, poses as a boy, and keeps her mouth shut about her identity. However, she doesn't take crap. Brienne of Tarth is just a total badass. She can handle Jaime Lannister, but more importantly, she can handle herself. And she killed those three guys in "Valar Morghulis" with one sword and about 10 seconds.
While much of Season 1 spent time setting things up, Game of Thrones: The Complete Second Season is all about action -- and creatures. There are lots of crazy creatures! Sure, more characters come and go, and a lot of them go in extremely painful ways. It's all good though. In some cases, it's even great. Those last few seconds of the season also show how and why this series is unlike anything on TV. Good luck looking away.
The Picture
Game of Thrones is absolutely one of the best looking shows on TV. HBO spends a ton of money to make it look this way, so they certainly aren't going to dull it down for the Blu-ray. Every single episode is like a lavish affair, despite how dark the show is in both tone and color. The 1.78:1 image has deep black levels and a wonderful contrast throughout to make all of that imagery pop, even when you don't want it to. (There are some particularly nasty kills this season.) That's not to say that there aren't a few bright moments. Lush greens, bright whites, and all sorts of reds are most noteworthy -- and not just when there's blood. Once again though, the beautiful, ornate costumes stand out in five discs that are bursting with all sorts of standouts.
The Sound
As mentioned in my Season 1 review, this revamped set defaults to a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, but the Atmos is the real reason we're here. This is the first TV show to get the Atmos treatment and frankly, it sets the bar very high for future releases.
The first episode kicks off quite well, with Bran's dream delivering great directionality, as well as sounds from above. From there, the season is filled with immersive fire, rain, drums, and screams. Oh my, the screams. There's even a crazy attack scene in episode nine that has flaming arrows flying from every angle, explosions, and well... the screams. It's another powerful track that will immerse you in the action and the abilities of your Dolby Atmos setup.
The Extras
Similar to the previous set, the Game of Thrones: The Complete Second Season Limited Edition Steelbook has enough to keep you busy until the Steelbook for Season 3 is released. Every episode has an in-episode guide to give you a little additional info as well as help you follow the story. Nine of the 10 episodes have an audio commentary, with three of those providing options for two separate commentary tracks. If you're only going to listen to one commentary this time around, go for the one with George R.R. Martin. The author talks about some of the differences between the book and the show, as well as some other little tidbits. There are character profiles, "Histories and Lore," an interactive map, more Dragon Eggs, and a few other featurettes. My absolute favorite of the lot is the 31-minute "Creating the Battle of Blackwater Bay." It's such a memorable moment from the season, making this one a must-see.
Final Thoughts
This again? If you've watched the first season, you know that the Game of Thrones: The Complete Second Season Limited Edition Steelbook Blu-ray is required viewing. And it doesn't disappoint on any level. It delves deeper into the Starks and the Lannisters, the war between the two, and everyone in between. It's filled with love, hate, and sex -- a lot of sex. It's a beautiful looking show with a frighteningly good soundtrack. If you're still wondering why you should upgrade to Dolby Atmos, this could be the best reason yet.
Product Details
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