By the twitching of my thumbs, something winter this way comes….

Winter is still coming, and with winter, the night. The night is dark, and full of terrors.

It has been a long time, friends, since I have immersed myself into this fantastical world of sex, political intrigue,  betrayal, and murder. As the tide of “Game of Thrones” returns for season two, I can feel the icy water of war in the seven kingdoms lapping at my toes, ever so gently, with the bright promise of battle and blood and even more beheading.

We won’t be fully whetted until April of next year. In the meantime, why don’t we review what we’ve seen, and look to the future for what’s to come.

First, in the interest of self promotion, I’ll provide you with all the links to all the season one episode recaps on Scifi4me. Just click and enjoy.

Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, Ep. 5, Ep. 6, Ep. 7, Ep. 8, Ep. 9, Ep. 10

There you go. Now you’re all caught up, though if I were you, and I am, I’d go ahead and do a marathon of the entire series over the coming Thanksgiving holiday weekend. I’d maybe do it twice to ensure I was properly sequestered from any distant relatives’ squawking whelp. Perhaps this show is having a less than positive effect on me. I never used to say “sqawking whelp.”

But what is going on with Season two? Lots of new characters, to be sure. Here’s who is joining the fun:

Stannis Baratheon, played by Stephen Dillane, is the younger brother of King Robert, and the older brother of Renley. Stannis has the most legitimate claim to the throne, given that Joffrey is the evil spawn of the incestuous joining of Cercei and her brother Jaime. Ew.

Brienne of Tarth, played by Gwendoline Christie, is the Warrior Maid of Tarth. Christie is awful cute to be such an ugly, battle scarred, warrior maid, but then movies are made of magic. Brienne is charged in season two with a couple very important tasks, and her story is among my favorites. Such a wonderful character, and it makes me incredibly happy that G.R.R.M. picked her for the role, given her limited exposure in the industry.

Xaro Xohan Daxos, played by Nonso Anozie, ties in with Daenerys’ story as she tries to raise transport and fighters to take back to Westeros. Nonso was in the new, horrible, Conan film, and I wonder if that helped him land the role.

Alton Lannister, played by Karl Davies, is the…wait…who in the hell is Alton Lannister?

Jaqen H’gar, played by Tom Wlaschiha, is the mysterious figure that will come to set Arya Stark on a path that you are not meant to know at this time.

Jeyne Westerling, played by Oona Chaplin (yes, she is related to Charlie Chaplin), will be Robb Stark’s lady love, unfortunately for him, as you will see. Season one didn’t have a great deal of romance, so I’ll be glad to see how they incorporate her.

Ser Davos Seaworth, played by the AMAZING Liam Cunningham, will be the “Onion Knight.” I can’t wait to see that.

Yara Greyjoy (Asha if you read the books), played by Gemma Whelan, is Theon’s sister, estranged from her brother when he was taken as political hostage by the Starks.

Margaery Tyrell, played by Natalie Dormer, is the wife of young Renley Baratheon, or I should say, the wife of the more-than-bi-curious (based on his affair with the Knight of Flowers), Renley Baratheon. Triangles are good, sturdy plot devices, and this one is a doozy.

Lord Roose Bolton, played by Michael McElhatton, is one of Robb Stark’s banner men. Piece of work, that one.

Craster, played by Robert Pugh, lives north of the wall. John Snow and company will find out his quality soon enough.

Gilly, played by Hannah Murray, is one of Craster’s many daughter-wives. See what I mean about Craster’s quality?

Maester Cresson, played by Oliver Ford Davies, is King Stannis’ Maester, and competes for his favor with the Lady Melisandre.

Lady Melisandre, played by Carice Van Houten, is Stannis’ “Red Priestess.” She worships a god, R’hllor, that apparently gives her some magical powers. You’ll see, she’s a massive pain.

Hallyne, played by Roy Dotrice, who also read the majority of the GoT Audio Books (here’s my review of his latest performance in that regard), is the pryo that invents something special for Tyrion at the Battle of Blackwater.

Lord Balon Greyjoy, played by Patrick Malahide, is ruler of the Iron Islands, and father of Theon and Yara.

There you have it. The new major players in season two. I don’t know about you, but I’m really looking forward to April.

I’ll be back soon, but in the meantime, I’m going to see if they make a Trapper Keeper big enough to keep all my season two notes in.

Fair thee well, my friends.

Mr. Smith