| 'Game of Thrones' Season 2 for Dummies - Daily Beast Mar 28th 2012, 08:52 Season 2 of Game of Thrones is just a few days away, returning to HBO on Sunday at 9 p.m. for another 10-episode run of betrayal, bloodshed, and, er, scenes intended for a mature audience. But if you haven't read the books, the world that the show inhabits can be a forbidding place without the maps, family trees, and lineages contained within the novels' vast appendices. And Season 2 furthers the in-world jargon significantly, while introducing a slew of new concepts and places. What is the difference between the Drowned God and the Lord of Light? Who is the Red Woman? And what is the deal with the White Raven? We delve into the first four episodes of Game of Thrones Season 2, Martin's second novel (A Clash of Kings), and beyond to bring you up to speed. A note on spoilers: I spoil many details of Season 1 below. But I do not spoil specifics from Season 2, unless you count knowing settings and themes and characters as spoilers. In which case, spoiler alerts!  HBO Drowned God, The: The deity worshipped by the residents of the hard-bitten Iron Islands after breaking away from the polytheistic belief system (see: Seven, The) followed by many of those in Westeros. The followers of the Drowned God are often baptized into this religion by drowning in the sea and then being resuscitated. Their mantra is "What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger." Harrenhal: An enormous black-stoned castle that is reputed to be haunted and its owners cursed. Built by Harren the Black, the castle was attacked by Aegon the Conqueror, who used his dragons to melt the stone of the castle's walls, killing Harren and his family. Since then, any lord who has been unlucky enough to reside over the castle has died horribly. Ironborn, The: The self-given title of the inhabitants of the weathered archipelago known as The Iron Islands, who have their own belief system (see: The Drowned God) and their own sense of morality (see: Iron Price). Pirates and raiders, they are feared throughout the seven kingdoms for the harsh legacy of centuries of raping and pillaging. (See also: Iron Price, The.) Ironmen: The title that Westerosi use to refer to residents of The Iron Islands, who call themselves The Ironborn. Iron Price, The: An honor code among The Ironborn, who believe that something—whether a person or an item—should be taken by force, rather than bought. When something is claimed as the spoils of war or pillage, it is said to be bought with the "iron price," whereas when something is paid for, it is known as the "gold price," which is deeply frowned upon. King-Beyond-The-Wall, The: A former member of the Night's Watch, Mance Rayder, has united the so-called free folk (see: Wildlings) and proclaimed himself by this title, setting himself up as the ruler of the icy northern expanse beyond The Wall. King of the North, The: The title bestowed on Robb Stark, who wishes to succeed from the Seven Kingdoms and reestablish the North as its own kingdom once again. Kraken: The symbol of House Greyjoy of the Iron Islands, a giant squid in gold on a black field. Their official motto is "We Do Not Sow." Lightbringer: The legendary sword of hero Azor Ahai that is said to be ablaze with fire. It is the subject of a prophecy: when the cold winds blow, a mighty warrior shall draw a blade from the fire and that sword will be Lightbringer and that warrior will be Azor Ahai returned. (See: Red Woman, The.) Lord of Light, The: A name for the red deity worshipped primarily on Essos, a neighboring continent to the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Priests who follow the red god are often known as "red priests" (see: Red Woman, The), who can perform miraculous acts. (See also: R'hllor.) The religion is based primarily on opposing forces of nature: the light, fire, and life that R'hllor represents pitted against the darkness, ice, and death of the nameless god who will be vanquished by the return of Azor Ahai. (See: Lightbringer.) Among one of the favored sayings of the Lord of Light's followers (see: Red Woman, The) is: "For the night is dark and full of terrors." Mother of Dragons, The: A nickname given to Daenerys, who performed a miracle and "gave birth" to three dragons (see: Dragons), the first seen in several hundred years. Oldtown: The oldest city in all of the Seven Kingdoms, this fortified city was build by the First Men, the early inhabitants of Westeros. It is also the location of the Citadel, the home and training center for the Maesters, the learned advisors of the lords of the realm. From here, the Maesters can release a White Raven to all of the corners of the continent to signal the end of summer. Pyke: An island that is the ancestral seat of the Greyjoys, who rule over The Iron Islands. Pyke's throne, the Seastone Chair, is currently occupied by Balon Greyjoy (see: Greyjoy Rebellion, The), father to Theon, and the island is comprised of a series of towers, haphazardly connected to one another by rope bridges. Qarth: A walled port city—pronounced "Karth"—located on the southeast edge of Essos' desert, The Red Waste, that is home to the Qartheen and their ruling class, The Pureborn. It is also home to a group of warlocks known as The Undying, who have blue lips from habitually drinking a powerful drug called shade-of-the-evening, which opens the gates of perception. Queen Regent: The title given to Cersei (Lena Headey), after the death of her husband, King Robert Baratheon, and the ascension of her son, Joffrey, to the Iron Throne. Given that Joffrey has not yet reached the age of majority, Cersei still has a hand in the day-to-day running of the Kingdom. Red Comet: A blood red comet that appears in the sky after the birth of Daenerys' three dragons. Some view is as an omen of dread, of blood, of war, or of victory. The wildling Osha (Natalia Tena), who is now in the service of Bran Stark, believes it means only one thing: dragons. Red Waste, The: A barren dessert on the continent of Essos where there is very little food or water and which seems to stretch on for eternity. Daenerys built the funeral pyre for her husband, Khal Drogo, here and hatched three dragons after being abandoned by her khlassar. R'hllor: The fire god (see also: Lord of Light, The) worshipped by the red priests and residents of Essos, whose influence is growing in Westeros, particularly due to the conversion of Stannis Baratheon and his council. When the last of the dragons died, R'hllor's power was said to wane considerably. But now that the dragons have returned… Rock Wife: The legal spouse of a member of the Ironborn culture. (See also: Salt Wife.) Salt Wife: Taken by the iron price, these are foreign women who are seized during raids by the Ironborn and viewed as concubines, rather than true wives. Seastone Chair, The: The throne and seat of power of the Iron Islands. Seven, The: The principal belief system introduced to Westeros when the Andals invaded the continent. (Before then, the inhabitants believed in the Old Gods.) The Seven represents a single deity with seven aspects: Father, Mother, Warrior, Maiden, Smith, Crone, and Stranger. While still the dominant religion in the Seven Kingdoms, some adherents are turning to the Lord of Light (see also: R'hllor), while residents of the Iron Islands have always been devout followers of the Drowned God. Skinchanger: According to legend, a person who can enter into the mind of an animal and see through their eyes and control their bodies. If untrained, they enter into the minds of animals while they themselves are unconscious or asleep. (See also: Warg.) Silent Sisters, The: A sworn sisterhood of women who devote their lives to service of The Stranger (see: Seven, The) and take vows of celibacy and silence. They prepare corpses for funerals and handle bodies and bones of those slain in battle. Wall, The: A 700-foot wall that acts as a barrier between the Seven Kingdoms and the icy wilds beyond, including the so-called Haunted Forest, which is guarded over by members of the Night's Watch. While some believe the stories of what lies beyond the wall to be the stuff of superstition and childhood nightmares (downplaying them as "snarks and grumpkins"), it contains a very real threat in the form of the White Walkers and who knows what else… (See also: Wildlings.) Warg: Another word for Skinchanger. White Raven: A symbol that the long summer is coming to an end. Released by the Maesters of Oldtown to the great houses of Westeros, they are emblematic of the snow and cold to come. And after so many years of summer, it's a harbinger of dark times. "Winter Is Coming": The official motto of House Stark (see: Hand of the King, The), who believe that dark days are always ahead, no matter how long the seemingly endless summer can last. It harkens back to a time 8,000 years earlier, when the White Walkers invaded Westeros. (See also: White Raven.) Winterfell: The ancestral seat of House Stark, located in the North of Westeros (though below The Wall). Since the events of the show began, the only Starks remaining at Winterfell are Bran and Rickon. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks. | |
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