50 Fun Facts About Game of Thrones Season 2

In the Game of Thrones season 2 premiere, what appears in the sky?

A red comet. Everyone reads it their own way, but the wildling Osha insists it can mean only one thing: dragons have returned.

Game of Thrones season 2 mostly adapts which novel in A Song of Ice and Fire?

A Clash of Kings. Not all of it made the cut: the showrunners held several of the book's characters back for season three, saying they couldn't afford to have actors waiting around for their stories to start.

Catelyn Stark frees Jaime Lannister and sends which warrior to escort him to King's Landing?

Brienne of Tarth. Catelyn hopes to exchange the Kingslayer for her captive daughters, and when Robb finds out he has his own mother placed under guard.

At the Blackwater, Tyrion destroys much of Stannis's fleet with a ship full of what?

Wildfire. So the battle could be shown on screen and not just reported, the showrunners talked HBO into raising the season's budget by about 15 percent.

Which castle does Theon Greyjoy seize in season 2 while Robb Stark is away at war?

Winterfell. Theon first has his raiders attack Torrhen's Square, which draws the garrison away and leaves the Stark seat almost undefended.

The desert called the Garden of Bones, which names a season 2 episode, surrounds which city?

Qarth. Its rulers can leave travellers to die outside the walls, and Jorah warns Daenerys that every time the gates are shut on one, the garden grows.

Which director of the horror film The Descent made his Game of Thrones debut with 'Blackwater'?

Neil Marshall got the call on a Saturday morning, asking him to start that Monday. He had about a week and a half to prepare the biggest battle the show had attempted.

Who wrote the Game of Thrones episode 'Blackwater'?

George R. R. Martin. He began the novels after years of television producers telling him his scripts cost too much, then had to fit his own biggest battle into an HBO budget.

Whom does Tyrion put in command of the City Watch after sending Janos Slynt to the Wall?

Bronn. Slynt admits to the massacre of King Robert's bastards but won't say who ordered it, so Tyrion has him shipped north and hands the gold cloaks to his own sellsword.

To seal an alliance, Tyrion ships Princess Myrcella off to which region of Westeros?

Dorne. Myrcella sails off to be betrothed into House Martell, and the royal party's walk back from the harbour ends in a riot.

Which city replaced Malta as the stand-in for King's Landing in Game of Thrones season 2?

Dubrovnik. Its high medieval walls rising straight from the sea matched the capital described in the novels, so the Croatian city took over the role that Malta had played in season one.

Which wildling does Jon Snow capture in season 2 but find himself unable to execute?

Ygritte. She bolts while he hesitates, and by the time he has caught her again the two are cut off from the other rangers and alone for the night.

Game of Thrones season 2 filmed its scenes set north of the Wall in which country?

Iceland. The alternative, David Benioff said, was the unsatisfying and expensive business of covering a field in the middle of Ireland with fake snow.

Who saves Tyrion's life during the Battle of the Blackwater by killing Ser Mandon Moore?

Podrick Payne. The Kingsguard knight turns on Tyrion in the chaos of the fighting, and the young squire runs a spear through the attacker from behind.

Who composed the music for Game of Thrones season 2?

Ramin Djawadi. The novels print the words of 'The Rains of Castamere' but no tune, so he had to invent the melody that Tyrion is heard whistling in the premiere.

Which indie rock band performs 'The Rains of Castamere' over the 'Blackwater' end credits?

The National. The showrunners planted the song all through season two so that viewers would know it a year later, when its opening bars signal the start of the Red Wedding.

Which award did the Game of Thrones episode 'Blackwater' win in 2013?

Hugo. Doctor Who had three of the five nominated episodes on that year's short-form ballot, and 'Blackwater' beat them all.

Which Game of Thrones cast member earned season 2's Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor?

Peter Dinklage. He also jumped more than 15 places to first billing in the opening credits, reasoning that with Ned Stark dead, Tyrion was the new Hand of the King.

Which fighter walks out on King Joffrey in the middle of the Battle of the Blackwater?

The Hound. Unnerved by the flames, Sandor Clegane demands wine, renounces the king in front of everyone and later offers to take Sansa north with him.

What does Jon Snow discover Craster does with his newborn sons?

Gives them to the White Walkers. Jon follows him into the woods at night and sees one collect the baby, and the Lord Commander later admits he already knew.

Which dubious distinction did Game of Thrones earn for 2012, the year its second season aired?

Most-pirated TV series. TorrentFreak estimated that a single episode was illegally downloaded about 4.3 million times, slightly more than its estimated US television audience.

Which actor joined Game of Thrones in season 2 as Stannis Baratheon?

Stephen Dillane. He never read the novels to prepare for the unbending would-be king, telling an interviewer with a laugh that he had decided to wing it.

Which actress, once asked to audition for Cersei, joined Game of Thrones as Melisandre?

Carice van Houten. She had to pass on trying out for the queen because she was busy on another shoot, and arrived a season later as the red priestess.

Theon's sister Yara was renamed from which name in the novels?

Asha. The change was reportedly made because the name sounds too much like Osha, the wildling held captive by the Starks; Gemma Whelan's Yara still commands her own ship.

Which German actor plays the mysterious prisoner Jaqen H'ghar?

Tom Wlaschiha. He hadn't heard of the show when he taped his audition in Berlin, and thought a character who speaks of himself in the third person was really weird.

Who replaces the novels' Jeyne Westerling as Robb Stark's bride in Game of Thrones?

Talisa Maegyr. Robb meets her tending the wounded after a battle and marries her in secret in the finale, breaking his promise to wed a daughter of Walder Frey.

How does Daenerys punish Xaro Xhoan Daxos for betraying her?

Seals him in his own vault. The treasure house he boasted of turns out to be empty, so she locks him inside it with her treacherous handmaid and loots his mansion to buy a ship.

Which warlock holds Daenerys's stolen dragons in the House of the Undying?

Pyat Pree. He chains up the young dragons and then Daenerys herself, who gets free by ordering them to breathe fire on him.

Which Night's Watch recruit travelling with Arya do the gold cloaks hunt as King Robert's bastard?

Gendry. Arya later saves him from Lannister soldiers by telling them that a boy they have just killed, who was carrying his helmet, was the one they wanted.

Which actor, the narrator of the Ice and Fire audiobooks, plays the pyromancer Hallyne in season 2?

Roy Dotrice. He had been cast in a larger role for season one but withdrew for medical reasons; his 224 distinct voices on one of the audiobooks earned a Guinness World Record.

How does the captive Jaime Lannister lure his jailer into his pen during a season 2 escape attempt?

By killing his cousin. Alton Lannister, who once squired for him, is locked in the same pen; Jaime kills him, strangles the jailer who rushes in, and is soon recaptured.

Whom does Theon Greyjoy behead in season 2 to keep the respect of his ironborn crew?

Ser Rodrik Cassel. The old knight spits in Theon's face, and Theon's first mate insists that only an execution by his own hand will do, whatever Bran pleads.

What is thrown in King Joffrey's face to set off the riot in King's Landing?

Cow dung. Joffrey screams for the whole crowd to be killed, the starving city erupts, and once they reach safety Tyrion slaps the king for his stupidity.

What does Samwell Tarly see marching past him in the final scene of season 2?

An army of the dead. Three horn blasts, the Night's Watch signal for White Walkers, send his companions running, and Sam is left hiding behind a rock as the wights file past.

What do Theon Greyjoy's own men do after his rousing speech in the Game of Thrones season 2 finale?

Knock him out cold. With the castle surrounded, his first mate lets him finish, fells him with a blow to the head, and the crew bag Theon up to hand over to the besiegers.

Which dead character does Daenerys meet in a vision inside the House of the Undying?

Khal Drogo. She finds him in his tent with the son they lost, the two wonder whose dream they are in, and she walks away from both to go on looking for her dragons.

Which rival king is killed in his tent by Melisandre's shadow creature?

Renly Baratheon. He dies moments after agreeing an alliance with the Starks, and most of his bannermen promptly go over to his brother Stannis.

What does 'Valar morghulis', the phrase Jaqen H'ghar teaches Arya in Game of Thrones, mean?

All men must die. Jaqen also gives her an iron coin and tells her to say the words to any man from Braavos if she needs to find him, then walks off wearing a new face.

Who is named Hand of the King in the Game of Thrones season 2 finale, taking over from Tyrion?

Tywin Lannister. He arrives only at the end of the battle yet takes both the office and the credit, while Tyrion, who organised the city's defence, wakes to find he has lost all his power.

What job is Arya given at Harrenhal after the lord who takes over the castle sees she is a girl?

Cupbearer. In the novels she is put to work as a scullion and never gets near him; the show invented the wary conversations in which he guesses she is highborn.

Whom does Arya Stark name as the first of the three lives Jaqen H'ghar owes her?

The Tickler. Harrenhal's torturer is found dead in the courtyard soon afterwards, and Jaqen, watching from a walkway above, raises a single finger to show the first debt is paid.

Which character poses as Sansa Stark's new handmaiden in Game of Thrones season 2?

Shae. Tyrion's secret lover hides in plain sight at court, and during the battle the queen, curious about her accent, comes close to learning who she really is.

In Game of Thrones season 2, Tyrion exposes which Small Council member as his sister's informant?

Pycelle. Tyrion gives three councillors three different marriage plans for Myrcella, and when his sister storms in quoting the Grand Maester's version, he has the old man hauled off to a cell.

The Game of Thrones episode title 'What Is Dead May Never Die' is a prayer to which god?

The Drowned God. Theon writes a letter warning Robb Stark of his father's plans, burns it, and is baptised on the shore of Pyke to seal his return to the ironborn.

In Game of Thrones, what do Sam and Grenn find wrapped in an old cloak at the Fist of the First Men?

Dragonglass. Nobody knows what the buried blades are for until a season later, when Sam stabs a White Walker with one of the daggers and the creature disintegrates.

In Game of Thrones season 2, which Lyseni pirate do Davos and his son recruit for Stannis's fleet?

Salladhor Saan. The pirate is an old friend of Davos, a smuggler before he was knighted, and his hired ships help give Stannis the fleet to attack the capital by sea.

What does Melisandre burn on the beach at Dragonstone in the Game of Thrones season 2 premiere?

Statues of the Seven. Stannis lets her burn the gods of his own people as an offering to the Lord of Light, a sacrilege that drives his own maester to a desperate attempt on her life.

What lasting mark does the Battle of the Blackwater leave on Tyrion Lannister?

A facial scar. The sword stroke comes from one of the king's own guards, and Tyrion wakes to find himself stripped of power and given no credit for saving the city.

Which former Night's Watch ranger is said to be uniting the wildlings into an army in season 2?

Mance Rayder. For all the dread he inspires, the King-Beyond-the-Wall never appears on screen this season; Jon is only promised a meeting with him as the finale ends.

Which ranger goads Jon Snow into killing him to win the wildlings' trust?

Qhorin Halfhand. Captured alongside Jon, he tells him to pose as a deserter and spy on the wildling army, then attacks him and insults his parentage so the fatal duel will look real.