The shocking Game of Thrones finale: Better than season one?

HBO's sprawling fantasy drama routinely earns praise as one of television's boldest, if most complex, dramas. The season two finale lived up that reputation

Theon Greyjoy
(Image credit: HBO/Helen Sloan)

The second season of HBO's popular fantasy series Game of Thrones concluded Sunday night, after earning praise throughout its second season as a game-changing drama, polarizing critics with its relentless nudity, and being criticized by some for being too complicated. (Warning: Spoilers lie ahead.) The finale dealt with the fallout from the previous episode's Battle of Blackwater, in which the Lannisters defeated Stannis Baratheon's army. Among the episode's biggest twists: Tyrion Lannister finds himself powerless, both Joffrey and Robb Stark break engagements, Daenerys Targaryan makes a major power play, and the Whitewalkers return. Did the episode live up to the series' high standard?

It managed to top last season: Last season's finale concluded with one of the year's most striking visuals, says John Kubicek at Buddy TV: The arrival of Daenerys Targaryan's baby dragons. That jaw-dropping (and much discussed) moment set the bar incredibly high for the season two finale, but somehow Game of Thrones managed to top it with another flabbergasting image. In the episode's closing moments, the Whitewalkers slowly walked through a blizzard, led by a giant white zombie with crystal blue eyes, atop a horse and as "creepy and amazing as the baby dragons looked last season."

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