All eight seasons of Game of Thrones, ranked worst to best

Season 2

Game of Thrones killed off its lead character at the end of season 1. It was a bold move, and it brought in new viewers, but it meant the show had to adjust to a new normal where no one really could claim the title of “lead.” At this point, the producers didn’t have the confidence to let us spend long uninterrupted stretches with characters and often insisted on checking in with as many as possible so we wouldn’t lose the plot. Those threads were still very entertaining, but the show hadn’t yet learned how to best organize them.

High point: Wildfire on the Blackwater

It’s only natural, then, that the best moment of the season came in “Blackwater,” which stayed in one location the whole time. This is the first of the show’s big battle spectaculars and may still be the most textured. Sure, it doesn’t have the eye-popping grandeur of the Loot Train Attack, but Tyrion exploding Stannis’ ships on the Blackwater Rush is still mighty impressive-looking, and the episode makes up what it lacks in spectacle with quieter dramatic scenes, whether it’s Cersei drunkenly berating Sansa or the Hound showing a softer side or Cersei coming this close to poisoning her own son when she fears the battle lost. Tyrion’s Hail Mary pass is what burns brightest in the memory, but the whole episode is a terrific study in push and pull, point and counterpoint.

Low point: “Where are my dragons?”

Season 2 is definitely a transitional year for Dany, and if the producers had thought about it, they probably would have concluded she would have been best off with a reduced episode count. But as we discussed, they weren’t yet confident enough to let the storylines ebb and flow as needed, so instead they beef up Dany’s sleepy time in Qarth from A Clash of Kings, adding in a whole thing about the Powers That Be in the city stealing her dragons, and there’s a power grab, and none of it quite works.

The low point comes at the end of “The Old Gods and the New” when Dany returns to find her dragons stolen in a much-memed moment. “Where are my dragons?” she demands. They’re fine, Dany. Let’s move this along.

MVP: Tyrion Lannister

HIs biggest moments comes in “Blackwater,” but season 2 is a banner year for Tyrion. This is the season Tyrion learns how capable he is at this whole game of thrones thing. My favorite bit comes in “What Is Dead May Never Die,” when he ferrets out Cersei’s mole by feeding different stories to Varys, Littlefinger and Pycelle, and then jailing the one who squeals to his sister. He ships Janos Slynt off to the Wall, leads a sortie against Stannis’ forces and he even slaps Joffrey in the face! Tyrion is unstoppably awesome in season 2.

Runner-up: Theon Greyjoy

Poor Theon. It’s hard to picture it now, but Theon Greyjoy was once a headstrong jerkweed who captured Winterfell even though he had no chance of holding it just to prove to his dad how much of a tough Ironborn badass he was. In season 2, Theon makes wrong decision after wrong decision, but even as he’s decapitating the stalwart Sir Roderick Cassel to establish his authority over the people of Winterfell, part of you can’t help but sympathize with him, because it’s clear that he’s hopelessly out of his depth. Did we mention that it takes him, like, 30 swings to finish Sir Roderick? It’s embarrassing and gross.

A lot of the power of this storyline comes from Alfie Allen’s performance. Allen isn’t one of the breakout stars of the show, but he’s never less than completely believable, whether Theon’s a preening douche or a broken wreck of a man. Theon begins his long fall here, and it’s thrilling.