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Latest episode features an Emmy-worthy performance from Emmy-winner Dinklage, alongside other bloody, brutal twists.By Josh Wigler Peter Dinklage in "Game of Thrones" Photo: HBO We're now two episodes deep into the new season of "Game of Thrones," and a couple of trends are beginning to emerge. For one, incest appears to be a popular theme in Westeros. For another, killing children is a heck of a way to end an episode. Season two's second episode, titled "The Night Lands," once again claimed the life of an infant, proving that the world beyond the Wall is just as cold and unforgiving as Westeros itself, if not more so. But it wasn't all doom and gloom: There were heroic moments as well, particularly for Tyrion Lannister, and the introduction of Salladhor Saan was a welcome moment of levity as well. But again with the incest — uch! We covered all that and more on our latest episode of "Watching the Thrones." Check it out in the video below, and keep reading for more of the good, bad and ugly from the latest episode of the HBO fantasy series. The Good
» Welcome back, Arya Stark! The Needle-wielding not-a-boy made an all-too-brief appearance at the end of the season premiere. In "Night Lands," she was firmly in the spotlight, on the Kingsroad headed toward the Wall under Yoren's protection. Three observations: 1. Frances Magee is utterly fantastic as Yoren, one of my favorite side characters in the books; 2. Gendry and Arya make for a great pair onscreen, and fans who agree can look forward to a lot of shared time between the two throughout the season; and 3. Jaqen H'ghar! Jaqen H'ghar! Valar morghulis, it's Jaqen H'ghar! He's a bit of a slow-burn character for those of you who haven't read the books, but let's just say he's got lots of fun stuff to do in the future. Stay tuned. » It's nice when bad people get what they deserve, an occasion that happens far too rarely on "Game of Thrones." So it was wonderful to see Tyrion Lannister get the upper hand on City Watch commander Janos Slynt in a scene that was beautifully adapted from "A Clash of Kings." It's the last time you'll see Slynt for a while, but not the last time period. Just wait — it gets better. » Speaking of Tyrion, his scenes with Varys and Cersei were particularly memorable this week. With Varys, Tyrion has finally found an intellectual equal to wrestle with; their battle of the wits will be one to watch all season long. And with Cersei, it's fantastic to see the two Lannister siblings getting so much time onscreen together. Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey play their parts wonderfully and are as close to perfect as it gets when pitted against one another. Plus, a big reveal came from their scene: Joffrey was the one who ordered the execution of Robert's bastards. In the novels, Cersei gives that order; on the show, it looks like they're trying to make Joff even more deplorable than he is in the books, which is no easy task. » "Night Lands" introduced another new character into the mix: Salladhor Saan, a pirate pal of Davos Seaworth's who dedicates his service to Stannis Baratheon. Salladhor never quite popped off the page for me in the books, but on the show, Lucian Msamati brings him to life brilliantly, queen-ogling quips and all. Excellent casting. The Bad
» Staying on Dragonstone, I remain unconvinced on how the Stannis story line is unfurling. The middle Baratheon brother's sexual relationship with Melisandre was always alluded to but never fully shown. It was the same case with Renly and Ser Loras in season one, so there's a symmetry there, I suppose. But as I said last week, there's a supervillain quality to both Stannis and Melisandre that's starting to develop. Them having raunchy sex on a table shaped like Westeros only fuels that fire, so to speak. Maybe that's the right first impression to give a viewer who knows nothing about where their story goes, but for me, this week's only Stannis/Melisandre scene was a disservice to the characters I'm familiar with in the books. We'll see where it goes, but I'm just not convinced. » Also something that grinds my gears: the continued prevalence of Littlefinger, whose actions mostly take place off page in the books, and for good reason. It's best not to know too much about where Petyr Baelish stands in the grand scheme of things; there's an unknowable quality to him that makes him very, very dangerous. Besides, we already know he's a sleazeball, so watching him emotionally wound the grieving Ros didn't really further his character in any meaningful direction. Like his careless encounter with Cersei last week, Baelish's latest tiff with Ros just came across as a needless time-waster. The Ugly
» There are some people who claim that incest is best. I do not agree with this claim. But you can't say it doesn't make for compelling television from time to time, at least on "Thrones" (and perhaps on "Maury"). The latest entry to the Great Incest Hall of Fame on "Thrones" is Theon Greyjoy, who returned to the Iron Islands hip-deep in one woman and his hands all over another object of his desires — an object that just so happened to be his sister Yara. That scene happens in the books, yes, but the show took it to another level, as it tends to do. Nausea aside, getting Theon to the Iron Islands is a big step toward the big things lurking in Theon's future. Big, I say, but not necessarily great. I will say this: You might not like him now, but Theon Greyjoy is one of my very favorite characters in this entire story. Keep on watching and you'll (eventually) see why. » Finally, we get to the return of the baby-killing. This time, it's in the polar opposite of King's Landing: North of the Wall at Craster's Keep, the incestuous wildling sacrificed one of his baby boys to the mysterious Others, as is his usual custom. Jon Snow, himself a bastard with abandonment issues to spare, was none too pleased to see this sacrifice but found himself knocked unconscious by Craster himself before he could take any action on the baby's behalf. Make that two straight episodes of infanticide in a row — and just a warning, the ruthlessness towards children does not end there. What did you think of the latest "Game of Thrones" episode? Tell us in the comments section or hit me up on Twitter @roundhoward! Related Videos Watching The 'Thrones' Related Photos 'Game Of Thrones' Season Two 'Game Of Thrones' Exhibit At The HBO Store

From Ned's beheading to Tyrion's tumultuous journey, we recount the key moments to remember heading into Sunday's premiere.By Josh Wigler Lena Headey in "Game of Thrones" Photo: HBO Swords, kings, dragons and things (and by things, we mean an absurd amount of sex and violence): Where else but "Game of Thrones" can you get all that and then some? Those who've been thirsting for blood and fire are about to get plenty of both when "Thrones" returns for its second season this Sunday, but considering how much time has passed since poor Ned lost his head, you'd be forgiven for not remembering much of what happened all the way back in season one. Well, never fear, true believers; that's what we're here for! Keep on reading for everything you need to remember about "Game of Thrones" season one before returning to Westeros later this week. "Winter Is Coming"
The words of House Stark echo all throughout "Game of Thrones" season one, beginning with King Robert Baratheon's royal visit to old friend and war buddy Eddard Stark all the way north in Winterfell. Robert all but commands Ned to take on the role of Hand of the King — the ruler of Westeros' right-hand man — and Lord Stark begrudgingly accepts. His reason: to investigate the death of the pervious Hand, Jon Arryn, an old mentor of Ned and Robert's, whom he believes was murdered by Queen Cersei and members of her wicked family, the Lannisters. Kids These Days
Ned's investigation does not go smoothly. After arriving in King's Landing to serve as Robert's Hand, Ned learns that Robert fathered many bastard children and that his own supposedly trueborn heirs — Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen — were not his trueborn children at all, but bastards of Queen Cersei's incestuous relationship with her twin brother, Jaime. Robert dies from a freak injury before Ned can tell him the truth, and Ned takes it upon himself to see that the late Baratheon's younger brother, Stannis, is the next man to sit upon the Iron Throne, as is his right. Hopeless, Headless Ned
Once again, Ned's plan does not go well. When Lord Stark attempts to convince the court to recognize Stannis' claim to the throne, newly minted King Joffrey and Queen Regent Cersei have him arrested for treason. A deal is later brokered where Ned will confess to his treachery and recognize Joffrey's claim, in exchange for the safety of himself and his children. But after he publicly confesses to his "crimes," Joffrey pulls a fast one on everyone — characters and audience included — by ordering Ned's beheading. With one stunning stroke, the main character of "Game of Thrones" was dead, before the season finale, no less. Stark Reality
While they still have their lives, the Stark children aren't faring much better than poor Ned. The youngest son, Bran Stark, is pushed out of a window and subsequently paralyzed after catching twins Cersei and Jaime doing the nasty. Ned's two daughters, Arya and Sansa, are left in very different and very awful positions following his death too. Arya is posing as a boy, traveling north with a group of young men to join the Night's Watch; she's to be dropped off at her home in Winterfell before reaching the Wall. Sansa, meanwhile, is still in King's Landing and still betrothed to the wicked boy king Joffrey, who abuses her physically and emotionally with brutal regularity. The King in the North
Lord Eddard Stark's eldest son, Robb, on the other hand, is in a position to actually do something about his father's death. Robb has called upon House Stark's bannermen in the northern part of Westeros to wage war on Joffrey and the Lannisters. His goals are threefold: the safe return of his sisters, the official succession of the North from the Seven Kingdoms' purview, and vengeance for Ned. Robb becomes known as the King in the North, an ancient title not held by anyone since Torrhen Stark bent the knee to Aegon the Conqueror nearly 300 years earlier. Here a King, There a King ...
Robb Stark is not the only man in Westeros calling himself king. There's Joffrey Baratheon, of course, who sits on the Iron Throne. Three other men have their eyes on the crown as well: Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands and the two remaining Baratheon brothers, Stannis and Renly. Though Renly is a charismatic and well-liked figure in Westeros, he is also the youngest Baratheon, making his claim weaker than the less-beloved Stannis. It won't matter which Baratheon has the better claim, of course, if one of the other three kings vying for power has their say. ... And There a Queen
There's another player in the game of thrones, and that's exiled princess Daenerys, the last surviving member of House Targaryen, the clan who ruled over Westeros for nearly three full centuries. Dany spends the entirety of season one across the Narrow Sea among the Dothraki, a barbaric people who pride themselves on war and horses. Bad things happen to all "Thrones" characters, but Dany has a particularly rough go of it in season one: Her husband, Khal Drogo, and their unborn son both die, as does her brother, Viserys. (Indeed, that guy is super dead.) On the other side of all that tragedy, Dany is now the proud owner of three brand-spanking new dragons, the first of their kind in hundreds of years. That's a plus! The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Elsewhere, in another remote area of this fantasy world, Ned Stark's bastard Jon Snow serves as a man of the aforementioned Night's Watch, an ancient order of warriors who patrol the great ice Wall to protect the people of Westeros from the dangers lurking further north. Shortly after becoming a sworn brother of the Watch, Jon saves Lord Commander Mormont from dying at the hands of a reanimated corpse (zombies, ftw!), the latest and most dangerous evidence yet that the Others — a long-forgotten force of evil with unspeakably cold crystal swords and voices that sound like crackling ice — still exist beyond the wall. To investigate further, Mormont takes Jon and other members of the Watch beyond the Wall, where they'll continue to explore throughout season two. Paying Their Debts
Clearly, season one was crazy busy for Ned Stark and his family, but how about House Lannister? Though Cersei's son sits on the Iron Throne as she had always hoped, the queen suffers a severe blow in the capture of her brother and lover, Jaime, at the hands of Robb Stark. Jaime remains in the northerner's captivity. Meanwhile, the third Lannister sibling — the imp Tyrion Lannister — went through hell and back again as well: He starts in Winterfell as part of Robert's royal party, ends up on the Wall for a time, is captured by Ned Stark's wife Catelyn for his suspected role in Bran Stark's paralysis, is brought to the miles-high Eyrie to pay for his crimes, is eventually liberated from his fate with the help of his own cunning wit and the talented sellsword Bronn and ultimately relegated to the frontlines of lord Tywin Lannister's war against the Starks. As King Joffrey's Hand, Tywin can't exactly win a war and worry about the goings-on of Westeros at the same time. Accordingly, he temporarily passes off his duties as Hand to Tyrion, who is about to prove that a very small man can cast a very big shadow. A Dink and a Nod
Speaking of very big shadows, you heard about Peter Dinklage's Best Supporting Actor wins at the Emmys and the Golden Globes this past year, right? Well, given what happens to his character in "A Clash of Kings" (the novel that the second season of "Thrones" is based on), Dinklage has only scratched the surface of Tyrion's enormously satisfying arc. If he's as smart as his character, the gifted actor has left some room on the shelf for a few more trophies come the end of the new season. Are you all caught up for "Thrones" season two? Let us know in the comments section below, or chat with me more on Twitter @roundhoward! Related Photos 'Game Of Thrones' Season Two