Remember when we didn't see Arya in the first episode of Season 2? Well, no need to worry because her story arc has some plot advancement here as she makes a friend at the outskirts of the King's Landing named Gendry before he learns that she the daughter of Ned Stark as it turns out he met him before his execution. Also, the plot lines from the previous episode have been continued here including the City Watch guards searching for Gendry and Robb Stark, King of the North giving the Small Council terms (etc., etc.).
The writing's still good, the performances are still great, the pacing is really good, the scenery is still gorgeous, and Ramin Djawadi continues to make more beautiful music here. My only quibble is the sex scene. Now, I heard that the first season had some sex moments but they were downplayed because it focused more on politics and character development. I won't spoil it to those who haven't seen the episode and the scene's not terrible, but I just didn't expect to have more of that here.
So, overall, aside from the sex scene, The Night Lands is another great episode and continues the story lines from the first episode perfectly while advancing Arya's story arc where the last two episodes of Season 1 left off.
The writing's still good, the performances are still great, the pacing is really good, the scenery is still gorgeous, and Ramin Djawadi continues to make more beautiful music here. My only quibble is the sex scene. Now, I heard that the first season had some sex moments but they were downplayed because it focused more on politics and character development. I won't spoil it to those who haven't seen the episode and the scene's not terrible, but I just didn't expect to have more of that here.
So, overall, aside from the sex scene, The Night Lands is another great episode and continues the story lines from the first episode perfectly while advancing Arya's story arc where the last two episodes of Season 1 left off.