The presentation of Game of Thrones second season on Blu-Ray is, frankly, exceptional – the packaging is sumptuous and the discs come with a raft of special features, most impressive of which is the “In-Episode Guide” – essentially an appendix, providing for each scene, character bios, setting details and animated shorts where the characters narrate their perspective on the world’s history.

It’s fantastic stuff, but it does make watching the show a bit like work, particularly for someone who hasn’t read the books. Game of Thrones has some serious issues with compressing its high density plot and diverse cast of characters into the serialised medium of television, as Alan Sepinwall discussed. Most of these issues evaporate when you can watch the show at your own pace on Blu-Ray, but as much as I love the show, not every arc is successful. Both Jon Snow and Robb Stark’s arcs aren’t eventful enough to hold interest over the whole season, and while Daenerys’ storyline was engaging (barring its deux-ex-dragons conclusion), it had plenty of dull moments. I’m hopeful that the third season will avoid such (minor) problems; ensuring that the “important” moments are also consistently entertaining/compelling (see: Arya’s storyline) would be a good start.