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50 free Game of Thrones Season 2 trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Season 2 of Game of Thrones ran on HBO from April 1 to June 3, 2012, adapting most of A Clash of Kings: the War of the Five Kings, Tyrion's turn as Hand, Theon's return to Pyke, Arya at Harrenhal, Jon beyond the Wall and Daenerys in Qarth. It introduced Stannis, Melisandre, Davos, Margaery, Brienne, Ygritte and Jaqen H'ghar, moved King's Landing from Malta to Dubrovnik, sent the far-north unit to Iceland, and built to the Battle of the Blackwater, an episode written by the novels' author and directed at two days' notice. This quiz covers the production (two crews, 106 shooting days, the 15% budget bump), the casting stories (the renamed Asha, the 6 ft 3 in Brienne, the actor who replaced the Mountain), the locations (Ballintoy, Moneyglass, Lokrum, the Minčeta Tower), the music, the ratings and the six Emmy wins, plus the character turns that defined the year, from the cupbearer at Harrenhal to the coin and the phrase in the finale. Fifty questions, four options each, with a short explanation after every answer.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01On what date did the second season premiere on HBO?
April 1, 2012
The finale aired on June 3. The premiere drew 3.86 million viewers, then a series high.
Q 02The season mostly adapts which novel in A Song of Ice and Fire?
A Clash of Kings
Several of that book's characters, including the Reeds, the Tullys and Ramsay Snow, were held back until season three.
Q 03On what date did HBO order the second season, two days after the series premiere?
April 19, 2011
Filming began that July in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Croatia and Iceland.
Q 04The season's budget rose by what percentage to stage the Battle of the Blackwater?
15%
Even so, the battle episode needed a further $2 million and an extra week of filming on top of its $6 million allocation.
Q 05How many shooting days did the season take?
106
For three-quarters of them, two crews were shooting simultaneously in different locations.
Q 06What were the two simultaneous film crews nicknamed?
Dragon and Wolf
The cast was estimated to be the largest on television, which is why so many book characters were merged or postponed.
Q 07Which filmmaker made his series debut directing the ninth episode, 'Blackwater'?
Neil Marshall
He was hired two days before he was due on set after the original director left over a personal emergency.
Q 08Who wrote the 'Blackwater' episode?
George R. R. Martin
He called it 'the hardest episode of the season' to write, weighing the budget against the battle he had described in the book.
Q 09Which director handled the premiere, the finale and two other episodes this season?
Alan Taylor
He was promoted to co-executive producer and did not direct again for the show until season seven's 'Beyond the Wall'.
Q 10Story editor Bryan Cogman wrote which episode this season?
What Is Dead May Never Die
His first draft ran over three hours; he was proudest of the nearly wordless Pyke scenes he invented for Theon.
Q 11Which city replaced Malta as the stand-in for King's Landing?
Dubrovnik
Its old walls and sea frontage also doubled for Qarth; the Minčeta Tower became the House of the Undying.
Q 12Which tower in the Croatian city served as the House of the Undying?
Minčeta
Fort Lovrijenac hosted Joffrey's name-day tourney and the royal family's refuge during the riot.
Q 13Scenes set north of the Wall were filmed in which country in November 2011?
Iceland
Glaciers stood in for the Fist of the First Men; the forested Craster's Keep scenes stayed in Northern Ireland because of the lack of trees.
Q 21What dubious distinction did the season earn for 2012?
Most-pirated TV series
The show would hold the piracy crown for years, a fact HBO executives occasionally claimed to take as a compliment.
Q 22Which actor joined the cast as Stannis Baratheon?
Stephen Dillane
He, Melisandre and Davos headed an entirely new storyline that only merged with the main plot at the end of the season.
Q 23Carice van Houten had been asked, but was unable, to audition for which season-one role?
Cersei
Her Melisandre keeps the red robes and hair of the books but not the red eyes, to look a little more human.
Q 14The expanded Winterfell set was built at which Northern Irish estate?
Moneyglass
It lies near the village of Toome. Season one's Winterfell exteriors had used Castle Ward.
Q 15Who composed the music for the season?
Ramin Djawadi
He adapted 'The Rains of Castamere' from the novels; Tyrion can be heard whistling it in the premiere.
Q 16Which indie rock band performs 'The Rains of Castamere' over the 'Blackwater' end credits?
The National
Vocalist Matt Berninger sings it. In the novels the song celebrates Tywin's destruction of the rebellious House Reyne.
Q 17How many Primetime Emmy Awards did the season win?
Six
Twelve nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series. The wins were all craft categories: costumes, art direction, makeup, sound and visual effects.
Q 18Which cast member received the season's Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor?
Peter Dinklage
He submitted 'Blackwater' for consideration. He had taken the first credit in the opening titles after Sean Bean's exit.
Q 19Which major publication gave the season its only negative review?
The New York Times
Neil Genzlinger wrote that it needed 'a fair amount of free time' and 'a fairly low reward threshold'. Metacritic still scored the season 90.
Q 20US viewership reached what figure by the season finale?
4.2 million
That was roughly 8% up on the premiere. 'Blackwater' actually dipped, blamed on Memorial Day weekend.
Q 24Theon's sister Yara was renamed from which name in the novels?
Asha
The change avoided confusion with Osha, the wildling at Winterfell. Gemma Whelan plays her.
Q 25Which German actor plays the mysterious prisoner Jaqen H'ghar?
Tom Wlaschiha
His pronunciation of the name, 'Jack-in', was adopted by the show. He had never seen it before taping his audition in Berlin.
Q 26Oona Chaplin's Talisa fills the role of which character from the novels?
Jeyne Westerling
The two have almost nothing in common: the book character is a Westerlands noble, Talisa a healer from Volantis.
Q 27Who plays Xaro Xhoan Daxos, Daenerys's host in Qarth?
Nonso Anozie
HBO had wanted him for a season-one role but a schedule clash got in the way.
Q 28Which Qarth character was created specially for the show?
The Spice King
Nicholas Blane plays him; he stands in for the book's Ancient Guild of Spicers, a rival merchant faction.
Q 29Who took over the role of Gregor Clegane from Conan Stevens this season?
Ian Whyte
He had already played a White Walker, and would later play the giant Wun Wun in season five.
Q 30Roy Dotrice, the audiobook narrator of the novels, plays which character this season?
Hallyne
He had originally been cast as Pycelle but withdrew for medical reasons; his audiobooks earned a Guinness record for most characters voiced.