Legacy of the Storm: Season 2

The second season of Legacy of the Storm was much anticipated following the blowup from season one. The season premiered on HBO Max on June 1st, 2019. It picks up soon after the end of the first season, following the events of Robert's Rebellion in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire. Jack Zimmerman once again wrote the epic fantasy, and Emerald Fennell returned for the second season to direct. The season's viewership numbers boosted greatly, playing host to nearly 43.8 million viewers each week, sizing up even its predecessor. 
== Plot ==
Season 2 picks up a fortnight after the end of the first season. Prince Rhaegar Targaryen is missing with Lyanna Stark, Ser Arthur Dayne and Ser Oswell Whent. Lord Jon Arryn has brought Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon back to the Eyrie. Lord Rickard Stark is now making his way south to Riverrun, whilst his son and heir, Brandon Stark, leads a group made up of Ethan Glover, Jonothor Stone, Elbert Arryn, Kyle Royce, and Jeffory Mallister south to King's Landing in search of Lyanna and Rhaegar. The Realm is brewing, and the Lords and Ladies of the Realm sit uncomfortably in their seats, watching on as war begins to brew. 
=== In the Seven Kingdoms ===
==== In the Crownlands ====
The Battle of Cracklaw Bay: The Royal Fleet, led by the Master of Ships and good friend of Prince Rhaegar, Lord Lucerys Velaryon, with some 20 ships and with 3 of its war gallies intercept the small Gulltown Fleet, engaging in a naval battle. Much of the Gulltown Fleet was destroyed alongside the death of Ser Donnel Arryn, leaving only 3 surviving ships, but Lucerys is killed by Robert and the Royal Fleet lost 2 of its gallies. 
===== In King's Landing =====
Brandon Stark, Jonothor Stone, Ethan Glover, Elbert Arryn, Kyle Royce, and Jeffory Mallister arrive. They ride through the gates, killing a few Gold Cloaks along the way. They force entry into the Red Keep, riding all the way up to the main courtyard. Brandon shouts for Rhaegar to come out and die, demanding justice. When Aerys is alerted, he demands them imprisoned, so Ser Gerold Hightower and Jonothor Darry attack them with some 20 men. They manage to hold them off fairly well, but they are picked off and dragged away. The last man still fighting is Brandon who manages to actually hold his own against both Gerold and Jonothor until they finally take him down. They are placed in the Black Cells and Aerys commands Grand Maester Pycelle to send a raven to Riverrun, summoning Lord Rickard Stark come to King's Landing to answer for his son's crimes. Both Gerold and Owen Merryweather advise him to summon Rhaegar as well, but Aerys only agrees when Varys agrees, sending the raven to Lord Walter Whent to seek him out. 
Rickard arrives at King's Landing and is immediately taken before the King. Aerys declared that Brandon Stark stood guilty of plotting to commit treason, and by extension, Rickard himself. Rickard immediately demanded a trial-by-combat, which Aerys surprisingly agreed to. Rickard was given his own quarters and dressed in armor, proudly displaying the direwolf of House Stark. He was escorted to the Throne Room, where he found Brandon. When Rickard questioned who he would be fighting, the guards grabbed him, tying him up to the rafters and lifting him up. Then, a platform was place underneath him, built by Rossart, who now stood by it. Brandon was dragged to the wall, a Tyroshi strangling device tied around his neck, and a sword placed just outside his reach. Aerys declared that fire is the champion of House Targaryen, and that if Brandon managed to get his sword and free himself, he would then be free to save his father, and would be found innocent. He gave the nod to Rossart with an evil grin. A massive fire took form, surrounding Rickard as he began to burn, as Brandon struggled against the device to reach his sword. Aerys's laughs and Rickard's screams were heard throughout the halls, and all there found it hard to watch. Jaime was horrified by what he was watching. Eventually, Rickard's screams subsided, and his armor began to melt into his skin, and Brandon's struggling ended, collapsing to the floor, dead from strangulation. Aerys then ordered all the prisoners dead by fire, save Ethan Glover who is spared at the pleading of Gerold due to his standing as a squire. The 200 men who came with Rickard were all killed in the night by the City Watch in an ambush led by Ser Manly Stokeworth. Aerys then sent a raven commanding Lord Jon Arryn to kill both Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark and send their heads to him. 
==== In the Riverlands ====
Lord Rickard Stark arrives with his small party, having sent the rest back North as a precaution of war. He is welcomed into Riverrun by Ser Brynden Tully, who shows him into Lord Hoster Tully. Hoster offers condolences and informs him of the raven summoning him. Hoster suggests he raise his banners, demand his son and daughter back in return for stopping a war, but Rickard, a man of honor, rejects the idea, instead setting out at first light the following day to answer for his son's crimes with 200 men. 
Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark make their way to the God's Eye, setting out for the Isle of Faces with Arthur Dayne, Oswell Whent, and 4 hedge knights. Along the way, one of them becomes a friend with Rhaegar: Ser Raymund, a lowborn from Oldtown, the man who defeated Robert Baratheon in the joust, only to be defeated by Rhaegar after 5 turns. When they arrive, Rhaegar and Lyanna spend the next Moon on the Isle of Faces. 
Petyr Baelish is nursed by Lysa Tully, and one night, she sleeps with him, getting her pregnant. 
Battle of the Bells: Needing time to regather, and to heal from his wounds, Robert ordered his forces to stop in the town of Stoney Sept, where they laid low, hiding in houses and taverns, whilst some 2,000 of them were laid north to Riverrun by Yohn Royce, where Ned Stark and Jon Arryn had both their hosts and were negotiating with Hoster Tully, to bring them south to Robert. pretending to be lowborn as the people there were entirely loyal to Robert, whilst Robert was tended to in a house in the far corner of the town. Jon Connington came soon after with his entire force, occupying the town and ordered every building searched. However, they found nothing, Robert being successfully hidden away and the soldiers blending in well. The lowborn began being questioned, and eventually, Jon's frustration grew, offering up more money than they could dream of to reveal Robert's location, but no one said a word, so Jon ordered his men to begin killing them. For 3 days lowborn were dragged into the streets and killed, but none spoke a word of Robert's whereabouts. As the sun began to rise on the 4th day, the bells rang. Jon was alerted to the approaching forces led by Ned Stark, Yohn Royce and Brynden Tully. 20,000 Northerners, 10,000 Tully levies, and 18,100 Valemen, making for 36,100 rebels, compared to Jon's 11,000. Jon ordered his men to guard up on the borders of the town, with a shield-wall, spears in the second line, and horses behind them to charge out first and slow the rebel approach. The van of the rebels was led by Brandon and the Greatjon Umber, whilst the main force was commanded by Yohn Royce, the rear by Brynden Tully, and the reserves and archers by Ned and Jon Arryn, spanning the whole of what would come to be known as the Rebel Hill. Jon's charging forces were crushed by the almost entirely Northernly manned vanguard. His wall was barely holding, and things were only made worse when the soldiers revealed themselves within the town. Even the lowborn picked up arms and charged to battle against Jon. Robert eventually rode out, aiding in the battle. The Targaryen forces were dismantled, and Jon barely survived after he killed Ser Denys Arryn, a cousin to Jon Arryn and heir to the Vale, then escaping back to King's Landing with just a couple thousand men at most. Robert and Ned were reunited, and the now unified rebel force of 45,700. They then returned to Riverrun to finish negotiations and rally all of the Rivermen. Jon Connington on the other hand was removed as Hand of the King and stripped of his titles, being exiled from the Realm to Essos. Aerys named his Master of Coin his Hand afterwards, and had the alchemists place staches of wildfire throughout the city. 
==== In the Vale ====
Both Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark press Jon Arryn to call his banners as a threat to Aerys, but Jon cools them, instead sending out ravens to his Lords to prepare for war as a precaution. Robert also sends ravens to his Regent in the Stormlands, his uncle, Lord Edwyn Estermont, to do the same, save those loyal to Jon Connington who resides in King's Landing. 
The Taking of Gulltown; Lords Jon Arryn, Robert Baratheon, and Eddard Stark led a force of 14,000 rebels through Etterbill, then marched south to Gulltown whilst Lord Yohn Royce led a force of 4,000 down on them at the same time to attack simultaneously. Robert is named leader of the Van, Yohn Royce leader of the body, Ned the Rear, and Jon with the reserves and archers. Lord Marq Grafton commanded 6,000 men on the walls of the city. Robert Baratheon led the first wave through the walls alongside a young Lyn Corbray. Eddard Stark commanded the battle from the back with Jon Arryn, until Ned joined the fifth and final wave sent through in the battle. Marq Grafton entered a fight with Robert Baratheon, but his head was quickly smashed against Robert's warhammer. Gulltown fell before the Hour of the Wolf and the new Lord Randyll Grafton surrendered, pledging to join the rebels. Lyn Corbray was knighted by Robert in Gerold's Hall. Both Ned and Robert departed the following day, Ned for White Harbor to rally his men and lead them south, Robert with Ser Donnel Arryn and Lord Yohn Royce on the Gulltown Fleet of some ten combat ships for Storm's End to rally his own troops whilst Jon Arryn takes his men back to the Eyrie to join with any newly raised forces, then exit the Vale and join with Ned's forces after coming down the Neck. 
==== In the Westerlands ====
==== In the Stormlands ====
The Battles at Summerhal: After rallying his troops at Storm's End, and the rejection of his terms by King Aerys, Robert would be alerted that the Lords Harys Grandison, Lucas Fell, and Jon Cafferen are remaining loyal to the King and have rallied at Summerhal where they are preparing to march on Storm's End after Lord Jon Connington and Ser Gerold Hightower joins them with his force of 6,000 from the capital. Robert takes his force of roughly 17,000 west to Summerhal, where they plan to strike in the night. The three Lord's forces are in separate camps, lined up for Robert. Robert leads the Van, whilst Yohn leads the main force, Stannis leads the rear guard, and Lord Bonifer Hasty commands the reserves and archers. He decides to strike Lord Cafferen's force of nearly 2,000. Robert's forces crush Cafferen's, and Lord Jon is captured. The battle doesn't even last 20 minutes, and Robert leads his forces on Lucas Fell's force of 2,200 whom are in disarray. Their battle last nearly an hour, but unbeknownst to Robert, Lucas is just stalling for their larger force that sits at the ruins of Summerhal, commanded by Harys Grandison, whom are awaiting the coming force of Jon Connington. Lord Fell is captured and Robert falls upon the Grandison force. Robert manages to defeat them in a little over an hour despite having tired troops after he kills Lucas, however, that's when Connington falls upon Robert, with Gerold leading the van. The Stormland forces are backed up by the surprise ambush from the higher elevation. Yohn holds the line, whilst Robert leads a flank with Ser Lomas Estermont. It works well at first, hitting Connington's forces hard, but Ser Herman Belgrave leads an advance that cuts the flank off. However, Herman loses his life in combat against Robert soon after. Noticing the struggle, Stannis leads his own flank with their other uncle, Ser Eldon Estermont. With the two flanks and the main force now regaining its composure, Connington reluctantly gives in, pulling his forces back over the Summer Hill, retreating back to King's Landing with Gerold. Stannis is knighted by Robert there at Summerhal, before him and Robert return to Storm's End with 1,200 men and Lords Cafferen and Grandison, leaving their main force at Summerhal under Yohn and Lomas. 
The Siege of Storm's End: Following Robert's defeat at Ashford, 55,000 Reachmen marched on Storm's End, led by Lord Mace Tyrell. Stannis Baratheon commanded the Storm's End garrison alongside Ser Eldon Estermont. Surrounded and cut off with limited food supplies, Stannis ordered rationing, that quickly ran out. They soon started relying on Ser Davos, the Onion Knight, a famed smuggler from King's Landing who began running them supplies through the dangerous Shipbreaker Bay. Lord Edwyn Estermont died some 3 moons into the siege from a mix of old age and starvation. 
==== In the North ====
==== In the Reach ====
Battle of Ashford: Robert leads a force 19,800 strong into the Reach, intending to strike for Highgarden. However, Lord Randyll Tarly, who is leading the Tyrell van of 10,000, finds the unsuspecting Robert in Ashford. The force overruns Robert's, confusing them and hitting them hard and fast. Not 35 minutes later, Robert realizes they must leave before the main force arrives and crushes them, and so commands them to retreat north. In the end, Robert's forces were diminished down to 17,600, and Lord Jon Cafferen was slain by Lord Vortimer Vyrwell, whilst Lord Mace Tyrell continued moving his forces east to Storm's End. Following this, Lord Owen Merryweather was removed as Hand of the King by Aerys for his failure to prevent the uprising, stripping him of his lands and titles and throwing him in the Black Cells, naming Lord Jon Connington in his stead and sending Gerold to find Prince Rhaegar and bring him back to King's Landing. 
Battle of the Rocky Hill: As Robert Baratheon led his force through Bitterbridge, heading for Riverrun to meet with Ned and Jon and hopefully join with Hoster Tully's forces, Hand of the King, Jon Connington set a trap. In the county of Cherlyish in Bitterbridge, there is a pass that one must travel through to go north and was the quickest route for Robert to Riverrun from Ashford. However, the pass is long, and is prone to rockslides. Knowing that, Jon Connington set out once again with a replenished force of 11,000. As the Stormlanders were passing through, the rocks were pushed, causing several large-scale rockslides. As the survivors barreled through, confused and stunned, Jon set his forces on them. Once again Robert was beat, being wounded in the confusion when he faced a 5v1. They were forced to retreat back north in great haste, scattering their forces while leaving others to be captured. It was a great battle for Jon, earning him much prestige and shifting the tide of the war, firmly establishing as Hand. Robert's force was reduced down to just 10,800 men.
== Episodes ==
Episode	Title 	Rating	Air Date
1 	The Wild Wolf 	10/10 	June 1st, 2019
2 	Fire and Steel 	10/10 	June 8th, 2019
3 	The Prince and His Bride	10/10 	June 15th, 2019
4 	Gulltown 	9.9/10	June 22nd, 2019
5 	The White Cloak 	9.9/10	June 29th, 2019
6 	The Griffin 	9.8/10	July 6th, 2019
7 	Ours is the Fury 	10/10 	July 13th, 2019
8 	The Queen's Life 	9.7/10	July 20th, 2019
9 	When Two are One 	10/10 	July 27th, 2019
10 	Heartsbane 	10/10 	August 3rd, 2019
11 	The Hand Who Dared 	10/10 	August 10th, 2019
12 	The Bells 	10/10 	August 17th, 2019
== Central Characters ==
* Lord Robert Baratheon
* Eddard Stark
* Prince Rhaegar Targaryen
* Lyanna Stark
* Catelyn Tully
* Ser Jaime Lannister
* Queen Rhaella Targaryen
* Princess Elia Martell
* Cersei Lannister
* Stannis Baratheon
* Lord Jon Arryn
* Ashara Dayne
* King Aerys II Targaryen
* Lord Hoster Tully
* Ser Brynden Tully
* Ser Arthur Dayne
* Ser Barristan Selmy
* Lord Edwyn Estermont
* Petyr Baelish
* Lysa Tully
* Benjen Stark
== Awards ==
Best Series - (Won) - 2019
Best Cinematography - (Won) - 2019
Best Lead Actor - Brandon Sklenar/Robert Baratheon (Won) - 2019
Best Lead Actor - Armie Hammer/Rhaegar Targaryen (Nominated) - 2019
Best Supporting Actor - Jason Isaacs/Aerys II Targaryen (Won) - 2019
Best Supporting Actor - Oscar Morgan/Jon Connington (Nominated) - 2019
Best Supporting Actor - Wyatt Nash/Jaime Lannister (Nominated) - 2019
Best Supporting Actor - Stephen Stanton/Jon Arryn (Nominated) - 2019
Best Lead Actress - Rachel Brosnahan/Lyanna Stark (Nominated) - 2019
Best Supporting Actress - Gillian Jacobs/Rhaella Targaryen (Won) - 2019
Best Supporting Actress - Eiza Gonzalez/Elia Martell (Nominated) - 2019
Best Supporting Actress - Caitlin Blackwood/Catelyn Tully (Nominated) - 2019
Best Supporting Actress - Clare Foley/Lysa Tully (Nominated) - 2019
Best Director - Emerald Fennell (Won) - 2019
Best Writer - Jack Zimmerman (Won) - 2019
Best Composer - Ramin Djawadi (Won) - 2019