Game Of Thrones Season 2 photos of Brienne, Davos the Onion Knight, Melisandre, and more!

On April 1st HBO’s critically acclaimed (and enormously popular) fantasy series Game of Thrones returns for its second season of back stabbing and front stabbing as a slew of new characters are added to the elaborate chess match based on George R. R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire series of books.

Replacing such wonderful characters as [SEASON ONE SPOILER ALERT] Eddard Stark, Drogo, and King Robert Baratheon will not be easy, but for anyone who has read A Clash of Kings (The book Season 2 is based on) you know that for every wonderfully crafted character who loses his head or gets poisoned or even gored by a boar, there are two more that sprout up to replace him (or her – GoT has some badass ladies).

Some of the characters we can enjoy being brought to life by the award-winning Game of Thrones production crew this season include Brienne the Beautiful, Davos Seaworth (the Onion Knight), and Melisandre the Red Priestess. And thanks to HBO, we can take a sneak peek at the actors and actresses in costume in a series of high-quality photos released earlier today! Without further ado, here are the brand new Game of Thrones Season 2 cast photos!

Carice van Houten as Melisandre
Stephen Dillane as Stannis Baratheon
Stannis Baratheon’s Red Priestess can see the future, give birth to murderous shadows, and otherwise f*** up your world, which is exactly what she does to would-be-King Stannis! Or does she? (Stannis appeared in the first season and plays a huge role in Season 2)


Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth
Un affectionately nicknamed Brienne the Beauty, Brienne is a large, uncomely woman with nearly unrivaled fighting skills and similarly unrivaled notions of honor.


Liam Cunningham as Davos Seaworth
The Onion Knight is another of Stannis Baratheon’s inner council and Melisandre’s exact opposite in pretty much every way. A former master smuggler with a penchant for speaking the truth, Davos promises to be a breakout favorite this season.

                
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen (or Daenerys Stormborn, or Mother of Dragons, or just plain Khaleesi)

                
Maisie Williams as Arya Stark (left) and Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, Arya’s older sister.

                
Gethin Anthony as Renley Baratheon (left) and Golden Globe Award-winning Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister (wearing Eddard Stark’s king’s hand pin!)

                
Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister (left) and Jack Gleeson as King Joffrey Baratheon, Cersei’s son

                
Richard Madden as Robb Stark (left) and Michelle Fairley as Catelynn Stark, Robb’s mother

                
Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy (left) and Patrick Malahide as Balon Greyjoy, his father


Kit Harington as Jon Snow (Sorry, I couldn’t find a wallpaper-sized version of this image to link to)

At the top of the post is Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark (the boy) and Kristian Nairn as Hodor. (Hodor! Hodor!) The only notable omission here is Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as “The Kingslayer” Jaime Lannister. Hmmmm…

Photos: Helen Sloan / HBO