HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones will be back on March 31st, and the sumptuous Showtime hit The Borgias will return for its second season beginning April 14th.
If you’ve been intrigued by these shows but missed their first seasons and now worry you’ll be hopelessly lost, never fear: Amazon Instant Videos are here.
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Game of Thrones Season 1 (TV-MA, 4.75/5 stars, currently priced at $2.99 per episode to buy or $28.99 to buy the entire season) has 10 full-length episodes in all, plus three featurettes (free to view) available in the Amazon Instant Video Store.
Game of Thrones is a complex epic based on a series of fantasy novels written by George R. R. Martin. Here’s a summary of the overall storyline from Shmoop:
Several noble houses fight a civil war over who should be king, while an exiled princess tries to find her place in the world, and the kingdom is threatened by some rising supernatural threat in the north…
…A Game of Thrones can be broken down into three stories:
(1) The longest part of this book tells how the noble Stark family deals with conspiracy and court politics in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, with particular emphasis on Eddard Stark, the father and leader of the noble family.
(2) A second story follows the exiled princess Daenerys, one of the last descendants from the previous royal family, as she grows up on another continent.
(3) A third story follows Jon Snow, the illegitimate son of Eddard Stark, as he grows up in the north of Westeros. He is in the special military order called the Night’s Watch, which is dedicated to protecting the civilized Seven Kingdoms from the dangers beyond the Wall.
While season two of Game of Thrones is yet to begin, there are 9 preview featurettes available to view in the Instant Video store to tide fans over while they wait.
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The Borgias (TV-MA, 4/5 stars, currently priced at $1.99 per episode to buy or $16.99 to buy the entire first season of 9 episodes) is an historical costume drama (co-created by celebrated writer-director Neil Jordan) based on the notorious intrigues of Pope Rodrigo Borgia (Jeremy Irons) and his family.
The first season chronicles Rodrigo’s cunning rise to power, the numerous plots and power plays he employes to solidify his position, and the familial rifts that lead to rifts and shifting loyalties within his own household.
At the end of the first season, displaced Cardinals and men true to the faith had begun to circle Rodrigo, cultivating alliances and schemes to either depose or murder him.
The second season will focus on the many challenges to Rodrigo’s authority and status, both within The Church and within his own family.