As usual, this show is not nearly as bad as the 1 star raters say nor as "amazing" as the 10 star folks say it is. I read the book on which this was based, as I had read Martin's original Song of Ice And Fire a many years before HBO made it into a series. Very similar in the way they are laying groundwork and cut to the chase and streamlined many characters and houses so that it's easier to follow. This was a good first episode they can build on. Give it a shot and see how it plays out. So far, so good.