For those who thought Game of Thrones went astray, or never quite lived up to its potential, this is a chance at redemption. Many more subtleties, many more dragons, much more infighting. So much subtlety that I'm not quite sure who all the characters are, where they stand, or what they thought happened at certain points. If you are a detail-oriented hardcore fan, this is a plus. If you're more casual, like me, it's a bit annoying. I gave up on subtleties after all the unresolved lines in GoT, and I'm still bitter about it.

Acting, casting, worldbuilding, special effects...all top notch. Wouldn't surprise me if many of GoT major players behind the scenes are working their magic again.

Time jumps are annoying. I struggled to track which adult characters translated to which child character after the jump, especially since their names are similar...their looks are similar...their personalities are similar...almost like family.

After the finale, which was quite good, I kind of get the time jumps. If they truly took their time with it, they'd lose everyone in seasons of backstory before the real action in season 5. Now we should see real action in season 2, and I'm looking forward to it.

This series has a lot of potential, just like Game of Thrones did. I intend to revisit this review after each season and add a star if it's living up to its potential.