I found the early episodes quite enthralling. They weren't quite as good as the Game of Thrones scripts and screenplay, but the story was building nicely and subsequent episodes progressed well on a solid theme.

However I began to lose interest and found myself not hanging on every episode release or paying as much attention to the developments, conversations and twists of fate that unfolded as my viewing progressed.

Eight episodes in and its clear there are some serious shortcomings in this production, not in quality of the visuals mind, more in the writing and direction. At times I'm left confused, not because I missed some nuance, or detail escaped me due to the fast paced scenes or depth of detail that occasionally happened in Game of Thrones, but because somethings are just portrayed confusingly or unclearly.

There is treachery and deceit and to some extent mild depravity, but this is a far cry from the complexly perceived and executed skulduggery that Game of Thrones entwined so exceptionally into its plot and script. The sharpness of tongue and the clever delivery is missing here and it comes across as a half decent knock-off of the real thing.

I found the skipping ahead half a dozen years particularly problematic, not just with the story progression but with the character depiction. Characters like Rhaenyra Targaryen have been very well established and having them portrayed by a new actor does the series and injustice. This isn't a case of changing from a child actor to an adult after they have grown up, which is generally acceptable. This is an young woman in this case Milly Alcock, being substituted for a slightly older one Emma D'Arcy, who grates against the characterisation already set, particularly as she doesn't handle the role as well. This cast change happens with some of the roles while others maintain the original casting which makes things even more incongruous.

As you would expect, the series is a cinematic masterpiece, but the direction is also questionable in some places. The screen play and script are the major problems, and I don't think I'm being overly critical when I say the general level of enjoyment has steadily declined. The effervescence of enthusiasm, excitement and eagerness for the next instalment is absent in a way that sadly contrasts my experience with Game of Thrones. I laboured through episode eight's slow boring story with gritted teeth and slowly escalating restlessness that culminated in a strange wave of relief as the credits rolled. Needless to say, I think its the last episode I'm going to suffer, as it's quite simply become a chore to watch.

I don't want to make this solely about a comparison between the two series, but in truth Game of Thrones set an incredibly high standard which this series is finding impossible to match. Look its OK generally, but the steady decline in watchability is impossible to ignore and it needs some competent writing to bring it out the the stables of mediocrity where it is comfortably nestled at the moment. I can see the viewership seriously declining if more effort isn't made into making the story more compelling.

Give it a watch, as I said before its decent enough to begin with, but I can't in all honesty even give it a solid thumbs up based on entertainment value.