Episode after episode, the series simply takes hold, fully gripping its viewers as it gradually reveals an epic scope while maintaining an intimate core of character driven storytelling.
I was totally sucked into an expansive, rich tapestry of feuding houses and exotic lands, of complex relationships and morally ambiguous motivations, of timeless themes, and yes, even tiny hints of magic. I was immediately transported into another world with a past and history as storied and multifaceted as our own. From the moment the first episode ended, I was hooked, fully and completely.
In fact, I could not have been more wrong. Don't get me wrong, given the cable network's prestigious track record, I fully expected the show to be good, but to me, the series looked like generic, dark fantasy material, with very little to distinguish it from other seemingly more original and successful efforts in the genre. When the initial trailers for HBO's 'Game of Thrones' first hit the airwaves, I must admit, I was fairly underwhelmed.
