I remember when fantasy was just for kids. When children would steal their mother's engagement ring, and go up to the old spooky well to throw it in, pretending they were throwing the “one ring” into the fires of Mordor, and consequently getting mommy in loads of trouble with daddy. As with every show that has ever been made for HBO, despite it's fantasy genre, this isn't a show for kids. I'm not just saying this because it's violent, or because almost every episode has nudity. This show is for adults because of it's mature, sophisticated, and complex execution, that has made it one of the best first seasons of any show in the last decade.

The story takes place in the fictional Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. The setting is more reminiscent of medieval times, then what you will find in a Lord of the Rings film. There are no wizards, no elfs, and no magic...at least for now. The mad king has been dead for quite some time, replaced by a fat drunken king and his wife's family of treacherous betrayers. The hand of the king has been killed, giving the king a chance to elect his best friend in the new position. The story's main motion of events is put in full throttle after the newly elected king's hand's son is thrown off a castle window, after finding the queen sleeping with her own brother. The next few episodes lead to the Stark family finding out who tried to kill their son, the true intentions of the Queen's family, as well as follow the last remaining blood line of the mad king's extinct family.

What makes the story engaging is how down-to-earth it is. These aren't characters trying to save an entire world from the brink of a take-over, or trying to slay a magical dragon. These are characters dealing with relatable problems, or at least with topics that our society is familiar with. We can understand the main character's drive for exposing the corruption of the kingdom's authority figures, or his wife trying to figure out why someone would want to kill her son. These are conflicts that are much more understandable than the cliches that are often found in the genre, and because they are understandable we are able to better follow them, root for them, and be engaged by the narrative.

A big killer of first seasons is too much exposition. I have often found first seasons of shows that try to accomplish too much within it's short episode count. Boardwalk Empire had this issue, where characters would take part in actions that didn't connect with the main storyline. These actions usually felt tacked on. Game of Thrones does a good job at making everyone's storyline connect to the main plot. If the king did something, it effected the stories of almost every other character. Even when the Imp did something, it effected the actions or plans of a good amount of other characters. It was the first time, in a long time, that I watched a show where it felt like one flowing, causally linked narrative, rather than feeling like I was watching multiple, very separate storylines coming together. It wasn't that Game of Thrones didn't have separate storylines, but everyone's action had such a great impact that it felt like watching a concise and tightly connected show.

In a time where even the more riskier shows on television are playing it too safe, I have to applaud Game of Thrones for taking even more drastic risks than many of the other riskier shows out there. I would even say it's riskier, and more original than most of the fantasy films that have been released. It isn't afraid to break almost every fantasy convention; from not having a prominent magical presence, to making the conflict more relatable than the usual grand journeys the genre is plagued with. It even breaks many conventions of television shows, with what has to be the biggest spoiler of the year: The main character is killed, and it wasn't even on the season finale! I wouldn't be surprised if every showrunner in television are calling the writers of Game of Thrones crazy, but it's that craziness that I admire, and desperately want to see in more shows.

When they write a book on how to play a torn character, Sean Bean will be on the cover. He is known for playing characters that are tragically heroic, but he has never dived deeper into the psyche of a torn character than he has as Ned Stark in Game of Thrones. This is a character caught in two worlds. In one world, he has his duty as a husband and a father, where he has to support his wife trying to find out about their son's attempted murder, even if it conflicts with his duties as the King's Hand. On the other, he has to be a loyal servant to his friend, and try to protect the very Queen that could tear his life apart at any second. Even when his decisions are easy, Bean is able to portray the worry that will come from the consequences of his actions. What's even more conflicting than his torn situation, is the fact that Ned is too noble for his own good, and is willing to risk everything to expose the truth, even when defeat is inevitable. He is the definition of a tragic hero, but one that can't be so easily defined when fully analyzed. Bean is able to successfully find every nuance and emotion that the character needs to display, and by the end of the show you don't see Sean Bean; instead you see Ned Stark, and you will weep when Ned Stark reaches his unjustly tragic end.

The charm of the show belongs to Peter Dinklage as the Lannister imp. He's the character who can use his words to get out of any situation, but his intentions are always surprisingly earnest. He feels like the character caught up in a conflict he hasn't fully grasped yet, but confidently pretends he is ahead of the game. Dinklage embodies the character better than most of the other actor's embody theirs. I can't see anyone else playing this role, and he is easily one of the scene stealers of the show.

The other Lanister actors do a good job at putting a perfect level of creepy into their treacherous characters. Lena Headey as the Queen is able to always hide an intention behind every smile, and it feels as if she is performing as a sister who is performing as a Queen. She's the puppet master that Ned is trying to unveil to the world, but her snake-like manipulation is always one step ahead of him. What makes Headey's performance and character so dynamic is that throughout all of the lies and manipulation the writers threw in moments of sincere truth, that make her seem like the tragic character that could have been avoided if the proper people would have shown her love. Her son, who becomes king at the end of the show, is immaturely despicable. You have to commend a show's writing, and the young actor's ability, when you want to see a teenage boy get his throat slashed. If he transitions into the main villain of later seasons then I can guarantee fans that we are in for a treat, especially as Gleeson warms up to the character. Finally, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jamie Lannister, the pretty boy Lannister, does an admirable job at being just as despicable, but you get the sense that it's all his fault. As if he was the one that forced his sister into loving him in a sexual way, and his fault that the current king is a joke. This is a man that stabbed the king he was sworn to protect, and you get the unsettling feeling that he is hiding the fact he enjoys his infamous title. Together, the Lannisters make some of the best villains to grace the small screen since Ben Linus from Lost.

The only actress that I felt had an unusual arc was Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen. It's not that she wasn't good, she was actually magnificent as the vulnerable sister sold to the brooding hoard of rapist barbarians. It was just that her character falls into an unsettling amount of confidence that was absolutely non-existent in the beginning of the series, and her motivation for this change was never truly clear. It seemed that after she conquered her overpowering barbarian husband, she became a subtle power-hungry freak, but then it would also seem her fascination with her dragon heritage is what sparked it as well. At the end of the show, she still has a humanistic factor to her, but you don't know whether to see her as a foolish girl with a power she still needs to figure out how to control, or a crazy maniac that might be on to something grand. Perhaps that was the intentions of the writer. Either way, Clarke does a good job at finding a balance for the character, and handling her vulnerability, as well as her sense of discovery, with perfection.

If I went through every actor that did a great job at embodying their characters, this review would quickly turn into a harry potter sized critique. It's easier to say there is no sour performance within the entire cast, but I will point out a couple of the notables. Maisie Willaims as Ned Stark's tomboy daughter is definitely one of the scene stealer's of the show, and all the resilience and strong will her father portrayed she is able to earnestly embody. Out of all of the characters, I am most anxious to see how she develops in the next season. Aiden Gillen as Petyr Baelish was able to craft a character with a silver-tongue so full of lies that even the best poker player couldn't catch his bluff. Even I was surprised by his betrayal towards the end, despite him always providing the signs right before our eyes.

When I had first heard about Game of Thrones, I wasn't optimistic about it. After all, it was a fantasy show that was taking out all of the fantasy elements. However, it only took the pilot for me to become a fan of this new series, and each episode grabs you in more than the last. This is cable television at it's best, and required viewing for all.

9.5/10