The first season of Game of Thrones is comprised of 10 episodes of roughly one hour each. The show is based on the first novel of the series A Song of Ice and Fire. Game of Thrones takes place in a fantasy world and is split between multiple viewpoints. The main viewpoint is from the perspective of Ned Stark, a lord protecting the kingdom from the North. Bad omens occur and set forth in motion a series of events. He is asked to become the King's Hand (basically an adviser) and due to this role, unravels a lot more than he bargained for. It was mentioned in passing that the current king took the Iron Throne around 17 years ago. The king is Ned's old friend and a conspiracy unfolds when the king is targeted next.
The other major viewpoint is from the Targaryens, from across the sea. The exiled Prince Viserys Targaryen is planning to amass an army to take back his throne. Viserys is already shown to be hiding something, and mentally unstable based on his violent actions against his sister Daenerys. While the beginning of the first episode can be overwhelming with the sheer number of characters introduced and the fast pacing, it settles in by around halfway through. You'll become engrossed in its world before you know it. The episode ends on a strong ending and you feel that the building blocks are already in place for the rest of the season. Game of Thrones is not shy of violent, nudity and sex scenes. Already in the first episode we have various beheadings and characters having sex. Note that the show does not glorify violent, having someone cut across their stomach and their intestines spill out is pretty disgusting.
The characters live in a cruel and stark world, otherwise they would not survive. There are obvious evil characters, which makes the honorable ones all the more likable. The acting is great with characters that you can easily love to hate. The child actors also do a standout job. However, basically everyone has some dark unlikable trait. As expected with a show of this nature, there's quite a bit of scheming going on in the background. Each party tries to outsmart the other, especially since the stakes are so high, being the kingdom itself. It is hard to know what each character is thinking and the side that they are on. They each have their own agenda and allegiances with a lot of distrust going on.
The other thing is that things can turn on the characters in an instant. One minute, Ned Stark has the upper hand, the next, he is targeted with no one to back him up. It makes it unpredictable and you wonder how the characters are going to get out of their current predicament. You can't stay attached to any of the characters because chances are, they aren't going to live by the end of the season. It's like you try and make an effort to remember the faces and their roles but then they just go ahead and be slain by some other characters. Then again, none of the characters have enough redeeming qualities for them not to deserve their death. There is one point in the story that you cannot believe that they went ahead and killed the characters but it also highlights the ruthlessness and stupidity of a certain character.
It is roughly two-thirds into the season when the power balance shifts dramatically. You can't help but anxiously watch in anticipation on whether the characters' actions will pay off. Up until the last moment, you cannot tell what the result is and this is what makes Game of Thrones so engrossing. Each action feels like a domino effect, spurring the next action until it escalates into serious matters. One mistake is all it takes to make a character fall. Game of Thrones has an epic feel to it, thanks to the strong and rousing music, as well as the panning shots of castles and open fields.
The season has so many plot threads in order to set up future plot threads that it doesn't get resolved by the end of the ten episodes. It isn't bad so much for the fact that you have to wait longer for the payoff. The ending is a killer though. You could feel it building up all season and when it is finally revealed, the season ends. Overall, the first season of Game of Thrones is great. While it has numerous characters and concurrent plotlines that can make it hard to follow at times, the setup and payoffs are worthwhile.
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