Was the fact that I was watching it at a friends house in HD. This was my first experience watching a show (played video games on it it though) in HD and it just looked oddly TOO REAL. Sure, it is crystal clear and all, but it felt like I was watching from the viewpoint of the "making of" camera that was filming from behind the big cameras. Or like I was watching a daytime soap opera. Although, I should mention that after the show I discovered that my friend has the brightness on his TV set pretty high, which might account for some of the wierdness the image had for me. Leaving me unsure if I like HD or not for shows, or just for gaming.

But I have to say that the most visually stunning part of the show is the title sequence. WOW. I'd read descriptions of it, but my imagination fell far short of how this looked. Simply amazing. And the neat touch of putting a house sigil icon next to the names of each actor, denoting their character's allegiance was pretty cool. And the icons they used for the crew and such got pretty amusing; crossed swords for the editor, who "cuts" the show.

I'll be honest that I was disappointed in one change from the book; I would have liked to see Jon Snow drunk at the feast at the lower table, instead of just plain old banished from the feast in general. But I figure part of the reason for this change is to save on time, showing Jon inside before he staggers outdoors before running into the Imp.

Ah, the Imp. Dinklage was better than I could have dreamed as Tyrion. Everyone seems to have been right in thinking he was perfect for the role.

Other actors that impressed me where Harry Lloyd and Maise Williams