A common comment from my friends I was watching it with (who just got introduced to the books through the show, but have now read them), was 'I expected him to have longer hair and be dirtier'; mostly about Craster, but also Stannis (well, longer hair) and Davos (well, dirtier). I was nerding out just seeing characters and identifying them, but after that initial thrill I was maybe a bit disappointed.

I thought the Cersei scene where she threatens Littlefinger was, on one hand, a bit over the top, but on the other hand, an excellent characterization of Cersei's total lack of tact and guile. Which transitioned even better into the next scene with her and Joffrey, when we're reminded that he's even more tactless than her. Can't wait for Tyrion to come into his own as Hand.

I was disappointed by the scene with Jaime as prisoner, if only because it felt like they sacrificed one of the most interesting qualities of his (eventually) rich character - his unflappability and total indifference in the face of death - to have an 'isn't this CGI direwolf cool?' scene. I suppose his response was rather more muted than most might have been, so it may not read like that to everyone, but to me it was a bit of a letdown.

On the other hand - glad they are using CGI direwolves as I feel we'll see them more.