It is very much top-tier prestige TV. Succession, Mad Men, BCS tier characters and performances, with some fantastic movie-quality sets and the occasional action sequence.

It is different from early GoT, but matches it in characters and intrigue. (Though to be fair, nothing could live up to Peter Dinklage's unique presence in the original.)

It retains the original show's gruesome and lewd edginess, but goes about it in a classier and less tawdry fashion.

And as far as a fantasy setting, it does not get bogged down in lore, and isn't dependent on knowledge of the previous show to understand it.

I was consistently shocked that it never had a single bad/sagging episode. It keeps moving and every aspect feels deliberate and carefully planned.

If the rest of the series is as artfully plotted and executed, it will be considered an all-time great.

Also a contender for some of the best costuming ever in a fantasy production, the occasional eyebrow-raising wig aside.