Sam Kellen

I had no faith in another ASOIAF show... but HotD is a tour de force of masterful scriptwriting. Every frame is as beautiful as a painting, with competent medieval consultants, understated CGI, and thoughtful dialogue which doesn't presume the audience has room-temperature IQ. Every actor delivers a stunning performance, none so well as Paddy Considine, whose performance will probably be earning him acclaim for a decade. At the end of the day, this is a show about how the personal relationships of those who hold great power shape the world, for good and ill. Fire and blood, dragons and magic, kingly birthrights and baseborn bloodlines are all beautifully crafted window-dressings for a cautionary tale examining human nature, and the daily warring battles in all of us to be better than our worst selves.