'Game of Thrones' review: Season 3 debut an A-plus

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"GoT" is hard: It's a long, complex novel consigned to the screen -- and faithfully consigned. It can be talky, labyrinthine and opaque. One scene proceeds from the next, unrelated, pushing the plot along in some unseen direction. Characters evolve. He (or she) who is evil one season, may grow a conscience the next (or vice versa). The competing interests are bewildering, even more so with the advent of the wildlings.

Also, Westeros is relentlessly Hobbesian -- it's a ferocious place where the good die young, and die often. There is no love here, only greed and desire and cruelty. Darkness spreads over every scene, even when the sun is shining. But a word of advice: Dive in anyway (and read the book). Sunday and the next three episodes are superb while the rhythms and beats of the story are very nearly hypnotic. Nothing here feels wasteful or cheap.

Nothing will or should disappoint hard-core fans either, who have eagerly sought Martin's dark vision for years in the hopes that real wisdom lies at the end of his -- and their -- journey. There are a few scenes this season where producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss even threaten to do what Peter Jackson did so often in "The Lord of the Rings": Improve on the book. Plus, what seems baffling is really very simple. "GoT" is an exploration of the human heart -- don't blame the series if what it finds there is often so ugly.

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