It was quite good, but I don't think it would be a phenomenon without the GoT name attached to it. Ultimately it feels like so many spinoffs, just lacking the charm or chemistry or charisma of the original. Any scene without Viserys just felt like minor characters dicking around.

That said, that's grading on a very specific scale, aka comparing it to other HBO tier quality flagship shows. By the normal standards of television the production values alone make it worth watching.

EDIT: Also seems a bit more transparent in its moments of cheap shock and over the topness, but I could be applying some rose colored glasses to GoT on that one. Watching Cripson be an untouchable serial murderer just got boring, as did the 26 or so minutes we spent this season watching violent births. Also people seem to love it, but Daemon's behavior never comes across as rogueish or "badass" to me, it comes across as spoiled, petulant child. "Look at me not stand when decorum demands it I'm such a rebel!"