Game of Thrones (HBO)
Where to binge: All four seasons available on HBO GO

God, this show is exhausting. And I mean that as a compliment.

Watching three seasons of Game of Thrones in less than a month is one of the crowning achievements in my Binge Watch-ing history. It’s not that I haven’t watched more shows in less time (looking at you, all five seasons of Friday Night Lights), it’s just that watching a single episode of Game of Thrones feels akin to reading a 1,000-page novel written in a foreign tongue. This is dense, sweeping material, spread across multiple lands and told in multiple variations of European accents.

And yet, with each passing episode, the viewer gets drawn in by the show — slowly, almost begrudgingly at the start, as you wade through the first several hours of season 1. These are the episodes in which you’re introduced to the various tribes and clans that inhabit Westeros, author George R.R. Martin‘s sprawling country made semi-famous in A Song of Ice and Fire, the on-going book series of which Martin has so far penned five of a planned seven books.

The names, faces, and places come at a relentless pace during the first season: King’s Landing, the House of Lannister, Winterfell, Daenerys Stormborn Targaryen, and many others. These are also the episodes that will make or break your interest in GoT. If you can weather the early storm, you’ll be rewarded.

As the first season moves along, the show slows its pace and allows you to visit each land and learn the backstory of each character. Admittedly, some of these lands and stories are more interesting than others. If you’re a fan of king-and-queen drama, you’ll love the intrigue and deception surrounding King Robert Baratheon and his wife, Cersei Lannister. If you enjoy gladiator-esque sword play, there’s plenty of that from the Starks, the family in charge of Westeros’ northern city, Winterfell.

Stark family patriarch, Lord Eddard “Ned” Stark, serves as a de facto main character in season 1 and, as portrayed by the perfectly-bearded Sean Bean, Ned is about as morally righteous a character as there is on GoT. It’s interesting to see how morally righteous characters get “ahead” on this show. Regardless, the show knows that it’s a marathon, not a race, and head writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss do a fantastic job of luring the viewer into this expansive world.

To even try to synthesize all of the goings-on in the various plot lines that make up GoT would require another four Binge Watch columns: the show is never devoid of “stuff happening.” After a few episodes, it becomes easier to follow the action, but it is interesting to note how the show chooses to unfold its action. GoT is the most densely-plotted series I can recall, yet its storytelling trajectory is actually quite short. Most of the stories told on GoT are spread across multiple seasons, and when you’re watching them in big chunks, it becomes clear that this show actually moves at a snail’s pace.

I have not read any of the Martin series, but those who have read the books know that, as GoT entered its fourth season, less than three books’ worth of Martin’s material had been used so far. Still, from what has been reported of season 4, the show does seem to be picking up speed. That presents GoT with a difficult — and, I believe, unique — problem: what happens when the show catches up with Martin’s writing? (Please feel free to make your next Internet stop right here.)

Some episodes feel painstakingly slow, there’s no denying that. But this is a minor complaint, and one that might not even register with most viewers. If the worst thing said about a show is that it takes its time to establish strong, yet morally ambiguous, characters and tell vivid, often-jaw-droppingly-surprising stories, then I’d say the show is doing just fine.

After three seasons, I feel confident saying that GoT is certainly one of the more enjoyable shows on television right now. But as hype continues to build — the season 4 premiere was the show’s most watched episode to date — where does the show rank among the greats? It’s still too early to tell.

What I do know is that few shows have ever felt this epic, and I mean that literally and not in the way the word is bandied about in most writings. Over the first several seasons, GoT has been shot in countless locations, across multiple countries: Croatia, Morocco, Ireland, Iceland, Malta, and Scotland. These locations give breadth and substance to almost every scene. The show feels huge, and I think that lends itself toward a feeling of grandeur for the series overall. I will need to see where Martin goes with the story — and how the show runners tell that story — before I try to rank this one with the greats.

Still, if you haven’t taken the plunge into the world of Westeros, Game of Thrones is highly-recommended. For binge-watching purposes, two or three episodes at a clip is the most you’re likely to get in on one night. The material is heavy and often harrowing, and for that reason, I suggest you pace yourself.

Season 4 of Game of Thrones is currently airing Sundays at 9 p.m. EDT on HBO.