[BrianAlt]

I think what people liked about the first season was Eddard Stark's character. It sucks that George RR Martin would just kill him off, but that's how is he. He'll just kill off a character without any regard to how likable they may be. It's a tough thing to do, kill off a main character. It has to leave the audience feeling a little empty, but that's how it goes and expect other main characters to suddenly die.

The second season is very complicated with all of it's moving parts. Alliances are formed and broken. Everyone is scheming against everyone else. Even "friendly" people are scheming against each other. It's complicated to follow if you don't know the characters well.

There is a lot of setup, but I think that setup is more for the future seasons than it is for the current season. This entire season is kind of a setup for what will be.