This could have been great, however in my opinion it seems it won't be anywhere close to reaching further than good. And here is why:
If they can't get the storytelling part done better than they did in this episode, they're gonna have to really excel when it comes to other stuff. And that does not mean having a doggy style sex scenes every other minute.
The introduction scene and everything in Winterfell up until the King's arrival was very good. After that everything seemed rushed, all the different plotlines were just put on the table, seemingly without much thought behind the manner in which they were.
The Wall, the Night's Watch, the Kingsguard, the Bastard, the Direwolves, background story... they aren't explained, just briefly mentioned.
Everything across the Narrow Sea was shite, and no one in the King's following was able to accomplish good chemistry with any other actor.
There is of course also the already mentioned excess of sex. Apparently the books had a lot of that, however given a choice between a quality series and one that stays true to the books.. Well, unless it's not a choice, and it's part of the deal to stay true to the books, it's not a tough decision to make is it?
Overall it just seems a bit shallow, whilst pretending to be otherwise.
Slower and with greater depth, please. And I'm talking about the storytelling elements, not the sex scenes.