It’s a good thing we’re all getting a college degree, because we will need it to understand the new HBO series Game of Thrones.

Game of Thrones’s ten-episode season concluded in June, but its fans continue to rave about the series. The HBO series is based on the book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, and the series was a long-awaited adaptation of the popular fantasy novels.

Game of Thrones is set in a medieval, fantasy world that feels like The Lord of the Rings meets The Tudors meets zombies. The series follows the drama around the wealthy houses of the world of Westeros. King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), who has recently won the throne from the abusive Targaryens, asks Lord Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) of the Stark house of the North to serve as the King’s hand, a position of advisory and prestige. Much of the series focuses on Lord Eddard’s quest for honor in a corrupt government and his rivalry with the Queen’s rich and malicious family, the Lannisters. The many Stark children try to find their paths in the world, from warriors to future queens. Meanwhile, the exiled Targaryen clan tries to unite with a warrior clan in order to win back the throne.

Oh, and did I mention there are zombies?

Yes, that’s right, zombies. While not touched upon too much in this first season, this complicated medieval world will soon be overtaken by zombies who live across a giant wall up North.

The plot is confusing, and the many stories are difficult to follow at first. The world of the series has its own rules, conventions, lands, social classes, and expressions. But a little effort in the first few episodes pays off a lot in the end. The series is rich with interesting imagery, themes, and motifs. If you make it through the beginning episodes, it’s really quite a treat.

The series thrives in its portrayal of sex and violence. To be frank, some really strange things happen. There’s a memorable scene where Petyr Baelish (Aidan Gillen), a prostitution house owner, tells the story of his true love as he teaches two female prostitutes how to fake an orgasm. Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) provides abundant wit and humor through his many scenes of drinking and partying with a variety of women. What’s interesting about the series is that the many sex scenes all have intellectual dialogue and monologues that give meaning to the actions on the screen. The series is not afraid to do the unexpected, and to make you ponder why it is doing that.

The violence, while often gruesome, is realistic and meaningful to the story. We’re so used to seeing someone get shot by a gun that seeing someone being beheaded or burned by fiery metal poured over their heads is quite shocking. The violence helps create the world of Westeros and fuels the fearsome battle for power and control. It definitely does not hold back the blood and guts, but it contributes a lot to the brutal medieval world of backstabbing and ambition.

All of this complexity and depth takes place over a beautiful background. The sets are elaborate, vast, and intricate. The show has created iconic landscapes from the Great Wall to the North that keeps the zombies out to the campsites of the battlefields where various houses go to war. The costumes are gorgeous, and give you a sense of the various classes and cultures of the society. Thanks to the resources of HBO, the production quality is incredibly high.

Give it a chance and power through the first few episodes where the names and rivalries feel like a language you’ve never studied. Once you get past the confusion, the depth of the series keeps you wanting more.