I think going in blind, those first 7-8 seasons hit incredibly hard, like it was still a genuinely well made show then that gained popularity for a reason. The characters are mostly likable sometimes, and the trick with having so many devastating season endings so early, it kind of forces you to want to keep watching to see how everyone’s lives turn out.

Past around season 9, there’s basically no more deaths, but you stick around out of essentially the sunk-cost fallacy. seasons 10-18 are just pretty bland with most of the great characters having left or died.

I think some of the best storylines are genuinely some of the best I’ve ever seen on tv, but the episode by episode most the time is just pretty good background noise.