I started re-watching today (of course), and while I agree Season 1 takes time to establish the world and all, I'd forgotten how much of the end they telegraphed. They were greatly advantaged by having planned out the entire 3 season arc before they started the show, and it shows.
And while I always saw Season 1 as the most childish, and it is, I'd forgotten how quickly subjects like war, the death of parents, and genocide get introduced.
Season 1 is good and those individuals episodes are actually lore and world building that pays off later in Season 2 and 3.
But imagine it from a first time viewer. Episode 3 is serious, Episode 7 and 8 are serious, but Episode 4, 5, and 6 feels like a child show even if those 3 episodes pay off later. The change of expectations colors the experience of the viewer. I am not saying this is a bad thing but merely the viewer is not knowing where the show is going even if the show runners and writers actually planned out the entire series in a rough outline prior to starting the show,
Those season 1 episodes do pay off from a world perspective, but also from a character perspective for you learn and understand individual characters better by those individual bottle episodes creating memorable characterization.