They are doing some really interesting things having strayed so far from the source material yet carefully threading around the major events so their all hit. This is my favorite show on right now, but I also don't watch much tv.

But we knew this a year before election.

The only thing it has going for it was the expansive, well-written stories

I thought it wasn't bad, wasn't great but wasn't bad.
A very coming of age vibe.

It was a weird choice. The show did it's own thing late first season but it seems to kinda be going round about way to things form the novel.