I think part of the problem is that D&D aren't taking enough time to check their scripts for feedback. Both got their starts as writers and for years have heard everyone rave about how great the show is. They've even gone off the books with some success. Sure, the earlier seasons had problems, like the Dorne plot, but for the most part they've been lauded with praise, having near total creative control the whole while. They have no idea how mediocre they actually are when it comes to the story telling. They want to move onto other projects, but it seems like both legitimately thought this script was a worthy send off for the series. Then again, a lot of fans really do think this show is as good as ever. I don't fucking get it, but I suppose by that metric it hasn't been a total failure.
I think the people who really enjoy the season so far are people who might not have read the books or prefer a show where the writing is slightly simplified for a more average audience. For people who love nuance and complexity, subtlety and a good slow burn that eventually comes to a head, they probably hate the current writing. I’m not a GRRM purist so I don’t give a shit about how the current writing is basically a lesser form than what the books provided. Very few authors can write a story the way Martin did. Ken Follett can write a fucking novel. Some of my friends are really angry at how the show is going this season. I see it a little differently. I see it like all the bickering and fighting over power and respect for the past 8 seasons is all meaningless when you have a firebreathing sky beast that can instantly destroy everything you love. Everything you ever cared about is meaningless. And all the power Cersei so strategically fought for was brought down instantly because all these people overestimated their meaning in the world. But maybe I’m missing the point. And quite frankly, they should be lucky she’s down 2 dragons. But it’s arguable she might not have had the cookout if Euron didn’t kill the second one.
She might not have had the cookout if she had gotten laid. I mean Jon has found out she's his aunt, but at least she's a hot aunt. Should have taken one for the team Jon.
That's a big reason why I'm frustrated with the last two seasons, but it's the really glaring shit too. Like these scenes from Arya last episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrEA4enNBSA Everyone around her is either buried in rubble or scorched beyond recognition. She's fine. A few scars. Was the idea seriously supposed to be that this dragon fire that burns so hot it twists and melts steel, and hits with such force it obliterates stone, and kills every other soul near it that Arya is ok because she dove around a corner? The answer appears to be a resounding yes. That's some strong plot armor. Why didn't anyone else around a corner, or in front of, or behind her survive? Ahhh, no plot armor. Those poor extras. You could pick so many things from any episode lately. Take the scorpions. They are exactly as effective as the current plot demands. Under no other lens do they make any sense. Why is Dany's battle plan to focus her dragon attacks on the only spot Drogon is vulnerable? They couldn't come up with anything else? Maybe she opens the battle with a diversion, and sends some of her best troops behind enemy lines to take them out. Give me something. How about Cersei and Euron, who against all odds have been so efficient the last 20 episodes? What about this ferocious golden company we've heard so much about? What was their battle plan? The battle plan doesn't have to work, but they didn't even come up with one. To die. That was their battle plan. Plot said so. Storm trooper effect aim on the scorpions, (the bulk of which they put in the fucking ocean and in no way at all defended the city, but Dany STILL attacks them head on) and everyone else just swing your sword a couple times, and then give up so Dany can kill you, and the audience will know that Dany is bad now. It's shit. It's fucking shit. FUCK EVERYONE. ARRRGGGGHHH! In some ways it still is a great show. The score was perfect. The cinematography was masterful. The Clegane fight was entertaining. However, the show is now asking you to be the kind of fan who can shrug scene after scene and just say "Whatever. It's a fantasy show. Not everything has to make sense." Which is a totally understandable way to enjoy a show, but man do I miss the old Game of Thrones, back when suspending your disbelief wasn't an ongoing chore.
arya's plot armor wasn't nearly as bad as the plot armor for everyone in the knight king battle. I could kind of maybe look the other way for arya's plot armor but all of ep3 made me mad.
They rushed the story and they robbed a lot of characters of their significance by cutting corners. Varys is a good example. In the show, what was the purpose of his character without Fake Aegon? For the uninitiated, he was the alleged actual son of Rhaegar and Lyanna Stark. Varys was protecting him in secret to take the Iron Throne. Without that, his character was meaningless. At this point I fully expect Jon to just go be a lumberjack in Alaska.
Someone needs to make a montage of all the cliffhanger fake deaths in that episode and the resulting scenes next time we see the character. I swear it happens at least ten times where the camera cuts away with a pile of zombies on top of a character and next time we see them there's only one, or they're already doing somenthing else.
Or someone just stabs on of the zombies they cut scene and the person burried is being pulled up and perfectly fine.