Game of Thrones Season 7: The worst & best season so far

With season 7 of Game of Thrones nearly over already, and with 9.x ratings dropping on iMDb for many of the episodes so far, it's hard to call this season the worst one so far. But it is. The only reason these episodes are getting any love is because so much that the fans have been waiting for is finally happening.

Daenerys is in Westeros; her dragons are burning shit down; Jon has met her, the Starks are reunited, and Arya is a badass. Sansa and Cersei are fringe players at the moment. Bran is just weird.

It's obvious that the show has gone beyond the books as the plot points now seem forced, or not shown at all. With 7 episodes, there has been no time for build up or the political sleight of hand that we are so used to. It's nothing more than scenes we have been waiting for, linked together however they could be, a quickly as possible. I fear the last 2 seasons of Game of Thrones will go down as one of the biggest what-could-have-beens in TV history. Not giving the characters and events the proper build up and time possible, given the pace of the previous seasons, is a real disservice to its ending.

*Spolier*

I mean, taking a small band of men into the thick of it north of the wall so they can get a Wight to prove to Cersei that they need to focus their energy on a different enemy (could they have just found someone on the edge of death and left them there to reanimate, and then brought them back?) And then getting trapped by White Walkers who conveniently held back (a bit of water?!) until the dragon could be called for (how quickly do ravens fly?!) Why the urgency? They've been in no rush. Deal with the Iron throne first. And just bend the knee, Jon, it ain't no biggee.

I mean, not lending your dragons out to protect your allies. Only too late hitting your enemies as they travel between battlements.

I mean, convoluting a sister-sister spat because they have nothing else to do.

I mean, getting pregnant because they've got nothing else to do.

I mean, not burning all of Euron's ships which are presumably exposed at sea.

I mean, without the core material, the writing is just as loose as the Hound's language. And you know that in the books Bran will be playing a much bigger role in the actions that happen, but he is underused here (not that I miss him).

With just one more episode to go, and another 6 next season, unless those 6 are 2 hours long, it's just not enough time to make the most of everything they have built up. But it should still be fun.