(Spoilers Main) People are being too harsh on this episode

I know this is an unpopular opinion around here but it really makes me sad to see all the hate on this episode considering it had so many good moments. I get why people are complaining and it's a valid criticism, but come on, the bad writing is not something new and definitely not exclusive to this episode. I actually thought this is one of the better episodes these past few seasons.

I was initially disappointed after finishing the episode, as were most people apparently, but on a rewatch I enjoyed it so much more. And that's because it had so many great moments, not just battle sequences, but so many great character moments. I actually thought the characters were really well written this episode. It cast a new light on so many characters for me. This is something that was missing in season 7 and the first two episodes of season 8. I know a lot of people loved episode 2 because it had so many "character" moments, but I didn't see it. This is just my opinion but episode 2 felt like a giant filler to me and most of the scenes we got had no purpose (with a few exceptions) and that's something that bothered me because there have never been pointless dialogue scenes in earlier seasons.

However, in this episode all the characters were made "human" again. All these people that we thought were invulnerable all ended up in really bad situations that had me worried for their lives. All the actors deserve lots of praise for their portrayal of genuine fear and despair. I loved the scene where Mel's faith was being tested, the despair and doubt on her face and then the surprise and fascination when R'llhor answered her prayers. I loved how Arya went from badass to frightened little girl and then needing to be reminded who she is. I love how vulnerable Dany was when she fell off her dragon and how she then picked up a sword and tried to help Jorah in every way possible. I loved how determined Jorah was to protect Dany even when he was stabbed a dozen times(Jon could never). And I loved how he used his sword to get back up and continue fighting for his Khaleesi. I loved Theon's last scene. I loved how Brienne and Jaime fought side by side the whole time protecting each other.

I know one of the bigger complaints is that not enough characters died and the plot armor was strong, but hey most of the close calls were not as unrealistic as the Night King targeting the flying Viserion instead of the stationary Drogon that was closer to him and had all the main characters on his back, Jon falling in a frozen lake with 10 wights pulling him down and still somehow managing to swim up and get saved by his uncle that appeared out of nowhere and was able to charge through a horde of wights to save him.. or when the night king was able to pull four huge chains out of his behind to pull out a dead dragon that was on the bottom of a lake.. and everything else that happened in season 7.

So in conclusion - yes, this episode had some errors and the writing was not top-notch(I know that's an understatement), but that was not really the episode's fault. You would have to have been blind to not see it coming. This episode was merely the conclusion of all the bad writing. Things have been rushed and poorly written ever since the showrunners decided that 8 seasons are enough or in other words ever since they ran out of source material. They found themselves trapped in a "meereenese knot" of their own. They had too many loose ends to tie up and they didn't have enough time to figure out how to do it without creating massive plot holes and making things seem unrealistic. And I don't think this episode should take all the blame for that. I think it's absurd for this episode to be the lowest rated of the series and again that's my personal opinion. I think it was a great episode and I think the characters were the closest to how they are written in the books in a very, very long time. Well, not all of them.. but still.

I think people might enjoy it more if they give it another go and focus more on the characters and what they are going through instead of thinking about what could have been. There is no way any single episode could make up for all the bad writing that's been going on for seasons now. There already are too many plot holes created in previous seasons and there is just no way to fill them or give anything an ending that would satisfy people that fell in love with the story because of its realism and lack of plot holes and loose ends.