I was also underwhelmed. For an hour-long episode, the plot did not really move forward, but there was also little time for proper character moments. There were reunions but they were all kinda short and they weren't milked for any emotional punch. Jon's reveal especially fell flat. They wasted an inordinate amount of time on CGI dragon flying and instead of at least using that pointless scene to seed the thought in Dany (she should know that only Targs can ride dragons) to be reveled later, it was blurted out in a monologue. Because buildup and "show not tell" is for shows with less writing Emmys.
A few nitpicks:
- It was refreshing to see that the first bit of dialogue was a dick joke. It was, in itself, worth an Emmy.
- If I understand it correctly, last time we left off, Dany's army was still at Dragonstone or around King's Landing. That is three times as far from Winterfell as Eastwatch, but they somehow managed to comfortably arrive before the army of the dead that don't even need to rest or seek provisions.
- No interaction between Lyanna Mormont and Jorah? Not even a wave?
- The show seems to continue with the constant vilification of Sansa, who is clearly the smartest person in the North. I suppose asking perfectly legitimate questions and being distrustful of random Southern floozies is a bad thing nnow.
- Was the little boy in that castle Microjon Umber? It wasn't quite clear to me.
- Does Bran ever move from the courtyard?
- Why was Sam upset that his father was dead?
- Were they CASTING dragonglass (obsidian) in a regular forge? How does that work?
