BalconySeats

Seriously, what? Good people who do bad things, bad characters who play Schubert, an utter waste of two premier actresses and some nearly promising story arcs that were completely "abandoned." And, had this been a book, the ending would have earned it a furious launch against the nearest wall. It's possible 4 stars is too generous.

The complete disdain the writers & showrunners have for the gift of a built-in audience is astonishing. You'll be hard pressed to find one absorbing character or captivating villain. Time is of no essence - it flows without story development; Ep 10 ends exactly as you could have predicted at Ep 1, just 17 years later. The names of so many characters sound so alike it's almost impossible to know who is being talked about - if you care - behind their backs. "Inside the episode" chats invariably reference things NOT in evidence in what you just watched; this 'creative' arrogance is off-putting and insulting. Even the dragons are overused yet underwhelming. GOT was kaleidoscopic, HotD is a drudgery.

Finally! Something that defies spoilers! In order to write a spoiler, it would have to have made an iota of sense. And why am I giving this 3 stars? It was... wasn't... maybe... no... could'a been... but no. I'm not even sure the interesting premise could sustain more than half an episode's attention. For those of you who bothered to rate this series an unmitigated mess before the final episodes, rest easy: it did not get better - simply drained the last ounces of credibility before snapping whatever patience with it you might have had left.