With fire-breathing dragons, ice-cold zombies, and action-packed battles, Game of Thrones is the most popular TV show around. And after suffering one long year without Game of Thrones, fans were rewarded with the most intense and fast-paced season the show has ever offered. Still, plenty of fans were disappointed with the lack of political maneuvering, character deaths, and how the show has gotten much more predictable than the past few seasons.

Game of Thrones is still the king of epic battles

Despite of all these problems, Season 7 has also brought us the best naval sea battle probably ever presented on TV. With the stunning graphics of crazy flinging fireballs, and the stupefyingly intense background music, the scene was insane and chaotic. Furthermore actor Pilou Asbæk, who plays Euron Greyjoy, perfectly portrayed his crazy viking berserker image, and Theon’s conflicting nature between being a hero or succumbing to fear and turning back into Reek were perfectly brought onto screen by actor Alfie Allen. While combining realistic action set-pieces with the emotions of the characters, this is one of the most memorable battles in Game of Thrones history.

Speaking of memorable battles, the loot train attack during Episode 4 is definitely one that comes to mind. After the dragon attack on the Good Master’s fleet last season, many people have been wondering what would happen if they came up against land troops, and the producers of Game of Thrones did not disappoint. Not only did the producers create one of the most realistic dragons ever brought on screen, they also showcased the true power and might of CGI done right, combining real fire and animated flames, creating a theatrical spectacle that awed audiences and glued their eyes to the screen.

Struggles with predictability and pacing

Even though this season has the best battles, it certainly did have many other categories that failed to make the grade when compared with previous seasons. Game of Thrones is notorious for killing off many of its main characters, making it unpredictable, gut-wrenching, as well as unique and interesting to watch, but this wasn’t the case for Season 7. In the episode “Beyond the Wall” an entire squad of GOT “superstars” went beyond the Wall on a pretty much suicidal mission, but came back pretty much unscathed, with only one named casualty. This shows that even “plot armor” can be evident in the world of Ice and Fire, and also makes the show a lot less unpredictable and kills off a lot of fun when watching the show.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the only problem Season 7 has. Throughout the entire season there are plenty of pacing issues, and also abundant chronological problems. For example, Euron being in King’s Landing then attacking Yara’s fleet off the shores of Dorne all happening in the same episode, making you feel like he has modern steam boats rather than just conventional medieval sail boats. Also, in “Beyond the Wall,” Gendry runs back to Eastwatch in record time, sends a raven to Daenerys for help, who flies her dragons up North from Dragonstone, goes over the Wall and arrives to save Jon right on cue when his band is about to get overrun by zombies. All this happens in less than 10 minutes of TV time, which should be played over at least a couple of episodes for the audience to truly appreciate.

Super hyped

Even with plenty of flaws, Game of Thrones is still the most enjoyable show to watch on TV, and Season 7 is still a crazy joyride that would get every hardcore GOT fan or any GOT newcomer super hyped for Season 8. So, if you are looking for a popular, mind-blowing TV show to watch, look no further, because Game of Thrones is still the rightful ruler of television.

For more on Game of Thrones, see my comparison of the show to the books.