I know I'm late but I finally got around to seeing this. Just like everyone else, I wasn't expecting much after the way GOT ended.
It was good, but didn't get me hooked like the first season of GOT. The first season of GOT got me so hooked that I ended up buying all the books, but this time I'm more mildly interested.
The time jumps, the weird battle scene, the actress for the Princess changing are all valid complaints. They also made it seem like there is no order in the royal court at all. How can they have knights and nobles drawing weapons out or beating each other to death in the presence of the fucking King?
If they kill a bunch of heads of major houses for not bending the knee, do they think that'll secure an alliance with these houses when their family members are notice that they're not coming home? Especially when there's a major and official challenge to the crown that disgruntled houses can flock to? That just seems like a stupid move. It's like they decided that if there's a war, they want to make sure they will have enemies.
How is the gay husband of the princess not mad that a member of the king's guard publicly murdered his boyfriend/training partner?
The dragon CGI looked a bit shoddy at times.
I can't believe these writers and show runners don't do any research for historical battles and fights. Some unrealistic hollywood style fights are understandable for entertainment but at least make them make some sense.
The constant politicking, gossiping and scheming got tiring, but that's probably the point. I would hate living in that kind of environment. I hate office gossip and politicking at companies as it is. I got why Robert preferred to just drink and fuck whores. Viserys is an amazing king compared to what we've seen so far: Robert, Joffery, Tommen (puppet of Cersei), the Mad King, etc. He actually cared for his wife and didn't fuck scores of whores. He's no Tywin Lannister but he managed pretty well as long as he was alive. He fucked up with the succession, but he's better than what we've seen so far.
That being said, I don't get the complaint that Milly Alcock looks weird. She is cute as hell. I wouldn't mind being her incestuous uncle.