Would like to hear others opinions as well?
I saw lots of negativity about it before I watched (though I avoided any spoilers) but I didn’t think it was that bad. They painted themselves in to a bit of a corner with the plot line, which remained more literary than cinematic and making the talking and politics rather than something big and dramatic at the end inevitable. I think the complaints about it being both boring and rushed a little ironic. If they’d taken more time, it’d be called more boring and if they’d made it less boring, it’s be called more rushed. I don’t think they could win that one however they did it. There were too many different character arcs to close for it to be anything other than slow at the end.
It might have been better with the taking of Kings Landing to be more of a finale, stretching in to the last episode. Maybe them taking the city but then a siege of the Red Keep. They might have been able to close out some of the secondary characters earlier and focus on the core ones right at the end. Of course, the other option would have been to make the Night King the bigger threat, surviving Winterfell and continuing south, even as far as Kings Landing. That could have taken the plot to a more dramatic end though they’d still have the issue of closing all the character arcs without it dragging on.
Overall, Game of Thrones has been a very good and hugely popular series, both on TV and in the books. It probably built up too much expectation for a grand finale which could never be fulfilled but without that context, I enjoyed it and I’m sure will enjoy re-watching it at some point. I don’t buy all the hate and anger at the creators though. A lot of people need to get a grip of what is important in life.