There's been a ton of headscratching scenes this season. But, to be fair... considering the show in the context of:

- a 10-hour season that will not go past 8 seasons
- filming in three different countries over 200 days
- a current cost of "at least" $8 million per episode
- story arcs that already surpass the scope of the books

... how would the following sequences be feasible?

> Having him win the loyalty of the tribes of the North and take back Deepwood Motte would have been kind of cool

> The story really misses Davos at White Harobr and particularly the scene with him and Wyman Manderly

I agree that both would be awesome, and the Davos/Manderly scene is one of the best, most hopeful reveals in the entire series. But that would mean casting Manderly & co., developing another location, working Davos' departure in the storyline, etc. It's a massive commitment to both the showrunners and the viewers to introduce new settings. I hear you, but it's just not feasible.

> They've taken the Sand Snakes/Dorne plot and completely ruined it.

Yup. Fucking brutal. There had to be a better way to handle Dorne than this Mr Bean chase shit. Casting is bad, choreography is bad, dialogue is bad. That's on the show through and through.

> Reducing the Sparrows' ascendance/presence in King's Landing to "They hate teh gays" reduces their impact.

Agreed, it's a disappointing way to portray a great storyline in the books. But, to play devil's advocate, the way it's handled now makes it easier to understand for the (lowest common denominator) viewer, it keeps the storyline within characters we're already invested in and moves at a brisk pace. There was no way the Kettleblacks and some paranoia-driven adultery charge was gonna make any sense with a scene or two (if that) each episode. There are too many other arcs that need coverage too. But can we at least give them credit for giving Olenna more shine than in the books?

> They've given Stannis' story the short shrift.

I respectfully disagree; for me personally the scenes at the Wall have been some of the most interesting. Winning the tribes in the North would be great television, but ultimately unnecessary (since it's already established he has funding from the Iron Bank for Salladhor Saan's men). The lack of Yara is disappointing but understandable... looks like she'll be merged with Theon? Not even sure what her eventual role in the books will be, so she may be expendable.

I think Davos will eventually play his same role, just not through Manderly. It's notable that Ramsay reiterated Theon's main "sin" to Sansa as a reminder to the viewer. It would be an incredible bit of redemption for Theon if he discloses her brothers aren't dead to Davos after the Battle of Ice. And it makes sense production-wise to combine several roles in Theon, who the viewer is already intimately familiar with.

> They've made me hate the shit in Mereen even more than I did in the book, which is saying something

Yeah, it's definitely clunky. I get the changes for time constraints, but there were a lot of scenes that could have been better within the context of production. Hated that Drogon/Dany scene too... it would have been perfect if the only reminder he was free was when Jorah and Tyrion saw him overhead.

And I can't defend Selmy's death. I get trying to shake things up for the book readers, but his death also means he plays no major role in the books either. Besides the fact the whole scene was really shittily done... the fight choreography has really fallen off a cliff this season.

> And yes, they made the rape seem gratuitous

Within the next episode or two, I think most people will come to understand that scene. People focus on Sansa, but it was just as much about Theon's development as it was hers (in the context of the show).

> they're setting up Sansa to be Lady Stoneheart, instead of her mother

This has been the first I've heard about Sansa as LSH, and I like it, it makes sense. But although I hated them cutting LSH initially, I've come around to it. We know people can come back to life through R'hllor's priests, but as a viewer the effect is diluted if we see it too often... and we know there's a certain someone that will need to receive that resurrection magic sooner or later.

> So yeah, this show is really starting to blow. And truthfully, the main person I blame is Martin, who can't finish these books and give these nimrods the proper directions.

I don't blame you. This has been a questionable season, but I've been looking at the silver linings with the hope that when we look at the season as a whole most of it will make sense. And I honestly believe it will. But, with just how many threads there are in AFFC and ADoD I think it's fair to try and cut the showrunners some slack in trying to compress such a monster series.