I agree with the thought that I've seen that most of people's problems with this season are due to the change in style of the storytelling.

It went from an open-ended, character driven show to a show that's plot driven. It's gone from "anything could happen to these fully realized characters" to "certain things must happen within these next 12 episodes".

So yeah, some of the storytelling IS rushed now bc people are being moved around like pawns so they can be involved in certain plot points.

And some of the characters have lost their depth because the "flourishes" that made them interesting aren't as necessary to move the plot forward. But I think they're still playing within the boundaries of the show, they're just not using the full potential of the characters anymore.

And I don't know if the result would've been any better if they tried to keep it as open-ended as Martin did. Hell, he allegedly wrote himself into a corner and he's brilliant. What would the showrunners have done if they tried to mimic his style?