The series has been mostly great so far, but I'm starting to worry — after the Sand Snakes and Faith Militant scences — that we're heading towards the kind of weak end runs that crippled other great shows (Battlestar Galactica, Lost, etc.)

The Sand Snakes exposition was the worst scene in the series so far. It felt like late-era George Lucas. Hopefully this isn't a red flag for things to come.