Another huge issue is that somehow the producers think that it makes the show better to invest in huge sets and show pieces instead of reworking the script. They spend endless resources on the dressing and just a fraction on the content.

Yes, in the early seasons, the world was expanding to show how high the stakes were. Starting last season with Tyrion meeting Dany, everything is starting to contract (on the TV series, anyway—Martin has a long way to go on this in the books). I feel like maybe NY Mag did a piece on the expansion/contraction last…