Game of Thrones rewatch - part two

Last night we reached the end of "Game of Thrones" for the second time. Some thoughts about the second half of the series:

• There is a marked drop in quality after series four, and the further they move from the books the worse it gets. On balance, series 5 is actually better than the two novels it is based on (which, sadly, aren't particularly good). Series 6 is a bit worse, and then series 7 and 8 are massive rush to the end.
• That said, I did enjoy the series almost throughout, with the notable exception of the finale, which just sucks. In particular, the night battle in "The Long Night" is much better on blu-ray, where it is easier to see, and on a second viewing, where it is much easier to follow.
• The series is very much improved by watching it at a fairly quick rate - there is an awful lot of stuff that gets seeded early to pay off later, and over the years it was easy to forget much of it. In particular, Dany's storyline makes much more sense this way - she is warned repeatedly that she won't get the heroes welcome she expects in Westeros, she repeatedly alks about torching various cities before actually doing it, and her treatment of Jon when they first meet is actually that of a tyrant, even before she 'turns'.
• Probably the biggest weakness of the final season is a direct consequence of the rushing - Jon and Dany have barely met and gotten together before he is told of his true parentage. Which means that the impact of that revelation is deeply undercut. If they'd instead gone through a year of hardships, finally gotten together, and pledged undying love and then discovered their relationship it would have been far stronger.
• There are five rulers of the Seven Kingdoms in the course of the show (Bran doesn't count - he only rules six). Of these, Tommen is by far the best on account of merely being useless. Then Robert, and then Joffrey. Cersei is fourth, on account of her explosive act of mass murder at the Sept of Baelor and using the citizens of Kings Landing as human shields. And Daenerys is the worst of all, finally committing the atrocity that her father only dreamed of.

I find it hard to believe I will watch the series again. Like "24", "Babylon 5", and "Battlestar Galactica", it's probably too great an investment of time to justify at this point. Which is something of a shame. But it was definitely worth revisiting now.