To me, the ending was satisfactory. I went into it expecting nothing, because of the way the current season had been playing out, and walked away pretty indifferent rather than confused and annoyed as usual. All of the major plot points, I get and make sense to me. But the execution was rushed and poorly executed, as can be said for much of the final 2 seasons.
The Good:
- The time lapse transition shot of Tyrion lying on the floor was pretty good, no one spotted that his beard had grown and all assumed that he was being lead to his execution or about to get rescued by John for their big escape. The reveal at the Dragon Pit was surprising.
-The Brienne scene where she is editing Jaime's entry is well done and has tons of subtext. It closes their relationship and is a good "history is written by the victors" moment with her portrayals of events, that the crown and Westerlands are portrayed as the "good guys" even though she fought against the Lannisters and her faction alongside Dany.
The Bad:
-I get the North regaining its sovereignty, although I expected all of the other realms to do the same since they carefully ensured that each realm had a new high lord. Bronn in Highgarden, Gendry as a Baratheon, new Dornish Lord, Blackfish's son shown alive during the siege last season, Yara retaking the Iron Islands. I figured the unsullied and Dothraki would get the Crownlands and Dragonstone, while Tyrion, Davos, or Yara would get the Westerlands. But Sansa's speech was shallow and a huge missed opportunity.
-The dragon burning the throne
-Everything, just everything, surrounding Grey Worm
-The comedic beats were a little off-putting, especially the council scene
-Bronn as the royal accountant seemed like a plot device just to show he and Tyrion can still joke with each other
-Finding pristine Lannister corpses under rubble (Although as soon as he saw the light I got disgusted thinking that they took cover under Balerion's skull and survived). I think the idea that Dany and Co. never find out if Cersei survived would have played into her madness much better.
The Best - My prediction before the episode didn't come true. Where John/Arya kills Dany then disappears or is wounded escaping, there's a time lapse and everyone is wondering where he is to sit on the throne and the closing shot is him walking beyond the wall. I thought for sure we were getting a Dexter ending.