Season 8 as a whole got a lot of flack but I think mostly it had to do with the hype and the impossibility of meeting everyone's expectations, but after watching it again you appreciate how well done it is.
To back this up, most of the previous battles from earlier seasons were lauded even though they're no better than this one. There were plenty of implausible things in those battles but few people seemed to have the need to talk about them.
Given that level of hype, I think the mistake made was giving the whole battle in one episode. At the point where the night king raises the dead, and on the shot where the White walkers enter Winterfell, the episode should have ended. The audience would have been so revved up at that point with anticipation that they would have given this episode a perfect 10 and all the disappointment would have been left for the next episode.
Seriously, rewatch it and pause right at that part. Imagine the credits roll and the end music starts. Get up and walk away for a few minutes. Come back. Imagine the opening credits and then play the rest. Add a few establishing shots and the whole thing works better.
A lot of people complain about how dark it is but that's only a problem of watching it in standard HD. Watch it in 4K and you'll notice a difference. It's much easier to see what's going on and far more impressive visually and technically.
Another thing that people complain about was the overall pacing of the season. But after rewatching the first two episodes, it feels much more dragged out that you practically beg for this episode and by contrast it's much more compelling to watch.
Now, the rest of the season feels more compressed and jumps through time too quickly, this I still agree. But the first half of the season still works if you allow yourself to let of go of your previous expectations. It's just as good as any other battle, probably actually the best.
To back this up, most of the previous battles from earlier seasons were lauded even though they're no better than this one. There were plenty of implausible things in those battles but few people seemed to have the need to talk about them.
Given that level of hype, I think the mistake made was giving the whole battle in one episode. At the point where the night king raises the dead, and on the shot where the White walkers enter Winterfell, the episode should have ended. The audience would have been so revved up at that point with anticipation that they would have given this episode a perfect 10 and all the disappointment would have been left for the next episode.
Seriously, rewatch it and pause right at that part. Imagine the credits roll and the end music starts. Get up and walk away for a few minutes. Come back. Imagine the opening credits and then play the rest. Add a few establishing shots and the whole thing works better.
A lot of people complain about how dark it is but that's only a problem of watching it in standard HD. Watch it in 4K and you'll notice a difference. It's much easier to see what's going on and far more impressive visually and technically.
Another thing that people complain about was the overall pacing of the season. But after rewatching the first two episodes, it feels much more dragged out that you practically beg for this episode and by contrast it's much more compelling to watch.
Now, the rest of the season feels more compressed and jumps through time too quickly, this I still agree. But the first half of the season still works if you allow yourself to let of go of your previous expectations. It's just as good as any other battle, probably actually the best.