Spoilers to follow!

Daenerys Targaryen has finally hit Westeros, and is to finally wage war against the Queen Regent Cersei Lannister for the Iron Throne. Jon Snow, the new King of the North prepares to fight the coming of the Night King and his army of the undead from beyond the wall, and meets with Dany to gain her help. But the war between the two Queen's is a bigger matter, that forces Jon to find proof of the danger that is to come. The second to last season of Game of Thrones definitely exceeds the last season, in every way. As things really start to heat up in 7, we get to see some amazing battle scenes, some great characters and the return of many fan favourites. It's not the best season I've seen, but it's a hell of a good one.

With having only a short amount of episodes left, HBO have only had so much room to do what they want to do with the series. With seven episodes to work with here, there's been a lot of cramming in and rushing the season has had (we'll get to that) but it has made new and different things work. We've seen so many characters we've never seen before together in the same room ally or even fight one another, and it's been very satisfying. Seeing characters such as Jon and Dany in the same room talking to eachother remind you how long you've been waiting for this moment, and it feels incredible to say the least.

The strongest storyline of the season has without a doubt been the war between Dany and Cersei. Episode 4 in particular has possibly the best battle scene the show has given us since the Battle of Blackwater Bay - in which Jamie and the Lannister army go up against Dany and the Dothraki. Oh and a dragon. And it's awesome. Episode 6 gives us a great fight between Jon, the Hound, Jorah, Tormund and some other returning characters and the White Walkers, when the group go to capture one of the creatures to help persuade Cersei to fight with them. It's shot brilliantly and directed very well, it's possibly the best we've seen GoT do something gritty. 

Characters really excel in this season as well. Characters such as Jamie really impressed me, as he always has. There's something we all love in this character despite his allegiances. Coster-Waldau is a fantastic actor that always put's his heart into the role. Peter Dinklage (Tyrion) and Lena Headey (Cersei) also amaze in this season, and many characters that have not got the screen time they deserve such as Sam are given a lot more to do, and that's something to really appreciate it. Jon is still as headstrong as he always has been, and we get to see Dany take on the humble side she used to have once again.

This season does have some flaws however. As mentioned, the show is much shower this time round, meaning a lot less filler (which is good) but things seem too rushed, despite many fans wanting things to go faster. Travelling and journeying are sped up phenomenally, especially in Episode 6 in which things just get too hard to believe. In the past, travelling has been good, the wait in between characters getting to certain places has been a strong point as we've been able to see these characters bond and show more of themselves. I'm not saying put a lot of filler in, but at least stop rushing and feeling like something different from previous seasons, and make sure these characters and their development have something to take place in.

And by that, I mean to talk about the Winterfell storyline of this season, which I felt was the weakest part. Arya and Bran found themselves back home, which was great seeing but not for Arya - who I wished had only stopped by and continued on her killing journey, as she's seemed useless this season and that her time with the Faceless Men has been pointless. Her sudden distaste with Sansa to then be fine and happy with her at the end of the season despite threatening her is the absence of development I mention, I wish we had more between them as this storyline just seemed poorly written compared to the rest. And for Littlefinger, the guy who started it all, to have a lacklustre final storyline and to be outsmarted so easily was disappointing, whilst his demise was satisfying sure. If only a bit more time was spent here!

But all in all Season 7 has excelled the show after my opinion of it dropped in the last season. It's set up very well for the final six episodes where things will really kick off, and it's made me very hungry for more. A tense, beautiful looking and well written (most of the time!) season that I implore you all to watch as soon as you can. Game of Thrones has never been more of a treat.

8/10