First 4 episodes were great with Ep 4 being one of the best Thrones episodes we've ever seen. The following 4 weren't nearly as good, and whilst I'd be happy to blame that on the writers strike, move on and look forward to Season 3, there are some potentially fatal errors made here, with Alicent's character being all but totally assassinated. These errors could stop the show from ever reaching the heights of it's first season. Big bummer. Came out of this season liking Aegon more though, always enjoy his scenes. Kind of rooting for him now?