It's better than Season 8, which is of course just about the lowest bar in existence, but worth noting when talking GoT.
The plot was kind of just a borderline uninteresting version of Downton Abbey with way more blood and incest, but the characters felt correct for the world and the acting and production was on point. Definitely worth a watch, but just don't expect it to be anything on the level of Seasons 1-4 of the original show.
there were parts of this season 2 that reminded me of those GOT Season 1-4 heights. But now that i've had a few more days' distance from it, I agree that the total package is not quite there.
The show is fine. It should be better, but it's not actually bad. The lore complaints beyond the simple reality that the timeline would have made all the human cast die in between episodes are either nitpicking or nonsense. But on the other hand, if you stop and think about the scopes of things, the idea that these events all took that long in the first place... Really kind of dumb itself?
There are a couple really poor choices that bookend the season though, and the armor designer should be fired. And the "Who is Sky Guy" question? Who were they trying to fool? People that haven't seen or read LotR?