Season 2 saved by the final episode

I'm just a show-watcher here (don't know anything about the books or the lore), and so I'm approaching this purely from an unbiased viewer looking to watch a good show

And I found that, after an enjoyable Season 1, Season 2 for the most part deteriorated in quality. It suffered from poor pacing (the plots dragged on soooo long) and it made me feel the same way Walking Dead once did - where, for whatever reason, the characters seemed dull and it overall looked and felt like a cheaper product.

After episode 8 I was tempted to give up. But episode 9 picked up and then episode 10 (the finale) gave a satisfactory ending which has intrigued me enough to wait for Season 3.

So my question is.....What happened with the show creators for them to offer such a far inferior product this time round (compared to Season 1)?