Having a boring Sauron-wanna-be would be fine if it was just a plot device, a means to make other interesting things happen. But the way they went about it is awful, everyone got together too easily with none of the good early season GoT drama, and the far bigger focus has been the battle with the Sauron-wanna-be rather than the human nuance of the other side. The entire Ice King arc has been so shittily executed, for 8 seasons he barely even existed, no one cared about him, then in a couple of episodes everyone just bands together and decides to fight him. Very abrupt and very unsatisfying.