I tend to agree with PFan with this one. I've been critical of the writing this season, but I think attributing it to the show outpacing the books is, I think, a case of correlation =/ causation. There are examples of poor GRRM plot issues prior to this season*, and it's not clear that he would be able to tie them up more neatly. It's also easier to do that when you have 5+ years to write what is essentially one season of TV.
* I've been making my way through the books and I'm currently halfway through Book 2. And Catelyn's movements during the War of the Five Kings is one of the things that come to mind, allowing her to be neatly present in critical plot points (Tyrion's imprisonment, Renly's assassination, etc, culminating in the Red Wedding).
That said, I didn't like the way the Knights of the Vale became a deus ex machina. They could have made that whole sequence much better (and less predictable; I mean, this was basically Rohan in The Two Towers). Like the Arya storyline. But again, these could very well be GRRM-inflicted wounds. It feels as though there is too much of the story to cover in the next season, so I think we are in for quick resolutions to major plot lines (like navigating from the Iron Islands to Meereen over the course of 3 episodes).
* I've been making my way through the books and I'm currently halfway through Book 2. And Catelyn's movements during the War of the Five Kings is one of the things that come to mind, allowing her to be neatly present in critical plot points (Tyrion's imprisonment, Renly's assassination, etc, culminating in the Red Wedding).
That said, I didn't like the way the Knights of the Vale became a deus ex machina. They could have made that whole sequence much better (and less predictable; I mean, this was basically Rohan in The Two Towers). Like the Arya storyline. But again, these could very well be GRRM-inflicted wounds. It feels as though there is too much of the story to cover in the next season, so I think we are in for quick resolutions to major plot lines (like navigating from the Iron Islands to Meereen over the course of 3 episodes).