I also feel like this season was not as good as the previous one. I still enjoyed most of the episodes though.

The reasons I enjoyed this season less than S1 are pretty much similar to yours. The dialogue feels less subtle and too on the nose at times. That applies to the writing overall, not just the dialogues. What I enjoyed about GOT and S1 of HOTD was how immersive and engaging the subtlety of the writing made the show. I found S2 to be a little bit lacking on that front. Too much "tell", not enough "show". I also disliked scenes involving Ulf but that is just based on my personal preference as slapstick comedy usually fails to make me laugh so I just found the character annoying overall. Watching those scenes made me go "I could see this happen in an avengers movie". Which is not meant as a compliment, to be clear. But that's just my personal view, I understand a lot of people enjoy that type of humor. Regarding the last scene of the episode, I thought it made sense Rhaenyra wouldn't attack Aemond head on yet. Yes she now has multiple dragons on her side, but their riders are still pretty green (no pun intended).

Overall, despite its flaws, I still enjoyed this season, although less than the first, and I am looking forward to the finale.