I'm not the biggest fan of cliffhanger season finales, in my mind, a season finale should always be a satisfying conclusion to atleast one story arc. But as season 3 has already been confirmed I can forgive that and I am excited to see how this series concludes (I presume it's done after adapting book 3).
I was thoroughly impressed with the good special effects this season, it did not feel low budget at all. They made a very good choice with not giving this phoenix creature a skin, but rather showing it as fire only, this way it looked really good.
Overall, a slow season with a good last 2 episodes that do make me want to continue watching.