Pycell's death seemed unnecessary. It's not like he was gonna do anything anyway.
Pycell needed to die because Cersei was clearing the entire Council, hence her having no issues with killing the heir to Highgarden and her own uncle. Neither were actions she would take lightly but she needed them gone, along with the High Sparrow so that only she would have Tommen's ear.
Pycell had also been a thorn in her side from day one, and this episode was more than a little about Cersei getting revenge.
I'm most upset by Margaery being killed because I think she was a strong character.
When Petyr showed up in Mole's Town, I immediately commented on how ridiculous it was for him to travel for weeks or months through all the North just for that short conversation. The North is larger than the other 6 kingdoms combined. Also, I was taken out of the ending a little when I saw Varys aboard the ship with Dany. That means he sailed from Mereen to Dorne and then back to Mereen and now he's heading back to Dorne all within a few weeks.
The thing about the lack of travel time is that it's not consistent.
Within each episode there must be characters who aren't at the same time.
Take Sam for example. He fled with the sword what, 3-4 episodes ago?
In that time Jon has travelled all over the North looking for allies (
1-2 weeks?). Petyr has travelled all the way from the Vale to the very north and back to Winterfell (
2-3 weeks). Theon has sailed all the way down Westeros, past the Stepstones, beyond Volantis, past Valyria, through Slavers Bay to Meereen (
2-3 months?). Dany and her army have ridden from Vaes Dothrak to Meereen (
1 month?). Varys left Meereen a few episodes ago and sailed all the way to Dorne, and back again (
2 months?).
Meanwhile Sam has travelled half the distance between Winterfell and the Wall (
1 week)).
Either the scenes/characters are not chronological, or Sam, Gilly and baby had the most amazing adventure over the last few episodes.
In reality Sam must have been at Oldtown for 2-3 months by the time that Cersei took the throne.