If you can, try remember back to season 1/2/3/4/5 and compare the 'padding'. That's what game of thrones is. If they were to carry on the legacy of game of thrones then they definitely needed a shit load more padding.
I'm not talking about exposition and character/plot development, I'm talking about actual padding. Like watching Arya for 15 minutes not do much of anything (after having previously kicked ass).
Going by the books the first 5 season have NO padding whatsover, they move by leaps and bounds, except for of course all the additional sex scenes.