You could tell from the very first scene of the latest episode, that it's now in the hands of either a different group of writers, or at the very least, a new head writer.
They've tried to give the show a more epic feel with the writing and filming, to suite the fuller (but less personal) story they have with the government plans. The writing was still a little sketchy at times, but it was definitely a huge improvement over what we've seen so far in this volume.
They've suddenly pushed the story forward, moving everything at a higher pace, giving some of the characters more urgency and purpose, it's as though somebody behind the scenes was aware of how stale it had gone; killing off characters that were deadwood and revealing Rebel's identity, who I actually thought delivered a surprisingly decent performance.
Hopefully they continue this form for the rest of the volume.