He was not a cold blooded general. It was his job to kill ENEMIES. He is soft hearted and they showed us this from the very first episode. And every soft hearted man can be silly in front of their love. He can be cruel and strong to his enemies but soft in front of his loved ones. And it's possible in reality too.
For me, ep7 was really brilliant. It's series so they have to add fillers and cliffhangers to keep viewers tuning. If they wanted to speed everything they wouldn't bother to make drama. They could just make a movie. Well of course everyone has different tastes. I find fillers really fitting to the concept of drama and fun. This drama really makes my week and I didn't find it boring a bit. Unlike LOTBS. I love every scene of this drama so much.