The story got hugely bogged down. Jordan spun so many story lines each 800 page book furthered the plot by about 3 days, and occasionally wouldn’t even feature main characters (or they were stuck in the circus).
However once Jordan knew he had limited time he outlined the rest of the story and Brandon Sanderson took over once Jordan passed away.
The last three books positively flew by in comparison. Sanderson was trimming branches and winding storylines up every chapter until it was manageable again.
I’d say it ended on a high note, but it was a slog to get from book 8 to the last 3.
(The final book is on the next shelf since it couldn’t fit them all).