I'm guessing the show would explain his incompetence away as simply a desire to maim and slaughter as little as possible.

I can only assume that after Dany's victory a number of characters will be sent back to Essos with a throwaway line.

If the plotlines are meant to converge and resolve simultaneously, Cersei deliberately orchestrating the Wall's collapse makes sense, especially as a desperate final move or as a "fuck you" move after being defeated.

True, but I don't think the show is going to concern itself too much with that particular subject.

The blood connection really has more to do with whether or not the dragons will accept him, I'd think. That, and the fact that he's returned from the dead…

I think you do. That could easily be a thread left to the final 6 episodes. It's not as if that will take a ton of screen time.

Certainly, if you're going to change a character's personality, between seasons is the best window to do so.

I'd just warn you that Bran is nearing the end of his plot-usefulness. And on this show, when that happens…

If the show/books are going to fully rip off Greek tragedy and Tolkein, Jon/Dany will go full-on consummated marriage and only then find out their relation.

Dany is a weakness of the show. The writers seem to want Dany to always be on the righteous side. I'm not totally confident they're going to give her the clay feet she needs.

That would be a twist!

If the rumors of next episode are true, Dany's sanity will come into play. I'm hoping her plotline starts to get much less charmed.

Yeah, I think viewers aren't attuned to the fact that days, weeks and even months could be inserted between both scenes and episodes. Or, that the show will jump around in time for the purposes of drama. Bran's travel time, for example.

Oh, and it's possible that a dragon could end up dead and never get a rider. Not every dire wolf amounted to much, for example.

Right. Almost as if she'd have to sail them a bit north, then land them out of Cerise's view.

Was thinking how unfortunate that Dany has lost so much sea power. She may have been able to rush her army forward a bit, out of view from King's Landing.

The list of future dragon riders has always been Jon, Tyrion, and possibly Bran-via-warg. No one else seems likely.

Total side note: it's also not clear to me how plausible it is for Dany to move her forces without much notice from King's Landing. You'd have to assume that it's essential to hide your presence as much as possible.

It would be great to bring in some movie characters that get little development, like Agent 13. It's reasonable to assume that the show might hype Black Panther and especially Infinity War.

If they're trimming the budget FX-wise, maybe they can focus on just telling character-driven stories that are steeped in the MCU.