Well that is the point I was making, HBO's preference would have been for more.... Point is it isn't bull as the other poster asserted, the shows creators could have had two full seasons (or probably more)if they'd wanted it, they didn't want it as they don't believe it is needed to finish the story. (they were considering both two short seasons or one long one AFAIK). The breakneck pace is party simply stories converging and events taking place all over the map, I think they're fine not to put in pointless filler material.
You keep talking yourself into this "I'm so happy they shortened best TV show ever" bizarro cheer, but trust me, by the end of this season you'll see it too for what it is.
If nothing important happens while Jon travels from Dragonstone back to Eastwatch then we shouldn't see it. If you want a delay before he gets there to show passage of time, for no other reason to show the passage of time, then other characters will have to fill that void. But if they themselves are waiting for him before their story can continue what can they do to fill it? Nothing, just get on with the story.
They used to spend so much time showing us staging and travels because RR's story was detailed, there was a plan behind revolving door of characters. He was clever enough not to burn time - there was always something or someone to introduce on the way, someone to duel, some weapon or skill to pick up, some camaraderie or enemy to establish. For six years there was no journey shown on your screen that wouldn't lead somewhere or mean something. It was like Band of Brothers D-day to Berlin every time someone moved across that map.
It's quite clear that once RR's material and then drafts dried out they had no idea how to continue. The plot this season (visuals aside) is like your fan fiction attempts - skin deep, rough sketch, very little sense, and it feels as if with all the secrecy it's not even proof read or checked for major plotholes.
They have no idea what to do with most introduced locations and characters still in rotation. With just one liner pointers from Martin they do absolute minimum requirwd. It's all shallow, skin deep - like kids doing carpet play scenarios - when Hound travels and bullet point calls for redemption, the best these tweets can come up with is that he gets to the same house he visited with Arya in previous season and has 5 seconds of pouty-pouty, when Arya travels the best they could do was to get to the same tavern she left Hotpie at. And when Jon or armies travel - they just teleport. That's ridiculous. There are enough threads to tie up for their journeys to be eventful just like in old seasons - there are people on Arya's list, there are people the Hound wants to fight, third and fourth cast line villains, vassals and allies. There are castles and keeps all the way between King's Landing and Casterly Rock to last for full season of epic battles, heck, over the last few pages we - you, me, few other posters, came up with better ideas than people who are paid millions to create proper plot and ending for this show present to us week to week.
The point is - these seasons aren't shorter because there is no story to tell. They are shorter because these people don't want to tell them to you for any fandom or money. They want to cash out. At all cost. That's it.
And I'm gonna go ahead and say what a lot of us are thinking:
If this show is not to end up like Lost or Leftovers, with only 8 hours to the end, that's barely enough time to wrap up major payoffs and stage final battle with White Walkers and then battle among each other for Westeros. So WTF are they doing sending some sort of fellowship of the ring to capture one walker behind the wall? Don't get me wrong, I love the idea, if we had couple more full seasons ahead of us, but there is literally no time to do another trip behind the wall and do it justice without creating more plot holes and teleportations. 8 episodes to go. Lord of the Rings needed 9 hours to arrange such trip with 1/4 of plot luggage GoT carries by now. That team cannot possibly go up north and return, show the specimen to everyone Westeros and prep for war faster than army of walkers that don't have to eat or sleep following towards the wall, no matter how much trouble they have with Russian GPS. Then you have the sheer amount of character send offs among secondary cast - the numbers are so large that most will have to be either ignored or completely half baked resolutions and/or rushed write offs. Of characters we watched and followed for better part of a decade. Unless the whole plan is to end it all unresolved. There they stand, white walkers on one side of the valley, humans on the other. Horses move forward. End credits.
