Game of Thrones season 8 will have only six episodes—Is that enough?

During Sunday’s South by Southwest festival, Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss confirmed information that had been floating around for a long time: season 8 will be consist of just six episodes. Naturally, not everyone took the news well.

Every season up to this point has been 10 episodes long. We already know that season 7 will only have seven. With the confirmation that season 8 will have six, it appears that the story is going to be rapidly wrapping up.

So how can Benioff and Weiss complete such a massive story in just 13 episodes? Just looking at this upcoming season, there’s a lot that needs to happen:

• Jon must learn of his parentage.
• Daenerys must cross the Narrow Sea and establish her claim to the Iron Throne.
• Daenerys must fight and win battles using her dragons and the Unsullied.
• Cersei must make alliances in order to bolster her drastically depleted army.
• Wildcard Euron Greyjoy must be folded into the story.
• Jon Snow, as the new King in the North, must prove to the doubters in the South that the wights and the Night King exist, thus gaining their support for the real fight to come.
• Bran must cross the Wall.
• The Night King has to start his invasion of the realms of men, either by toppling the Wall or circumventing it.
• Littlefinger must be dealt with, and the Knights of the Vale must choose a side.
• Now that she’s back in Westeros, Arya must decide what to do with her newfound skills.
• Sam must train as a maester at the Citadel.
• Jorah must go on a quest to heal himself.
• Gendry’s role in this story must be developed.

And these are all plot threads to develop in season 7. I can only imagine that season 8 will be all-out war against the Night King.

Oh, and there could be a zombie dragon in the offing.

It sounds like our heroes will get more than they bargained for. Let’s hope 13 episodes is enough to contain it.