The slow start I think will gradually build to a crescendo as Daenerys moves towards King's Landing and the Iron Throne -she is learning how hard it is to rule fairly, but will she make fatal mistakes that prevent her from fulfilling her destiny? Are the dragons destined to obliterate the Whitewalkers? It must all depend on whether or not the programme makers decide to have all the loose ends tied up by the end of the series with a new ruler on the Iron Throne and rebels either despatched or pacified. I can't see what purpose Cersei serves in the series, she hasn't changed since day one.