The ending to the Game of Thrones TV series... hurt. It hurt a lot of viewers who had been loyal to the show for years, hosting watch parties, making bets on who would finally 'win' the Iron Throne, and who trusted HBO to make it the best TV experience to ever grace our screens. Somehow, the ending to Game of Thrones was so unexpected and controversial that the show is barely talked about today. Its creator, George R. R. Martin, is aware of the frustration fans experienced however - and has again assured us that the ending to the books will be fairly different.
Spotted by Comicbook, and reported in an interview with PBS's WTTW Chicago (via Uproxx), George R. R. Martin talks about what it was like to still be writing his A Song of Ice and Fire books as the series caught up, and how the show ultimately went in a different direction.
If, like Daenerys, you're into the idea of riding dragons and destroying your enemies, you might like the look of the upcoming November Eve...
In the interview, the author says: "My biggest issue was when they began that series, I had four books already in print, and the fifth one came out just as the series was starting in 2011. I had a five-book head start, and these are gigantic books, as you know. I never thought they would catch up with me, but they did. They caught up with me and passed me."
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He continues to confirm that there will be differences with his final product that won't reflect the way the show ended up. Martin says: "That made it a little strange because now the show was ahead of me and the show was going in somewhat different directions. So, I'm still working on the book (The Winds of Winter), but you'll see my ending when that comes out."
Uproxx makes a note of the fact that (spoiler ahead), Bran might still well become king in Martin's novels, that's not a definite change. The report reminds us that it was Martin's idea to crown him, and so might be a non-negotiable part of the ending. However, that wasn't the only dissatisfying part of the series for fans - for example, the fate of the mother of dragons Daenerys greatly disappointed audiences. With George R. R. Martin still working on hammering out his next book - at least he's done with his work on Elden Ring, now - we'll have to wait and see what the official canonical ending to the lives of these characters are.
Featured Image Credit: HBO / George R R Martin (via Twitter)Topics: News, Game of Thrones