Now that we are a couple months out from the finale of HBO’s Game of Thrones, it is safe to say that it didn’t end satisfactorily. As the show closed, fans raged and launched petitions over how they felt things wrapped up. Characters acted inconsistently, plot lines were left unresolved and everyone just seemed to have a bad time. Now that the smoke has cleared, author and creator of the series George RR Martin has weighed in on how he feels about the whole thing.
Martin has done a rare interview with The Observer that will be released on Sunday. However, excerpts of the interview have come out that offers a window into his opinions. The main thing he expressed is that he grateful to be free of the obligation of being involved with the show. He admits that doing press and checking in with the show slowed the process to finish the book series which still has two books to go.
“The very thing that should have speeded me up actually slowed me down.” Martin said in the interview. “Every day I sat down to write and even if I had a good day … I’d feel terrible because I’d be thinking: ‘My God, I have to finish the book. I’ve only written four pages when I should have written 40.’”
Now that the show is over, he is free to go back to focus on writing and not have to attend as many conventions, press events and show meetings. The other thing martin said was that he has had to actively avoid getting mired in controversies over the ending. Despite being the creator of the series, Martin was not the main writer and creative writer for the show. He only told showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss his plans for the books and they had to fill in the blanks. So even though they had the broad strokes, it may not be how he will actually end the series. With two books left, Martin has the freedom to make the ending possibly make more sense and be more satisfying for fans. However, no matter what, he makes it clear that he has not changed the ending to fit what fans desire.
“I took myself out of all that … some of [the theories] are right and some of [the theories] are wrong. They’ll find out when I finish,” he said.
Cover Image: Gage Skidmore
