When it comes to his opinion on the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin has given precious little away. We’re still unsure as to whether his plans for future A Song of Ice and Fire novels will mirror the conclusion showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss delivered in Game of Thrones, conclusion or differ considerably.
And new quotes from those close to Martin, and from Martin himself, have only muddied the waters further. These are taken from the new book Tinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers by entertainment author James Andrew Miller. Paul Haas, the fantasy author’s representative, had this to say when asked about the destination of the as-yet-incomplete book series:
George loves Dan and Dave, but after season 5 he did start to worry about the path they were [going down] because George knows where the story goes. He started saying, ‘You’re not following my template’. The first 5 seasons stuck to George’s roadmap. Then they went off George’s roadmap.
Haas also insisted that Martin has “not told anybody” the answer to the question “who gets the throne?” This contradicts information from Benioff, Weiss, and actor Isaac Hempstead-Wright, who have all said that the idea of Bran Stark becoming Ruler of the Six Kingdoms came straight from Martin’s own mouth.
George R.R. Martin: Emilia Clarke was “great” as Daenerys Targaryen
Elsewhere in Miller’s book, published earlier this week by Macmillan Publishing, Martin had nothing but praise for the controversial conclusion to Daenerys’ storyline in the show, and in particular Emilia Clarke’s performance:
Emilia Clarke was great. The role of Daenerys is a difficult role … She suddenly grows from a girl to a woman and starts to realize that she does have power and authority. There’s a transformation that’s incredible the entire course of the show.
This is not the first time that Martin has spoken positively about Benioff and Weiss’ version of his story — his specific focus on Clarke’s depiction of Daenerys didn’t stop there: “[You have to find] an actress who can be very convincing as the scared little girl in the beginning, but also very convincing as the ‘I’m gonna kick your ass and burn your city to cinders’ woman that she becomes by the end.’ It’s challenging.”
Many fans criticized the conclusion of Game of Thrones in general and the handling of Daenerys’ character arc in particular. Is Martin implying that his own plans for the ending are similar to what we saw in the show? The author has previously said that he didn’t expect the show’s ending to be “that different” from his own. “The series has been extremely faithful compared to 97% of all television and movie adaptations of literary properties. But it’s not completely faithful. And it can’t be. Otherwise, it would have to run another five seasons.”
The answers to these question lie ahead, but these new comments give fans more to debate in the meantime.
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