George RR Martin Reveals Why Final Game Of Thrones Seasons Were So Bad
Game of Thrones had one of the more controversial and disappointing final seasons ever, and George RR Martin knows why.
This article is more than 2 years old
Games of Thrones entered international popularity after it debuted on HBO in 2011. A ratings bonanza for the cable network, the series was created by D. B. Weiss and David Benioff as an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, a novel series written by George R.R. Martin. After the show’s first seasons were deemed critically acclaimed and successful, the last couple of seasons seemed to trail off of the original game plan. Ratings remained strong, but the storylines suffered from lazy writing and outrageous character development. Now, it appears that George R. R. Martin is providing an explanation for the downfall of Game of Thrones, three years after the series finale aired.
According to a report from TVLine, author George R.R. Martin recently gave an interview with The New York Times where he clarified that he was not involved in the final few seasons of Game of Thrones. His involvement with the series dwindled over time, as his role in writing the source material decreased his input in the series adaptation by season 5. Noting in his interview, Martin stated, “By Season 5 and 6, and certainly 7 and 8, I was pretty much out of the loop.” This could possibly have happened because D.B. Weiss and David Benioff chose to take the series in a different direction since the first few seasons relied heavily on Martin’s consultation.
The characters in Game of Thrones had developed beyond their initial plots by season 4 or 5, so it seems that the writers may not have needed George R.R. Martin’s help to close out the series when it eventually ended. When the sixth season aired, Vanity Fair reported that the series would intentionally deviate from Martin’s fantasy novels. D.B. Weiss and David Benioff had outlined several story arcs based on potential future novels that Martin had described to them that he would be writing. The show had outpaced Martin’s ability to finish the book series, so the showrunners had to improvise based on their own ideas of where the characters would find themselves in the end.
George R.R. Martin’s disengagement from filming the latter seasons of Game of Thrones resulted in a horrendous sequence of events for the series. Many fans of the show were unhappy with the direction the series took by the time it concluded after eight seasons, particularly how lethargic the plot became over time. According to Looper, the show became targeted for the mistakes the filmmakers missed during shooting, including a Starbucks cup that appeared onscreen in the eighth season, water bottles in frame, and wigs changing from one scene to the next.
At this point in his career, George R.R. Martin has chosen a different path than what Game of Thrones gave him towards the end. A new prequel is on the way from HBO that proves there is still light at the end of the tunnel for fans of Martin’s work. House of the Dragon will debut the first of ten episodes later this month, with Martin heavily involved in making the series. As an executive producer, the new series will be based on material from his 2018 novel, Fire & Blood.
