Game Of Thrones Showrunners Finally Talk About Infamous Season Finale
Die-hard Game of Thrones fans will all tell you that the series finale was one of the most unsatisfying finales of all time. Since the series’ conclusion, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have maintained a relatively low profile on social media, and have kept their heads down while shifting their focus to other projects. But now that some time has passed, they’ve been able to look at what went wrong a little more objectively, and talk at length about what went wrong with the series.
The Showrunners Weren’t Familiar With The Novels
Going into production of Game of Thrones, neither Benioff or Weiss were too familiar with the source material. Given the breadth and scope of George R.R. Martin’s novels, adapting the series into a TV show would prove to be a daunting task, but a worthy challenge nonetheless. While fans of the novels were expecting a faithful page-by-page adaptation, Benioff stated that creative liberties had to be taken for the sake of continuity.
Proud Of Their Work On Other Seasons
Benioff added that even if Game of Thrones did, in fact, faithfully recreate every single iconic scene that fans were asking for, it wouldn’t necessarily be a guaranteed win. One of the challenges that showrunners face when adapting a popular yet niche fantasy epic into a series is trying to transform the source material into something that has a wider appeal for a mass audience. And looking at the overall series, they did just that.It goes without question that Game of Thrones, final season notwithstanding, was well-received by both critics and fans. The 59 Primetime Emmy Award wins is proof enough that their joint storytelling efforts were not without praise during the show’s run.
First Time Around The Block
It’s also worth mentioning that Game of Thrones was the first time that Benioff and Weiss ever worked on a series. In other words, they were learning as they went, and even the most seasoned of showrunners can’t hit it out of the park like they did on their first time around the block.
Totally Winging It For Season 8
Benioff and Weiss also had to pretty much wing the final season of Game of Thrones because the series caught up with the source material, and they had to shoot from the hip to close out the series. Though their collective creative instincts and ability to carry the show for seven seasons was a resounding success, fans thought the ending felt rushed, ham-fisted, and wholly unsatisfying.
Talking Game Of Thrones Is Taboo
For a long time, neither showrunner would talk publicly about Game of Thrones because they both knew that there was plenty of criticism floating around on the internet. Speaking to this point, Weiss mentioned that he doesn’t like to engage with either positive or negative feedback, because it adds an unnecessary amount of stress to his life. Putting his money where his mouth is, Weiss went on record stating that he hasn’t Googled his own name since 2013 for this very reason.
Benioff similarly tries not to engage with negative feedback, suggesting that at this point any criticism is out of his hands. He did the best job he possibly could during the time he had to do it, and he has made peace with the fact that not everybody is going to stand behind his work 100 percent of the time.
Up Next For The Showrunners
Though the criticism Game of Thrones received is valid for a number of reasons, Benioff and Weiss are now looking toward the future. This coming March, their adaptation of Liu Cixin’s 3 Body Problem will premiere on Netflix. Now that they’re both older and wiser, they can take what they learned from working on Game of Thrones, and continue to hone their craft, but this time in the science-fiction genre.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
