Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin shares what sometimes frustrated him about the HBO series. Martin’s still-unfinished book series A Song of Ice and Fire served as the inspiration for the fantasy show set in the fictional world of Westeros. But of course Game of Thrones the show ultimately grew beyond the limits of Martin’s original vision, running out of book material to adapt in season 5.
Martin himself indeed recently revealed that he personally had less to do with the later seasons of Game of Thrones, ultimately being cut “out of the loop” by showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss. It can never be known now how things would have turned out story-wise on GoT had Martin been allowed to give his input during the final run of shows. But it’s certainly true that Game of Thrones season 8 was very divisive when it ran on HBO back in 2019, and continues to be controversial to this day.
Now with the first Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon set to launch on HBO, Martin is once again talking about the original series and his experience with its making. Speaking to The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon, Martin addressed the way the show handled his characters, and admitted to having mixed feelings about the way some of them evolved. Martin began by saying that it’s “exciting” if the characters are being done right, but cautioned “There’s always dangers.” He then spoke briefly about one occasion when the show’s version of a character did not reflect what he intended when he created them on the page. After first talking about an example of a good experience involving a scene with Arya and Ned Stark from season 1, Martin talked about a bad experience from later on:
I remember with Game of Thrones, when I visited, they were shooting in Belfast, Northern Ireland and I came to visit the set and they were still working on the first episode, the pilot. And David Benioff showed me a clip of the scene with Arya and her father Ned on the stairs where she was standing on one foot trying to balance. And it was great. I had seen rehearsals with these actors but I hadn’t seen them in character and seen them do it. It was my scene come alive. These were my characters. And nothing felt better than to see that happen. But of course there’s always the flip side of that is where suddenly you’re seeing a scene and saying, what the hell have they done here, that’s not how it’s supposed to go. My character would never do that. My character would never say that. And that can be frustrating. So like anything else in life, it’s complicated.
Martin naturally does not name the exact character he thought was a bad representation of his version from the books. Obviously the author does not wish to shame whatever actor was responsible for what he thinks was a mistaken interpretation of his intent. He also surely does not think it necessary to stir up fans who already have a lot of negative feelings about the way Game of Thrones finished up its run.
It’s safe to say however that Martin himself has mixed feelings about some of the choices that were made on Game of Thrones, especially in later seasons after showrunners Benioff and Weiss had cut him out of the loop. It’s also safe to say that many fans agree with Martin about certain characters going off the rails as the show proceeded. Perhaps one day Martin will actually finish his A Song of Ice and Fire series and give frustrated Game of Thrones fans the alternate ending they crave. The author may not have had full control over what happened on the show, but he obviously can make any character-related choices he wants when it comes to the page.
Source: The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon