George R.R. Martin claims that the reaction to HBO's Game of Thrones finale won't influence the endings of his upcoming books. The divisive final season of HBO's monumental fantasy series premiered on the streaming service earlier this year and was met with plenty of criticisms from both critics and fans. Despite the negative reactions, and even a petition that made its rounds on the internet, Game of Thrones managed to garner a record-breaking 32 Emmy nominations for this year's award ceremony. It always seemed likely that the series would pick up Emmy nominations, but the amount was beyond impressive considering the amount of backlash its final season received.
HBO also has more content from the Game of Thrones universe coming down the pipeline. A prequel series is currently in the works and rumored to be titled Bloodmoon. The show is set thousands of years before the setting of Game of Thrones, at a time known as the Age of Heroes. It will explore the founding of the Great Houses of Westeros (Stark, Baratheon, Lannister) along with a possible new house, and could possibly dig into the origin of the White Walkers as well. Along with this upcoming series, fans also have George R.R. Martin's two final books to look forward to, and Martin is ready to assure fans about their ending.
According to The Guardian, Martin claims that the reaction to Game of Thrones' divisive finale won't influence his new books. He explained that the TV show had not been "very good" for him and that, "The very thing that should have speeded [him] up actually slowed [him] down." As far as the endings for his novels go, Martin exclaimed that they would be unaffected by the show's controversial ending, exclaiming that, "You can't please everybody, so you've got to please yourself." He went on to discuss the pressure that came with writing, exclaiming that he'd "feel terrible" because he'd be thinking: "My God, I have to finish the book. I've only written four pages when I should have written 40." He also added that he now steers clear of online reactions and, "lets fans have their theories."
This news really comes as no surprise, as Martin had played a big part in Game of Thrones' final season. One of the biggest parts was his vision for Bran becoming King of Westeros, which he informed the series' showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, about before shooting. Considering this was one of the more divisive parts of the finale for viewers, it'll be interesting to see how Martin follows through with his ending.
Many fans of Game of Thrones found that the last couple of seasons were too rushed. For a series that has prided itself in complex character development and incredible world-building, the ending felt like a sprint to the finish line. Perhaps drawing out the narrative could further provide a better explanation as to why Bran was Martin's ideal choice to rule the Iron Throne. Unfortunately, only time will tell.
Source: The Guardian