George R.R. Martin hasn’t written the ending of ‘Game of Thrones’ yet but he has an idea in mind and it’s inspired by one of his favorite authors…
As the world awaits George R.R. Martin’s sixth book in his ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series, which is the source material for HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’, the author has already started to put together ideas for how it will all end. Martin has already met with ‘Game of Thrones’ show runners David Benioff and Dan Weiss to give them his vision for how the series will end and the fate of each particular character as he plans in his own book universe. Obviously, ‘Game of Thrones’ could go in a different direction but both Benioff and Weiss have always said they started doing the show to stay loyal to the source material and while they will deviate from time to time, ultimately they want to tell Martin’s story on the TV screen. So what kind of ending should ‘Game of Thrones’ fans expect once the final season is upon us?
“I’ve said before that the tone of the ending that I’m going for is bittersweet,” Martin said recently.
Now bittersweet doesn’t necessarily mean that even more popular characters are destined to die or that the person who ends up on the Iron Throne will be someone that leaves the audience agitated and angry. Martin wants to tell his story to its natural conclusion while also understanding that there are no truly happy endings for these kinds of tales. He references back to one of his favorite books — the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy — and how the heroes won the day but were still left damaged when it was over. It’s pretty clear through five books and five seasons of the TV show that no one on ‘Game of Thrones’ is coming out unscathed, but this is just a further guarantee that damage will be done to whoever ultimately mounts the Iron Throne.
“I mean, it’s no secret that (J.R.R.) Tolkien has been a huge influence on me, and I love the way he ended Lord of the Rings,” Martin said. “It ends with victory, but it’s a bittersweet victory. “Frodo is never whole again, and he goes away to the Undying Lands, and the other people live their lives. And the scouring of the Shire—brilliant piece of work, which I didn’t understand when I was 13 years old: “Why is this here? The story’s over?” But every time I read it I understand the brilliance of that segment more and more. All I can say is that’s the kind of tone I will be aiming for. Whether I achieve it or not, that will be up to people like you and my readers to judge.”
There’s still plenty of time for all of this to change because Martin is still putting the finishing touches on his sixth book, ‘The Winds of Winter’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ is about to enter the sixth season with a plan to wrap up the show after season eight. In other words, don’t bet on any ending until the show and the books finally come to a close. H/T: The Observer
