The last season of “Game of Thrones” will almost certainly go down in television history as one of the worst finales ever. The manner David Benioff and DB Weiss rushed the series’ conclusion left many perplexed, concerned, and, in the end, outraged. And it looks that George R.R. Martin was concerned about this early on and hoped HBO would ensure that his epic was told in the proper amount of time.
According to interviews in the new book “Tinderbox,” which covers the history of HBO (via Insider), George R.R. Martin was one of the most ardent supporters of the show’s continuation, aiming for ten seasons and 100 total episodes. Martin’s agent, Paul Haas, said that he would fly to New York to meet with former HBO CEO Richard Plepler for lunch to discuss his 10-season plan. It was all for naught in the end.
“Dan and Dave were exhausted, as they should have been,” Haas added. “They were done and ready to go on, so they cut it short, and then the question became, how many seasons can we stretch this out for?” HBO, of course, wants more.”
“George loves Dan and Dave,” he continued, “but after Season 5, he began to be concerned about the direction they were taking since George knows where the tale leads.” ‘You’re not following my template,’ he stated.
Martin’s need for additional time to convey his narrative is understandable. Fans experienced what happens when the last seasons of ‘Thrones’ are rushed, with some of the weakest episodes in the series and a final season that is widely viewed as a flop.
“I wish it had lasted ten years,” Martin expressed his regret. “I believe that would have given us a little more time to wrap it up in the later seasons.” But that could just be because I’m still attempting to wrap things up in these volumes.”
“I’m still working on ‘The Winds of Winter,’ as I have been for the better part of a decade,” he added. And maybe, I’ll get to that point soon, so that people can debate which end they like.”
HBO seems clearly unfazed by the bad response to the last season of “Game of Thrones.” We’ve seen the network move forward with the development of a few Martin spinoffs. So, while “Game of Thrones” may have raced to the finish line, HBO has the opportunity to ensure that this does not happen again.