- This episode of Nerdist News
is sponsored by Borderlands 3.
Sorry Game of Thrones fans,
George R. R. Martin isn't listening.
The final season of Game of Thrones
came to a close earlier this year,
putting the stamp on all the characters
fans had been following for almost a full decade.
Some lived, some died, and some ended up
in charge of Westeros for some reason.
And because of this closure, or maybe lack thereof,
this last chapter of the hit series
was full of highs and lows for almost everyone,
with critics and fans agreeing
that it was a mixed bag at best
and disappointing at worst.
Despite all this, the 2019 Emmy Nominations
dropped this week with the final season scoring
a record breaking 33 noms.
Just as the cast and crew prepare to take
their victory lap at San Diego Comic Con,
where fans will be able to have comments and concerns
addressed in a calm and orderly fashion.
This is gonna go well.
Of course, not all of this fan drama has gone unnoticed.
George R. R. Martin, the writer of
the A Song of Ice and Fire book series
that the show, Game of Thrones, was based on
opened up to the folks over at entertainment weekly
about how he has handled all the fan feedback,
outrage, and the challenges of telling the end of the story
that we already know the ending of.
First up, he broke down the pressures of responding
to fan reactions concerning certain revelations
that occurred over the last two seasons.
"The internet affects all this to a degree
"it was never affected before.
"Like Jon Snow's parentage.
"There were early hints about who Snow's parents
"were in the books, but only
"one reader in 100 put it together.
"And before the internet that was fine.
"For 99 readers out of 100 when Jon Snow's parentage
"gets revealed it would be, 'Oh, that's a great twist!'"
Martin then went on to add, "But in the age of the internet
"even if only one person in 100 figures it out
"then that one person posts it online
"and the other 99 people read it and go,
"'Oh, that makes sense!'
"Suddenly, the twist you're building towards is out there."
Basically he's saying the way that readers interact
with stories has completely changed
since the first book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series
was released in 1996.
And when it comes to a currently running book series
that started in an early internet era full of rich lore
and hidden meanings that spawns many a fan theory
he might be one of the few authors to have faced this issue.
He then explained the sinking feeling
that comes with his audience
suddenly knowing his big twists.
"There is a temptation to then change it
"in the upcoming books.
"'Oh my God, I screwed up.
"'I have to come up with something different.'
"But that's wrong, because you've been planning
"for a certain ending and if you suddenly change
"direction just because somebody figured it out
"or because they don't like it then it screws up
"the whole structure.
"So no, I don't read the fan sites.
"I want to write the book I've always intended
"to write all along, and when it comes out
"they can like it or they can not like it."
And speaking of that ending, Martin also addressed
the differences between the final seasons of the show
and what will appear in "The Winds of Winter"
and "A Dream of Spring", the two books
that will close out his book series.
"The whole last three years have been strange
"since the show got ahead of the books.
"Yes, I told showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss
"a number of things years ago
"and some of them they did do,
"but at the same time it's different.
"I have very fixed ideas in my head
"as I'm writing 'The Winds of Winter' and beyond that
"in terms of where things are going.
"It's like two alternate realities existing side-by-side."
But that isn't to say that he was immune
to the crunch of the show as it caught up to his books.
"I felt a tremendous amount of pressure for years now.
"The most pressure I felt was a few years ago
"when I was desperately trying to stay ahead of the show.
"There was a point when the show was coming out in April
"and my editor said if I could finish the book
"by December they'd rush it out.
"And the pressure I felt that fall was
"the greatest pressure I've ever felt.
"And then at a certain point it became apparent
"I'm not going to finish it by then."
Lucky for Martin, he's not letting the pressure
get to him any longer.
He's choosing to take the time
to tell the story that he wants, saying,
"I don't only want to finish it;
"I want to make it as good as I possibly can.
"Since then there's been pressure,
"but not like there was at that point.
"There's no longer a race.
"The show is over."
And, of course, he also gave fans his go-to answer
about when we could see the next book.
"I'm writing the book.
"It will be done when it's done."
If there is one thing we're sure of
about George R. R. Martin, it's that he's gonna
do his own thing in his own time.
Trying to get a specific date from him is a fool's errand.
But what do you folks think?
Were you satisfied with the ending of Game of Thrones?
Will you read the next two books in A Song of Ice and Fire?
And, of course, when do you think "The Winds of Winter"
will actually come out?
Let's discuss.
Thanks again to Borderlands 3
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