George RR Martin on the Hardest Character to Kill in Game of Thrones

[@ashleyofnaath]

Excluding the Red Wedding (because that's the obvious choice), I found an incredibly sad death to read and watch was Maester Luwin's. And in typical GRRM fashion, he incorporated an element of beauty to it by seemingly having Luwin sacrifice himself to the Old Gods to save Bran and Rickon from the Boltons. It chokes me up to picture the plainly skeptical and dying Maester Luwin using his last bit of strength to crawl to the weirwood tree on the small chance that dying there might save the boys. The fact that he got to see them before he died gives me chills too because it's as if the Old Gods were giving Luwin real-time confirmation that what he was doing was working. Gosh George is brilliant!

[@9595itachi]

Gosh, I srsly need to start reading the books

[@ashleyofnaath]

I implore you do that. The show doesn't come close to telling George's story.

[@factbeaglesarebest]

@@9595itachi yeah you should. The show ultimately was a failure and in any many ways an insult to Martins amazing stories and writing style and themes.

[@mr.doctorcaptain1124]

@@ashleyofnaath the books really lost my interest after book 3 personally. Book 1 was one of the best books I've ever read, book 2 was very good, book 3 was decent, then 200 pages into book 4 it was just too long. Don't get me wrong, I only read long stories (currently reading through the horus heresey lol). But GRRM is a little similar to Tolkien in his verbous style of drawing stories out with more detail than is needed. Some people adore that, because they want fully fleshed out lore that covers everything. I'm not. I love a good, long story, but one that keeps it's own story relevant to itself. I think that is a weakness of GRRM.

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

@@mr.doctorcaptain1124 Book 3 is by far the best book in asoiaf if you ask me. Book 4 and 5 are both meh, it's where the weakness of Martin as an author really shows, including his ''verbous style'' like you said.

[@nymphantine7361]

personally I felt Ned's death more, I think it set the tone of the whole series, made it clear that being decent isn't enough in this world.

[@carmcam1]

Agreed, i became suspicious of the show after that, expecting at any moment anyone could die, i remember sitting up straight in disbelief when Ned Stark was beheaded.

[@SelphieTheNutter]

Yeah, i was gutted when they killed Ned. I pretty much stopped watching GOT after season 4, I got sick and tired of them picking on the Starks.

[@rhaenyralikesyoutube6289]

I did feel Ned's death the most, but especially so when I read the historical background on his execution. He is supposed to stand in for William Lord Hastings.

[@Marcus_Halberstram]

@@rhaenyralikesyoutube6289 My sister stopped watching the show after Ned's death.

[@alphanerd7221]

If Ned hadn't been a huge liar things would have turned out fine for him.

[@abrarbw]

GRRM has just a way with words. He answered that simple question with such elegance.

[@ResistTheGreatReplacementEU]

I’d sure hope so

[@seankrkovich2869]

"I swat them; they die like flies."

[@LexLiminality]

For sure, he should be a writer!

[@skillganon606]

Now if he will just answer the question of who should finish his book series when he croaks we will be in good shape.

[@abrarbw]

@@skillganon606 ASOIAF is GRRM's magnum opus. He doesn't ANYONE to tinker with his work. But if he ever decides to change his mind then I think Joe Abercrombie would be an apt and capable option to draw a conclusion to GRRM's grand story.

[@irinachernikova5238]

The red wedding was one of the most tragic event for me. After that I realized that anything could happen in this show/books and any character could die there. But aside that, the death of Oberyn Martell was also very sad for me

[@6ixlxrd]

I mean, I still knew characters like Sansa, Arya, and Dany were completely 100% safe so I had little worries. Thought Jon was too, but when he "died" I immediately threw that notion out of the window.

[@irinachernikova5238]

@@6ixlxrd well, i also so naively thought that Ned Stark was safe, since he was one of the main characters in the first book😅

[@turtleanton6539]

Well dany dies.

[@irinachernikova5238]

@@turtleanton6539 Not in the books, i hope

[@federicoanzola2785]

@@turtleanton6539 Jahn Fallaw da Queen

[@Ship-security]

Clearly the Winds of Winter is the hardest thing to write.

[@tjsan5856]

Lmao HAHAHAH

[@chaitanyareddy2233]

Why

[@Ship-security]

@@chaitanyareddy2233 it's taken more than 10 years to write.

[@chaitanyareddy2233]

@@Ship-security will he finish the book before this century?🤣

[@Ship-security]

@@chaitanyareddy2233 I bet he dies of a heart attack before we get any more books.

[@SweetNightmareASMR]

I thought all the actors did a great job but Charles Dance as Tywin was my favourite. He has such screen presence. Of course Jack Gleeson as Joffrey was amazing too.

[@NightwinSeraph]

They could not have picked a better fitting actor for Tywin. Hands down Charles Dance got it right. I thought Jerome Flynn was pretty accurate too.

[@leonardohenrique5172]

Same, Tywin is probably my favorite character (even though I also hate him lol) and a lot of that is because of Charles Dance, he's amazing.

[@Stereotype23]

Yeah Charles Dance and Jack Gleeson would be my choices besides Peter Dinklage. Dont know how GRRM can forget to mention them.

[@alexanderthegreat7474]

I've always agreed with that. Charles Dance was absolutely perfect for Tywin. Just flawless.

[@V3x0r]

Charles Dance owns every scene he's in. That lecture he gave while gutting a (REAL) hart is chilling.

[@evan3635]

It's crazy how much the show deviated from that emphasis on death mattering. In the early seasons which follow the books closely, every major death had reasons, political consequences, and emotional weight. By season 6, people were dying left and right, yet the show didn't give the time to set them up properly or for characters to reflect on them in meaningful ways. Stannis, Doran, Littlefinger, Pycelle, the Freys, Roose, Balon, etc. all died without hardly being mentioned afterwards, let alone having any real effect on the characters afterward.

[@phoivos]

I think the most egregious of those deaths was Lord Frey's and his sons. Arya gets injuries that look fatal while in Braavos, recovers as if with magic, and suddenly she's a master assassin, pops up in the Frey castle and finds a way to feed Frey his sons in a pie before killing him, then takes his face and kills the entire House Frey with poison all by herself. No build up to these scenes, no proper depiction of the aftermath, nothing. And the revenge felt more like fan fiction rather than something that was a realistic and satisfactory ending to an arc that is essentially one of the pillars of the whole show. It's like others have said: the moment D&D ran out of material is the moment they started making up their own shit and the contrast in the quality of storytelling is so extremely dire that one just cannot help but notice. What I'm saying is, the death of the Freys could just as well happen exactly like this in the books, word for word, and you know it would be 100 times better written and delivered by Martin than whatever we got from the show

[@ryanpartovi7890]

Yeah, all of the characters you mentioned are still alive in the books.

[@baaaldur]

@@phoivos I think it's also kind of disgusting how it was treated as this epic satisfying moment and not a horrific and despicable act. Unlike in the show, the books actually depict a number of likable Freys (namely the Rosby Freys like Olyvar and Roslin). The Freys are such a large House in general that characterizing them all as irredeemably evil people would be folly. Interestingly enough, in the books there is also violence being committed against the Freys in the name of the Starks by Lady Stoneheart, but it's rightfully treated as a morally grey and complex situation unlike the show which goes out of its way to justify the mass murder of every single member of House Frey.

[@kingkylie9655]

@@baaaldur lmao there was nothing despicable about it, arya's family was butchered because of them im shocked and surprised she didnt do any other butchering

[@intergalactic92]

@@ryanpartovi7890 Pycelle is dead in the epilogue of a Dance with Dragons. Kevin sees his corpse just before he is set upon by Varys "birds".

[@abcdefghij7772]

Glad GRRM gave Conleth Hill credit! He really did an incredible job as Varys.. it's a shame they wasted him and little finger in later seasons

[@jonstark153]

D and d didn't have the skills to manage such complex characters so they kill them off.

[@shadysorkin9214]

@@jonstark153 I unironically think this was the reason. They didn't know how to write the complex politics from the books for the later seasons, so those two characters became irrelevant. One was used to make Sansa look 'smart' and the other just became stupid. Such a shame.

[@TheSands83]

 🤣 n dumb n dumber’s plan to make sansa seem smart is to have arya say... “shes the smartest person ive ever met.“😂 ok now shes brilliant.. Just great writing

[@rasheemthebestfirstone3274]

@@TheSands83 bad writing how the hell is Sansa so smart

[@TheSands83]

@@rasheemthebestfirstone3274 idk I guess because Arya says she’s the smartest person she ever met in a scene one time but they never actually show her being smart.. that’s how they developed her 😂just brilliant

[@williamwagoner7857]

I thought Oberyn Martell's death was the hardest to read. Just the fact that it was unnecessary, The Mountain was already dying. And that he was getting justice for his sister and her children. Also that he was such a likable character while The Mountain was one of the most evil characters with absolutely no redeeming qualities.

[@browniiii]

I think his death was one of the few that was the hardest to read, and watch. :(

[@brentfahie8472]

Unnecessary in what way? Because you morally aligned with him?

[@whatinthek7931]

@@brentfahie8472 maybe he meant avoidable?

[@brentfahie8472]

@@whatinthek7931 well if he meant it in such a way; of course it is. But then you can say that about any situation in the story or life. Oberyn cleary had a motivation for doing what he did. To list what he did as "unnecessary" would be a strike against his character.

[@elyastoohey6621]

Oberyn’s death was hard, because not only did the mountain rape his very gentle and sweet sister, and then kill her baby, then cut her in half… but then got her brother years later too. That being said, Oberyn was a very bad man himself. Oberyn behaved however he damned pleased, and Oberyn was very happy to literally murder the lord of the boneway (poisoning his blade before the little duel to the first blood they had) Oberyn is likeable. But he isn’t innocent.

[@GreatOldOne9866]

“I swat em, they die like flies.” That’s cold, George!

[@RandomRacca]

Love the respect George has for Peter Dinklage's portrayal of Tyrion.

[@scarymonsterzz]

I always think about the moment towards the end of the Red Wedding chapter where Catelyn is losing her mind after watching Robb die and one of the Frey men grabs Catelyn by her hair. And she thinks to herself they're going to cut her hair to shame her. "No please, not my hair. Ned loves my hair." And instead she feels them cut her throat. Ugh. I ALWAYS tear up reading that moment no matter how many times I read it. Catelyn certainly wasn't the nicest lady but god, my heart breaks for her so much in that moment. It's horrifying. But it's such a human moment of confusion and disassociation amiss unbelievable shock, trauma and horror. George wrote that whole scene and particularly that moment so skillfully.

[@ΕυανθίαΣέκερηΒασίλαινα]

I have to disagree. She is one of the most nice people in a GoT universe, despite the hate she receives from the fans.

[@scarymonsterzz]

@@ΕυανθίαΣέκερηΒασίλαινα You are right, actually. Catelyn does gets far too much hate. It's easy to take for granted just how nice she really was when fans tend to focus only on how she "started the war." And honestly it's heavily debatable how much she should even be blamed at all because let's be real it was Jaime and Cersei + Littlefinger and Lysa who REALLY kicked off the conflict. And even then Catelyn only ever did what she did out of love, duty and protection for her family.

[@michaelpatterson7990]

@@scarymonsterzz I wasn't much of a fan of Robb and Catelyn in the show, but after reading the books I found there was so much more depth to them and it was a bigger loss than it was in the show.

[@MeleysRQ]

I was suprised by how amaizing her PoV chapters are, they end up being my favorite they are so packed with emotion, travel and conflict they are so amaizing. I agree that chapter is pure agony, I am really suprised with how wrote that whole character PoV.

[@ir1041]

“Jon.. it should have been you”

[@radicalxg8282]

One of the things the books surpass the show is the POV's of the characters what they are thinking in moments like that, how martin described Catelyns death in the book was the most horrifyingly beautiful she actually went mad: " She tugged hard on Aegon’s hair and sawed at his neck until the blade grated on bone. Blood ran hot over her fingers. His little bells were ringing, ringing, ringing, and the drum went boom doom boom. Finally someone took the knife away from her. The tears burned like vinegar as they ran down her cheeks. Ten fierce ravens were raking her face with sharp talons and tearing off strips of flesh, leaving deep furrows that ran red with blood. She could taste it on her lips. It hurts so much, she thought. Our children, Ned, all our sweet babes. Rickon, Bran, Arya, Sansa, Robb . . . Robb . . . please, Ned, please, make it stop, make it stop hurting . . . The white tears and the red ones ran together until her face was torn and tattered, the face that Ned had loved. Catelyn Stark raised her hands and watched the blood run down her long fingers, over her wrists, beneath the sleeves of her gown. Slow red worms crawled along her arms and under her clothes. It tickles. That made her laugh until she screamed. ‘‘Mad,’’ someone said, ‘‘she’s lost her wits,’’ and someone else said, ‘‘Make an end,’’ and a hand grabbed her scalp just as she’d done with Jinglebell, and she thought, No, don’t, don’t cut my hair, Ned loves my hair. Then the steel was at her throat, and its bite was red and cold"

[@jobowisheshewasnomo4171]

almost as though portraying the inner thoughts of characters is one of the main advantages for books

[@19RaxR91]

@@jobowisheshewasnomo4171 Absolutely, but I recently found out that there is an equivalent alternative in the audio-visual medium - Anime. That said, Im not talking about the entire genre as a whole, since Ive only engaged with a couple of shows, but one particular journey imo is truly worth it, even if one dislikes anime or thinks it might not be for them for some preconceived notions, like I did, and that series is "Attack on Titan". The story starts off quite _innocently,_ with one particular genre in the forefront (it had been marketed in the trailers as an Anime equivalent to "The Walking Dead", though I havent watched that show, since I dont care about zombies), but as the story progresses, it just grows and grows in scope, and by the last season (which is due to wrap up at the beginning of the next year) the whole narrative is... well lets just say, it cleansed my soul from the disappointment that ended up being the last season of GoT. I say that specifically, because the story shares the same MO of every action leading to consequences, no matter how dire, and this is the first series which has managed to make me cry on numerous occasions during its course, especially with with repeat viewings. The creator of the manga (first released in 2008, iirc) the series adapted has said he really enjoyed GoT (at least at some point, probably before the latter half of the shows run), as the ending to his story imo isnt something that could be called disappointing (at least, if one gets what the writer was trying to portray), and the only change I would enjoy for the adaption is for certain character relationship arcs to have a more fleshed out finish. That said, even without any major alteration, at the end of it all everything makes sense and provides the appropriate closure the story set out to arrive at. One other notable feature of the story (also akin to GRRMs writing) is how it plays with foreshadowing and other multiple genre conventions, to place some important story pieces right in front of you, only to make one realize their perspective of having it all figured out didnt consider how big the bigger picture really is. Therefore, anybody wanting some truly emotionally wrecking and consistently solid storytelling, "Attack on Titan" is the journey for you, and honestly I wish George of all people gets to experience the story at some point in his busy life, as I think he might enjoy its overall honesty, even if its not as deep when it comes the world building, which he so clearly cares for.

[@pbskids4000]

@@19RaxR91 Welp, you've single handedly managed to get me to watch Attack on Titans. Bravo

[@19RaxR91]

@@pbskids4000 well, I hope your investment pays off!

[@gregzane6416]

"Ten fierce ravens were raking her face with sharp talons and tearing off strips of flesh, leaving deep furrows that ran red with blood. " It takes a second thought to realize the ten fierce ravens are actually her own fingers. It is so beautifully written.

[@brauninslee5245]

philosophical answer from a non philosophical question. My kinda guy

[@baayzil97]

If you're asking a writer about his characters, that's always a philosophical question. Characters in any story represent the confrontation of a philosophical aspect/perspective with reality and the development or unfolding of that philosophy within that reality.

[@shane1489]

You can ask him about the weather the answer would somehow contain at least a bit of philosophy.

[@_psychopath_5623]

All questions are philosophical. Thats the thing about Philosophy

[@Drewsel]

It is somewhat reassuring that he admits even he is disturbed by what he writes, and even gets emotional. Not reassuring in an "I'm glad he's not a sadist' kind of way but more so that he genuinely has a passion for writing and is willing to pay respects to these people even if they're fictional. It shows he doesn't use his violence simply as a narrative tool, there's something a little deeper going on. And, I suppose we can all sort of breathe easy knowing even the all-powerful GRRM struggles to write dialogue as intricate as Tyrion's. There's some hope for all of us wannabe artists and writers out there.

[@jamesmayle3787]

Jesus Christ is lord. The Bible is truth. Please read at least three books of the Bible. The first book of each testament and one you chose yourself. As you do practice forgiveness. It is important.

[@lanecress574]

Really interesting how he criticizes how media uses death as an act break, when in later seasons the show would do this exact thing. Wonder how he felt when people like rickon stark died and nobody thought of him afterward.

[@walterwhite7376]

That was probably the show's creators doing.

[@ayourmum8521]

@@walterwhite7376 not probably it was lol. Grrm could never create something that bad.

[@jonstark153]

@@walterwhite7376 yes it was. Grmm said he had big plans for rickon

[@Kingoftheworld500]

I think he was pissed about it and grrm had some sort of falling out with the showrunners and stopped contributing/writing episode of the show. He was pretty involved in the early seasons, and season 1 is incredibly faithful to the books.

[@canadian__ninja]

Nobody really thought of him before his death either. Don't let his death hide that. Until he was plot relevant he was a super minor character in literally every scene he was in.

[@DRAGGOFFICIAL]

Stannis sacrificing his daughter was the one that made me tear up, that was a tough one to stomach.

[@chrisa84]

The whole chapter surrounding the red wedding felt like death. Every scene hammers home that something terrible is about to happen, yet the characters keep going on making plans like nothing is wrong.

[@budguesor9222]

About the part where he talks about casting good child actors, though he only focuses on the stark kids, but I think Jack gleeson as Joffrey deserves a lot of credit for his acting. His evil is what made the others interacting with him look so good. I would rate him and maisie williams top among all the other child actors.

[@artyjnrii]

Jack Gleeson was 18 at the time, which is probably why he wasn't mentioned.

[@hick5y]

I put down the book for about a month after the Red Wedding. I should have seen it coming, but as it was playing out - jumping from Caitlyn to Arya chapters I kept reading because I really wanted to see what happened when Arya saw her mum and Robb again. It ain’t that kind of story.

[@MontyQueues]

lol

[@ninjablack4347]

On paper we should have seen it coming; it was goddamn obvious the Freys weren't gonna take that dishonor in their eyes. But, because how we were raised on stories, the good guys won't die, and if they do die, it will be heroic or on a battlefield. Not a fucking wedding!

[@rhaenyralikesyoutube6289]

I just re read those chapters and found them to be amazing the way George kept cutting between mom and daughter. As much as I despise Cat TULLY, I found her death quite satisfying and all of the Starks dying politically necessary.

[@jonstark153]

If u think this has a happy ending u haven't been paying enough attention 😅

[@jonstark153]

@@rhaenyralikesyoutube6289 no stark deaths are always sad. Really, they are the ones who had to suffer for something they didn't choose.curse the day Robert baratheon chose ned as his hand . I

[@GullyRooster]

Mentioning Sean Bean right after acknowledging the casting of the kids made me imagine Boromir auditioning for one of the kid roles.

[@randomdude4207]

The Tyrion chapters are my favourites because his dialogue is extremely entertaining. I'm glad George felt the same way while writing them. Something always gaines substance when it comes from the heart.

[@u.v.s.5583]

The hardest actor to find for the GoT was that bat who played Drogon. Not only did we have to find the hugest enormous bat, we also had to teach him to breathe fire and carry people around, and that in camouflage.

[@AP-uc7oz]

Remember when rickon died and everyone forgot

[@M11969]

And let us not forget Shareen. THAT was brutal.

[@yusufk8103]

Rickon is still live ( in the book )

[@lykastannis7662]

@@M11969 GRRM didn't write that. Shireen is still alive in his books. He respects King Stannis and would never ruin his character.

[@Barnacleification]

dickon lives on

[@KnowOne111]

@@lykastannis7662 How does that ruin Stannis’ character? I really suspect that he will do the same or similar in the books

[@pedrojorge1912]

Funny that the video thumbnail is Talisa dying, one of the characters that George didn't kill actually. Edit: they've changed it to Catelyn.

[@kevinfelipe6781]

She didn’t die?

[@pedrojorge1912]

@@kevinfelipe6781 Well, in the books Talissa's character is replaced by Jeyne Westerling, who stays in Riverrun and didn't die at the Red Wedding. So, technically speaking, George didn't kill her, it only happens in D&D "version".

[@kevinfelipe6781]

@@pedrojorge1912 Ohhhh nice to know 🙌🏽

[@cuuy]

It's Catelyn Stark in the video thumbnail, not Talisa.

[@pedrojorge1912]

@@cuuy There's a big difference between Catelyn having the throat cut and Talissa being stabbed on belly man. They've changed the thumbnail.

[@daffygoose2709]

7:47 Conleth Hill actually used to live next to my uncles house in Northern Ireland. Great guy

[@xxlCortez]

I felt so sorry for him after they ruined his character. After finishing a script reading, he just tossed the script away.

[@perryrocks666]

This will be a not so common sad moment for some but Hodors death really hit me hard. The seizure coupled with him holding the door to save Bran was just so hard to watch. I choked up instantly.

[@ep6808]

Catelyn's death, and the thoughts she has in the moments leading up to it - it's the only moment those books have made me cry. It's one of my favourite series, and there are many other emotional parts, but Catelyn's story is the most tragic to me

[@Anything13265]

"I swat them, they die like flies"~George R.R Martin

[@csabas.6342]

interviewer: What was the character, that was the most difficult so far to kill off for you? Martin: Laughs like a psycho.

[@BeyonderPrime]

That first minute, the interviewer is just staring into my soul

[@jessytheyodellingirl]

Conleth Hill is one of the most underrated cast in GoT. Glad to know that GRRM appreciate him a lot

[@nanalobster5589]

Varys is the BEST and it's tragic how the show ruined his character at the end :(

[@gotchewz]

A good writer is guided by the characters and story he created and not by the wishes and desires of the fans.

[@yashaleo7]

0:34 the interviewers face 😂🤣😂

[@ThePocketier]

In Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Baelor Breakspears death really was heartbreaking for me. He defended Duncan’s honor and fought by his side at the Ashford Meadow tourney, and was mortally wounded by his brother in the process. Upon their victory, he removes his helmet, the only thing that was keeping his head from spilling on the floor And he just died. a man with the shadow of a dragon in flickering flame. just dead.

[@fatsilentbob]

The only death I cried from was Hodor. Not only do you see his whole back story you watch him die protecting Bran.

[@LayllasLocker]

6:25 when you listen to what was expected from these kids in the show. It is hard for kids to act these tough emotions because luckily they still haven't experienced life traumas. Then we have wonderful Maisie and now knowing her story when growing up I'm not surprised she knew suffering and why transferred it well to the screen.

[@juice4826]

nobody asked tho

[@jonahgrignon2301]

I love how respectfully GRRM talks about Peter Dinklage

[@thomaschristopherwhite9043]

"I swat them they die like flies" The one true god of westeros ladies and gents.

[@TurquoiseStar17]

George didn't say here, but he's also mentioned before that he was so impressed with Natalia Tena as Osha, that he wanted to give her more to do (Davos' storyline in Winds is supposed to feature her return with Rickon and Shaggydog. I'm looking forward to that, because the show did them so dirty)

[@hindsightpov4218]

Luck really does play a big factor in a series’ and a movie’s success. If you can’t find the right actor for the role, especially with kid actors, it won’t matter much if the writing is great. Without the right cast who also have to have great chemistry with each other, it’ll all fall flat. Game of Thrones really lucked out.

[@SelphieTheNutter]

Same can be said if it was the other way around. You could get the perfect cast for the roles but not even the perfect cast can save a TV series or movie if the writing is poor

[@hindsightpov4218]

@@SelphieTheNutter A lot of factors are at play whether a movie or tv series is successful or not. When they are able to get it all right, that makes it particularly special.

[@jamesmayle3787]

Jesus Christ is lord. The Bible is truth. Please read at least three books of the Bible. The first book of each testament and one you chose yourself. As you do practice forgiveness. It is important.

[@MrJibsIV]

I love listening to these when I go out for walks.

[@Chuchutrain806]

‘What was the character most hard to kill off’ GRRM ‘hEhHehehhehe’ 😈

[@AShroudOfTruth]

And no one can outcast the actors of GoT. They are phenomenal!

[@cosmopolitablase5365]

except emilia clarke and the boy who did bran stark

[@bligaderski]

Love Varys’ actor getting attention from George cause he’s so good as Varys

[@lifetheslowway]

The death that affected me the most was Hodor’s. The innocence and the existentialist nature of knowing he was going to die in this way and was waiting for it his whole life… ugh.

[@ragnar0528]

I love just how he gives no fucks at all and destroys all of these characters that we fall in love with. AWESOME.

[@George-um2vc]

I love it!

[@Blueeyesthewarrior]

GRRM seems like such a sweetheart in every interview he’s in.

[@2tfl236]

I found that Marcella and Shireen's deaths were the worst as they didn't deserve it at all and on top of that their deaths were extremely painful. Now that I think about it the decimation of the Targaryens was brutal I'm sure House of the Dragon will make it really stand out

[@sophiewiegand]

These live in the Books though :) but very understandable

[@supereero9]

Those are D&D shit

[@JaxonHaxon]

George imma let you finish but Jack Gleeson as Joffrey is insanely good.

[@50Blox]

might not be the most emotionally painful death but man, the way Quentyn is described in Barristan's last chapter... and he lived for 3 days in that state

[@That2J]

It never really got better than this. The hype, the promise, the immaculate track record coming into season 3… it breaks the heart how it all went to shit in just a few years. This was the cast that was destined to play these characters and D&D squandered them

[@danielpalmer1030]

Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring has been the hardest characters for me to let go of.

[@virgiljericho664]

An amazing example of this philosophy from the TV series Jory Cassel. For the all of you that don’t remember, Jory was one of Ned’s guards who was stabbbed in the eye by Jamie Lannister when Jamie confronted Ned about Tyrions arrest. I don’t know why I think about him a lot. He had maybe 10 lines in the 3 episodes he was in but he was someone you’d think would be more recurring. He was always at Ned’s side to protect his Liege Lord.

[@hi-ls6lt]

I like the way he comforted Sansa and Arya too, and they also had his scene with Jaime added in the show

[@sethking524]

The journalists are asking great questions, good job

[@Dani_1012]

I just realized just how relatable of a writer George is. For good or bad. All these famous writers are so strict with their process, some of them can be a little extrimist. Even though it's still unacceptable that TWOW has taken 13 years and probably more, I relate to his struggles and parts of his process and the way writing some characters works

[@josiahkruse1180]

Everyones talking about the red wedding, but man. Robert was a true loss. A man may not have cared about the title of King, but the guy made me laugh too much.

[@keltonschleyer6367]

GRRM to all of his characters: *This hurts me more than it hurts you*

[@Saint_Nerevar]

Man the vibe in the room even feels sad when he is talking about the wedding

[@AFatWhiteShark]

01:30 summed up season 7-8 pretty well here; Not once were Robb, Catlyn or anyone else mentioned by the Stark children, not even Ned nor Rickon... There's plenty of shitty writing by D&D, but this is the part that really showed how narrow they've had from the start.

[@SagaciousFrank]

Many if not all of the children actors and actresses were great, but the one who really stood out for me was the actresses who took over one of the houses of the North and was really precocious. I can't remember her name or the house, I've only seen the show once, but she was great in that role.

[@mrslucianaabmufuka]

🦌🦁🐉🐺 MR. #GeorgeRRMartin BRAZIL LOVE you. I Love You and Thanks for Make me enjoy to read in English, The best books ever 🐺🐉🦁🦌 #HodorCavalo #Universodegeloefogo #DerivadoCast #Micannm #CarolMoreira #FlaviaGazi #GarotasGeek

[@jamesmayle3787]

Jesus Christ is lord. The Bible is truth. Please read at least three books of the Bible. The first book of each testament and one you chose yourself. As you do practice forgiveness. It is important.

[@lewis-ryan]

The true secret behind amazing acting is belief, if the actor whole heartedly believe that you are the character then the audience will believe it

[@alexastewart9269]

i watched the show first and the red wedding was so shocking and devastating to me, i almost stopped watching

[@LMB925]

When he’s talking about and describing the kid actors emoting too much I immediately thought…”my dog stepped on a bee” *pause and grimace* 😂

[@slimjong-un5743]

Good questions. Loved hearing his insight

[@whittenaw]

The implication that Old Nan is dead and probably died a horrific death is painful for me

[@jordancarroll2171]

That sucks

[@eddarby469]

Old Nan? If you are speaking of the "nurse" that watched over Arya and Sansa in Kings Landing, I thought I saw her head on a pike next to Ned's.

[@Hello-kx6tf]

@@eddarby469 The one you're thinking of is Septa Mordane, who went with the Starks to King's Landing to continue instructing Arya and Sansa about the 'womanly arts' (basically court etiquette, sewing, stuff like that). Old Nan is the old lady who watched over Bran when Catelyn left for King's Landing. She used to work as a wet nurse for a Brandon Stark (neither Ned Stark's brother or son; the books only say that she was already called Old Nan when Ned was a child) and is now a grandmotherly figure and storyteller in her old age. She's responsible for the iconic 'Oh my sweet summer child... (what do you know of fear?)' line.

[@josiahkruse5520]

Red wedding has the saddest deaths, but my big three are Varys, Aemon, and Myrcella. Varys and Tyrion are probs one of my fav duos and seeing him executed broke me the hardest, Aemon destroyed be as well since he never knew that he really did have a relative with him all along at Castle black, and Myrcella and Trystane could have been such a great and prosperous power couple. Honestly, they could have been the Harry and Meghan Westeros needed.

[@TheNoybusiness]

If you want to see an episode about the realistic treatment of the death of a loved one like Martin was talking about here, watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer "The Body".

[@Onigirli]

Mom? Mom? ...Mommy?

[@MLennholm]

3:10 "Well, the jerk store called. They're running out of YOU!"

[@SuperBaby11]

Killing Rob was criminal I almost stopped watching. Jon snow was too perfect AND he couldn't die like how much more jesus could he get

[@solallavina3239]

In the books, he's... different.

[@Roberta_Trevino]

Killing Robb made sense. Walder is a dick and he crossed him. It was sad but he got what was coming for him.

[@jawadaziz5139]

U stink of the stupid show

[@josephhanratty]

I love Jon snows character. But i agree, i almost stopped watching when Robb died. He was my favorite

[@SelphieTheNutter]

Same I almost stopped watching after the red wedding. But after they killed John I did stop watching. I got sick of watching a Stark Massicure. One stark dies every season, wtf is your problem people, leave the fucking Starks alone.

[@Hemskelol]

Kit Harrington watching this 💀

[@katjamorata7354]

I love this man, I’d love to just sit down and hang out with him.

[@christinahaines5899]

The way GRRM talks is so lovely

[@klarathebat5619]

"you should make death hurt" reminds me of "it's quiet uptown" from Hamilton. Death really hurt there

[@jacksparrow9227]

Oh the irony of the emoting mug shots

[@QueenDaenerysTargaryen]

Martin, please don't kill me

[@jamesmayle3787]

Jesus Christ is lord. The Bible is truth. Please read at least three books of the Bible. The first book of each testament and one you chose yourself. As you do practice forgiveness. It is important.

[@joelmccoy9969]

Jack Gleasons' Joffrey was a great character, not just anyone can cause in the viewers such a visceral reaction, most people hate the weak, privileged, narcissistic adolescent in themselves or their history. Joffreys' character really milks this for all it's worth. Easy character to kill off, he had no redeeming qualities to develop, he was only two dimensional.

[@jb8408]

GRRM: “The jerk factor called and they’re running out of you!”

[@jamesmayle3787]

Jesus Christ is lord. The Bible is truth. Please read at least three books of the Bible. The first book of each testament and one you chose yourself. As you do practice forgiveness. It is important.

[@kkandsims4612]

Honestly tho catelyns death ,( and I’ll just give credit to Michelle for her horrific guttural scream .) was the worst and it wasn’t cuz how she was killed it’s how she was able to capture the idgaf anymore like if us as humans are so defeated we might act the same

[@AlexG-xl1cc]

In the books she scrapes her eyes bloody and then gets resurrected as a zombie and leads the brotherhood without banners in revenge against the Freys

[@hunch2041]

Personally killing off characters is pretty easy, when I create a character his/her death is typically included, you go into knowing the character is going to die and it’s up to you, the author, to figure out how make that character lovable or hate-able to get the reaction you WANT out of the audience/reader.

[@Sir-Chancelot]

The deadline for the newest book

[@amostake]

LOL!!! I can identify with this sooooo much! Half way home, 3 hours after the social event is over "I should have said this! That would have been hysterical!.... oh.... oh well...."

[@treeckokun8449]

The main reason i cant get over the red wedding is the fact that we didnt get lady stoneheart on the show

[@supereero9]

And fucked up Jaime's and Brienne's character arcs in the process

[@pitoblogg]

I wish we saw Robbs adventures in the west. So many battles, sieges and stuff. It would have made Robb’s death so much more shocking, cause seeing him actually conquer castles and loot gold would have made him seem invincible.

[@turtleanton6539]

True but he did not have POV chapters wihch is a shsme

[@mattb.7079]

Untrue, because it works with the will of Martin to not depict the thoughts of the kings/pretenders (Daenerys ain't queen for now, and in the books she just came to pretend to the iron throne ; then we got the Cersei's POV at the moment where she begins to lose a lot of power and influence, now in the books she got no power anymore which probably will change in the next book) and even for rulers like Tywin (which was pretty much the true ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and the main threat for all the other pretenders, although he did not wear a crown, cuz he knew how to deal with Joffrey and his mother way more than Tyrion) : no POVs of Robert, Stannis, Renly, Joffrey, Tommen, and of course Robb, the king in the North. Kevan might be the only exception, although he had only one chapter.

[@pitoblogg]

@@mattb.7079 mmm well it makes sense, it would be to complicated and anticlimactic to read the thoughts of kings, I agree. It’s better to just see their actions and re actions and interpret their thoughts and motives. But we could have seen robbs adventures through the eyes of someone else! Another POV character.

[@mattb.7079]

@@pitoblogg Yeah, it takes the story closer to real life : we don't know who really are the ones who rule (how do feel Trump, or what's the intern dilemna of Emmanuel Macron lol)

[@mattb.7079]

@@pitoblogg And about what you say about seeing the adventures of Robb, I think there are two main reasons for why we don't saw them. First, we don't really have seen many of the battles that occur in the books : maybe it's because Martin don't really like to depict battles but I think it's more about avoiding redundancy ; we've seen battles of the Greenfork and Blackwater with Tyrion (or beyond the Wall with Snow and Tarly), and maybe he thought it would have been a bit irrelevant to show more battles. I mean, perhaps he thought he didn't have enough material to do something that would stand out enough from the battles he has already shown. Second, I think Catelyn Stark is also a good reason for that : her story would have been less interesting and would have lost his purpose if we directly knew what happens to Robb. By being his mother, she should be the one closest to him. Her POV shows the perspective of a mother in a time of war which had to leave her children and who worries about them because they are her reason to live. We got to feel she had very good reasons to worry and to be impressed when we hear with her about Robb's warlike exploits (because he's damn good at war) and to be much more worried for other pragmatic reasons she's the only one to take attention to (maybe Robb should have more listen to his mother). Also, by just listening to what people want to say about his war campaigns, it gives to those battles a sort of mythical echo because there are always some aspects in the stories told that are amplified or dramatized by word of mouth or by the ennemies.

[@steveb9713]

He should’ve wrote the last tv season. Letting it just happen without his writing killed the series

[@MidnightatMidian]

Well it would have been difficult, some actors would have aged too much, other would have died or would have been retired, remember GRRM still hasn't wrote the end by now... They should have made the series more in depth after the success of the first season, and release a season every 2 or 3 years, so the actors could have aged in relation with the passing time, and maybe GRRM would have finished the books in time, with less pressure.

[@alphanerd7221]

The series ended. It didn't' die, and you not liking the ending doesn't' make it bad.

[@Heisenberg929]

​@@alphanerd7221But everyone Thinks its bad😂

[@alphanerd7221]

@@Heisenberg929 Wrong. The borderline illiterate whiners who won't shut up think it's bad but most people think it's okay to good. Standard "I can't handle a sad ending" crowd.

[@Heisenberg929]

@@alphanerd7221 The writing does Not make any sense in season 8. There are multiple examples.

[@LuvAndreas]

thank the gods for GRRM...

[@jawadaziz5139]

Yess

[@xxlCortez]

Which character was the hardest to kill? GRRM: HAHAHAHAHA!

[@Craftsingles1]

In the show the hardest death for me was Hodor.

[@PeterWalkerHP16c]

The killing of Grey Wind and Lady were sad parts for me. But then I'm a dog lover who owns Wolfspitz (Keeshonden)

[@thewildman4300]

Hodor - that one killed me.

[@mranderson9813]

I love em , take your time George RR

[@jamesmayle3787]

Jesus Christ is lord. The Bible is truth. Please read at least three books of the Bible. The first book of each testament and one you chose yourself. As you do practice forgiveness. It is important.

[@peteperkins3859]

Catelyns character may have been difficult for GRRM to kill off, but it was glorious to see that idiot go.

[@foolofatook1271]

Faster than the Meade of Love

[@Ar1AnX1x]

people who want him to rush out and finish the books ASAP are mostly the same people that would shit on him if the ending wasn't mindblowing enough

[@bitchassjosh]

Ditto.

[@temetnosce2099]

ASAP? He's been writing this single book for 10 years. Don't call it rushing him at this point.

[@temetnosce2099]

@@Ar1AnX1x I'm not sure what you point is. So encouraging him to focus on it is a bad thing? Look, I started reading this series in High School. I'm now in my 40s. And sure, some series run really long but when you consider that isn't a huge series (in terms of numbers of books) it's kind of ridiculous how long it takes him to write books these days. The first three were released relatively quickly. I think all three in like...5 years maybe? 20 years later he's put out 2 books. The sad truth is he'll never live to finish this series. Another 10 years to write the final book (if even that one will be the last one) isn't going to happen. And people defending him losing focus isn't helping either.

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

@@temetnosce2099 I wasn't even born when a storm of swords released!

[@macleunin]

We just want him to finish the books before he passes. It has been almost 10 years since ADWD.

[@gabrielsoula1185]

I'm surprised Joffrey's actor wasn't mentioned, he wasn't a kid but he was young, and yet he managed to get every single viewer to hate him, apparently.

[@shevgreen1960]

All of the cast/characters are unbelievable, but for me it's littlefinger, varys, tyrion, the hound, arya, walder Frey, bronn and Elenya.

[@mightymorphin9816]

Imagine spending three books building up your main character and then killing them off and starting from scratch again with their emo brother

[@soakupthenoise]

i think it's a stretch to say Rob was built up as a main character, he wasn't even a point of view character and Jon had at least as many point of view chapters as Catelyn

[@mightymorphin9816]

@@soakupthenoise I would never even attempt to argue for one person being the main character just cus there's so many lol. But GRRM did say many times he regrets not having him as a POV. And there's a lot of direct comparisons between Ned going to war against Aerys and Robb going to war with Joffrey. Ned was the main character originally, but Robb is built up to be the next Ned. Plus from the show standpoint, all the marketing featured mainly him and Dany if you remember. So he's kinda the main character at that point in the books or at least the focus to some extent I guess. But I hear you.

[@viceb7]

Lol emo Jon

[@youshallnotpass2156]

"Starting from scratch" even Though jon had 29 pov chapters in the first three books

[@mightymorphin9816]

@@youshallnotpass2156 bruh you take things too literally chill

[@Yosya8059]

Funny how Martin criticizes emoting in contrast to acting and that’s all later seasons were turned into, emoting (credit to TheDragonDemands channel for pointing that out).