George R.R. Martin Addressed Original Leaked Ending for A Song of Ice & Fire!

[@TalkingThrones]

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[@guyincognito3199]

A minute and a half of a ten minute video being promo is a bit unpleasant dude, maybe timecode if you're gonna spam that hard?

[@thomasjones4570]

Who the hell actually believes that a 30 year old story outline was going to be followed? Only direhards that feel the need to cling to their hate of how the show went. So many authors have stated over the years that story outlines are just original ideas of how they think their story is going to go and rarely ever end up being close to the finish product. Especially those writing a series.

[@VelverosaVelaryon]

@@guyincognito3199 I agree

[@Dakotais2gnarly]

I think after seeing the reaction that the ending of Game of Thrones got, and his falling out with Dave and Dan, he’s definitely changing the rest of the story on purpose and that’s what’s taking so long.

[@randallwilliamson3838]

yep and he spent 5 previous books foreshadowing the end and now he has to figure out a way to change the ending but keep the foreshadowing. Painted himself into a corner.

[@uniquelyme3581]

I agree!

[@AN-sm9ju]

Wishful thinking. What is more likely is that the story got too big and he has a difficult time wrapping things up.

[@Lfcsweden-n5m]

@@AN-sm9jumost likely a combination of the both.

[@perlundgren7797]

@@randallwilliamson3838 Are we strictly talking about the ending scenes, or what's included in "the end" here? He spent five books foreshadowing Azor Ahai, Faegon/Dance of the Dragons 2, Euron's Lovecraftian apocalypse shenanigans, the Valonqar prophecy, Bran actually doing stuff etc. If anything, I have a hard time seeing how many things _would_ end like in the show.

[@indigopatricia3871]

I remember hearing George describing his writing style as that of a gardener. He plants a few seeds and then sees how things grow. I think if he ever finishes ASOIF, it will be very different from his outline & also from the show. It might even go in a totally different direction then what he’d planned when got back to writing after the show ended. I just hope he finishes the damn thing!

[@julianaguilera998]

Hope he finishes the series too! Id love to see what he does with spin-off and prequel novels that he said he'll do BUT he has to finish Winds of Winter and Dream of Spring FIRST before he does anything else set in the world!

[@thatfatguy7591]

I read his books recently and the first 3 books compared to the last 2 felt completely different. A Game of Thrones, Clash of Kings, and Storm of Swords felt formulaic while Feast for Crows and Dance of Dragons came off as stream of consciousness writing. The last two books came off like things were just happening and a few loose ends were being woven together or tied up. The first 3 books were structured and were moving the plot along in clear direction. I read his series back to back to back to back to back and when I hit A Feast for Crows I honestly thought that someone else wrote the book not named GRRM. Something was completely off imo. I enjoyed FoC and DoD, but GRRM had lost some of his charm in those long books. To know that he is still writing his 6th book some 12 years later is not suprising to me.

[@BrandonGiordano]

Hes never gonna finish...

[@NeroLeMorte]

If miura couldn't finish berserk as intended before his passing i'm gonna bet martin won't finish winds of winter or dream of spring either.

[@night6724]

@@thatfatguy7591probably because he originally planned ASOFAI to be a trilogy and then expanded it to 7

[@nolsee1176]

My heart goes out to all the sweet summer children who actually believe he’ll ever finish the story, or even continue writing it at all.

[@Diggnuts]

I mostly pity them for still believing GRRM is a proper writer who is able to structure a narrative and actually end it.

[@nicka.200]

hes too busy with the tv show spinoffs we know what happened when he walked away from got we are stuck between good got spinoffs and actually finishing the story. Bro is literally suffering from success

[@bjrnbrynemo9059]

He has 2/3 of the next book, and is obviously not senile. Just give me Winds, and I'll accept no ending.

[@Diggnuts]

@@bjrnbrynemo9059 You sound like a crack-cocain addict begging for just one more hit!

[@MrMossMan7272]

I think it’ll finish still even if it’s George who actually does it. He has two people who already assist him with the stuff he is writing. I have little to no doubt that they know the endings for everyone. And if George really doesn’t ever finish them in his life. Those two will posthumously

[@DongusMcBongus]

I’m kind of shocked you didn’t put at least a brief mention of his recent blog post, saying that the more he writes winds of winter the further he sees it straying from the show.

[@christophergirardi8145]

Gods that's a relief ❤

[@DongusMcBongus]

@@christophergirardi8145 GODS I WAS STRONG THEN.

[@DongusMcBongus]

@@christophergirardi8145 And also, yes. But that’s kind of a natural conclusion, considering all the different plot lines circling around in the books. I mean Euron alone will make the books way different than the show. Not even factoring in Aegon and Tyrion descending into something very dark.

[@akgakg6355]

It doesn't matter because if we're getting any book it will be only Winds, the story will never have an ending.

[@Regenmacher175]

@@christophergirardi8145 Ain't no guarantee that it'll be good even if it is different from the show's ending, which I consider to be quite good tbh. At least the shworunners managed to keep their deadlines and gave us an ending, a prospect that seems increasingly unlikely with GRRM.

[@coryd5225]

I read that the show runners had to tell him how it would end for him to allow them to make the story.. and that he gave them key events to work towards.. so I think the show ended the way he envisioned it..but they rushed it it and this it didnt make sense.. as he said.. it shoulda been 13 seasons minimum

[@unkulwilly]

same could be said about multiple HBO series. they start out great. introduce a bunch of characters and give backstories. then it gets stagnant a few seasons in. then it gets better. then it just ends, leaving viewers confused.

[@sfinn13]

He asked the show runners “Who is Jon Snow’s mother?”. It’s assumed they guessed correctly and got the deal. He also let them know about 3 events they had to include since they would be in a future book.

[@JoJooo-uh6lo]

13 seasons would have been way too much.

[@abdullahkuzhan7247]

13 seasons is crazy. The whole outrage and controversy about the ending wouldn't have existed if they made season 7 and 8 full seasons. It was literally just those 7 missing episodes that could've smoothed things out so much more. For an ending that would actually be really good and not just "not bad" we needed 9 seasons.

[@JoJooo-uh6lo]

@@abdullahkuzhan7247 exactly.

[@unkulwilly]

it was all Brandon Starks' dream as he lay in bed after his fall at the end of the first episode

[@DrMujtabaAhmed]

Stop watching Alice in borderland

[@claytonberg721]

Bran it turns out is actually an author of do it yourself books and runs a cute little B&B in Vermont.

[@taps8781]

So...the "Lost" ending. Lovely.

[@Svensk7119]

Oh, that's good! Not only Robb still alive, but Ned, too!

[@donei132]

Imagine if it went even further than Bran dreaming. Imagine if at the end, Aegon Targaryen wakes up and decides not to conqueror Westeros.

[@byeoocg]

Doubt it ends like the show, Jon was the prince who was promised and the show straight up ignored it. The Lannisters were so lazily done. Even the starks were lazily done

[@Hochspitz]

Yeah, but George also says that the prophecies are notoriously unpredictable, unreliable or most often simply misinterpreted. That way, if he changes his mind about a plot line, it doesn't matter. Blame it on a dragon/wolf/fever dream or prophecy!

[@imemberberry]

He literally said Bran would be king for almost 30 years. He reiterated this point after s8 came out. As the previous commenter said, the whole point of GRRM's books is that prophesies are unpredictable, and constantly misinterpreted. The Red Woman said that herself in the show. The Targareyens were famous for mispredicting their own prophesies and going crazy/killing a bunch of people because of it.

[@paulettemann4107]

Well he confused me when he said Jon is already dead. Well in the show, he was but now he's not.. splain that if you will.

[@bunniesbunniesbunnie]

I imagine it IS Jaime who condemns himself and Cersei, but I doubt it's like what happens in the show.

[@stevem2323]

​@@imemberberry And that makes ne even more suspicious to it.

[@carriesunshine5742]

I write like George. I let the characters take me to where they want to be and honestly I feel that is the best way. My stories never end up being the same as my outline.

[@LadyBoltonGreyjoyStarkWriter]

Same.I'm a writer too

[@anastasiosgkotzamanis5277]

Well you cant let up with just that. What do you write?

[@carriesunshine5742]

@@anastasiosgkotzamanis5277 I write historical romance

[@raindrops21_9]

If the characters are truly fully realised, they should take on a life of their own and point you in the direction the story needs to go. I think writers sometimes get into trouble when they try to make their characters fit into something that isn't authentic. That's when the characters become two-dimensional. The character's are just by-products rather than the driving force of a story. But I say all this as a reader not a writer - so what the heck do I know? 😂

[@timothyphoenix1081]

It's the best way for YOU. Not for everyone. Some writers love to plot everything out first. That's how I do it. Evan Winter is another self proclaimed plotter. It just depends how you are wired - there is no right or wrong way. Although certainly, some things do change from my initial outline - but only a small percentage.

[@JoseRamos-be2jd]

We know from the game of thrones interviews that George double R was pretty disappointed when the double Dave's had Aria kill the night king.. He called it out right lazy writing.. everyone knew he was building up John Snow. So now I genuinely believe he's allowing some time to pass So that the original ending still feels organic to the reader

[@carlosaugustodinizgarcia3526]

There is no Night King in the books as the main villain,it was all producers idea trying to rip off Lord of the Rings. The Night's King in the books was a different character.He was a rogue Lord Commander who loved a female other/white walker and existed thousand of years ago .

[@imemberberry]

GRRM had Arya killing the NK, he panicked under criticism. The whole buildup of the character as an assassin, quiet as a cat, was established from the beginning. That's why she was able to swiftly run past the WW while everyone was focused on Bran.

[@tutorialslave]

@@imemberberry Did her training also bestow upon her the ability to materialize out of thin air/teleport? That scene must've landed on the cutting room floor.

[@imemberberry]

@@tutorialslave she ran past, then jumped. Watch the scene again.

[@RobertJones-ix2hu]

@@imemberberryall I remember seeing is Arya leave the room after talking with Melisandre then appearing from darkness, over the shoulders of white walkers,& knight king catching her by the throat. Never see her run by between those 2 scenes. Perhaps I just missed it tho 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@johnsullivan4049]

I do not want George to Provide the ending I want. It is his story, not mine. However I did have an issue with the speed HBO took me to the ending. I do understand its his ending, but I hold George responsible for everything, even the TV series.

[@docbrown2045]

It wasn't GRRM who decided to stop after 8 seasons.

[@DongusMcBongus]

I don’t. They cut all ties with him after season four. Yeah, you could argue that it was George’s fault for giving them free rein. But I don’t think in his wildest dreams, especially after seeing how great the first four seasons were, that they would tank the show that hard.

[@alisaood9445]

@@docbrown2045he did give d&d permission to produce his show, even though he knew they were products of nepotism.

[@Regenmacher175]

I too thank GRRM for providing the source material for a wonderful tv show with a good ending.

[@lunaticslair81]

I have already accepted that ASOIAF and The Kingkiller are done. No book is coming out, people. I'll never start any series which isn't finished, no matter how good it is. Learnt my lesson.

[@bobmularky7456]

I made that vow in 2007 after Robert Jordan died lol. It's too bad I started ASOIAF in the late 90s though.

[@rafox66]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat here. I really would have loved to read ASOIAF because the tv show got me interested but I don't want to dive into an unfinished story.

[@Spoonishpls]

I think he realized he can't think of a satisfying ending that fits with the themes of the novels, so he's just moved on

[@bobfg3130]

You have issues, pal. They're coming out. They moght have a coauthor but they're coming out.

[@azieldaly2965]

​@@rafox66So you've never read the books but you're here complaining? You're not even a fan stop complaining.

[@brooklynbarlow6515]

I understand why he makes it up as he goes. He’s not writing the story to be what he wants to happen but rather he lets the characters decide. For example, he looks at the personality, the thought process, and past experiences of characters to decide what the character will do like a real person. Like, “oh, this would be cool to do but this person wouldn’t do that because it’s not something they would with who they are as character and person. They would do this however. So how does that decision affect the other characters and how would they react to it” I don’t know, but that’s my interpretation of Martin’s writing style. I could be so wrong on that. But if it is then I really like it. It feels like a real story and real people

[@cbincbnc]

I think there is a mediocre chance we will see the next book. But I don’t think we’ll ever see the last one.

[@DCeasedbrickbuilds]

I think he’s done with both, but they’ll be released after his death.

[@Carrpocalypse]

@@DCeasedbrickbuilds What would be the point? He's just not interested in finishing the story.

[@DCeasedbrickbuilds]

@@Carrpocalypse I’m hoping he finished them during GOT & is sitting on them as his legacy. I’m delusional, I know…

[@Gurin81]

@@DCeasedbrickbuilds I believe it is more likely that a ghostwriter will complete Martin's books after his death. To be honest, I've lost faith that he will ever finish them himself.

[@DCeasedbrickbuilds]

@@Gurin81 sadly, I agree with you.

[@PowerRangerfan]

If you ask me it feels like we'll never get Winds of Winter or Dream of Spring.

[@shawnschaitel838]

we won't i think after seeing how bad the criticism of how the show ending which is probably how he intended much of it to go he he essentially either quit writing them althogther or is doing massive rewrites that will never get relased because of his death

[@nodatastored684]

He finished them as per contract... He would have outlined it and gave it in. It's done he's being a drama queen for his own fun and vanity

[@DongusMcBongus]

I think we’ll get Winds. (God willing) but yeah, aDoS is a long way off. That said, there is the total possibility that because Winds is such a hard book for him to write, and it’s right before the resolution of the entire series; there’s a possibility that a dream of spring will be way easier because all of the set pieces will have taken place in book 6 and it’ll make book flow a lot easier

[@junioradult6219]

​@@DongusMcBongusalways a possibility. But you would nvr put a 1000 dollar bet on it happening

[@ibrahimkuyumcu2649]

Or Songs of Summer.

[@targaryengiraffe9320]

I hated the Bran as King ending. I hated the Danerys goes mad story. I hated Bran became King ending. I hated Jon goes back to the wall and his entire backstory lore disregarded. Have I mentioned how much I hated the Bran becoming King ending? Years to digest it and I still hate it all now. As someone who had been with the series from its inception, it was such a let down.

[@Divine_Chareka]

That's why you're not reading Winds now. That GoT ending is pretty much what GRRM was gonna put in Winds. So bc people complained about s8 now he has to change everything and will probably not finish it. And the only ending we will know is s8 lmao

[@ergohash2517]

why do you think i came all this way?

[@Dominknows]

Quite a bit of hate 😂😢

[@carlosaugustodinizgarcia3526]

Bran being King of the North (not of all Westeros) make sense.He is Eddard Stark's oldest surviving son after all. Daenerys as villain is not a bad idea only the execution in the tv show was atrocious. It could work as desconstruction of the hero motiff like Paul Atreides in Dune/Dune Messiah.

[@targaryengiraffe9320]

@@asimhussain8716 totally fair and agreed. My despair at it is purely at the latter part of the tv series.

[@emcmanamna]

If only there were someone to write the ending...

[@lldd11]

I also write fantasy novel (I'm not popular author or anything like that, but I enjoy writing fantasy) and I when I'm writing I "pickup" so much stuff along the way that if there was an outline - I would never be able to keep it, because I never know where its going to take me. And when I say "pickup" I mean that when I write - I connect to some soft of channel in the Universe (that is the best I can describe it) and its sending me signals, as along as I stay tuned to that channel I can keep writing like a computer and things I write sometimes even surprise me later (as I would never thought about them if I just sit and think about outline). I can write all day and all night once I pickup the channel. But I also have an issue something to "tune up" to that channel, sometimes it feels even painful to go there, like you have to past into another dimension, and once you there you're good, but the passage is hard. And that is the reason why sometimes I procrastinate to get back to my story, because I know I have to go through this state of mind and I know that once I get into it - I cannot stop until I feel that I'm collapsing and I'm lost for the world around me. I wonder if other authors experience anything similar... Or if that is how George creates his stories...

[@autje1970]

I think the broader outline he gave (three threats to Westeros, in the following order: civil war, Daenerys and her dragons, The Others) still stands. The more detailed outline obviously changed a lot.

[@joshuam4993]

I think the people watching show don't realize is it ain't about the "general outline." it's about the depth of all the moving pieces in how it comes to be. Also, all the built storylines were literally thrown to the wind and none of was done any justice. It has nothing to do with running out of content as it does the show writers rushing end of series and losing interest.

[@Chrono_Punk]

I definitely think the ending he gave dave and dan was the one he was going to use and the public response shattered his expectations and now has no idea what to do

[@imemberberry]

Exactly. D&D were thrown under the bus by fans and previously unknown actors who thought their characters should've been king/queen. Everyone thinks they're a writer, but have no idea how hard it truly is, especially the ending. Member Sopranos?

[@Regenmacher175]

@@imemberberry Yeah I think they did the best they could with what they had and the ending is good imo.

[@kraqah]

@@imemberberry Come on now, HBO wanted them to do 10 seasons with 10 episodes each. D+D got that big Star Wars offer and became less invested in GoT. GRRM certainly was no help by not releasing WoW at any of the many times he said he would for sure.

[@imemberberry]

@kraqah D&D became less interested in GoT after about a decade, and GRRM became less interested in finishing his final book after about a decade. It's a shame, but it happens. People complain about the final seasons and blame the writing, but imo any show that goes too long eventually turns stale and even the fans begin to resent it. Ending was good, not great. Could've thrown 2 extra episodes in there, then again we got 4 extra long eps, so it all evened out.

[@MotherofMunch]

I was saying this all along

[@FMonou]

It's a draft those can change. George can do what he wants his story and his setting. He might of learned a few things about letting others davel with his work though.

[@jakefink680]

The curse of phenomenal writers will always be writing the end of the story first.

[@eric2500]

As a actual gardener, I have to say that George needs to pull some weeds.

[@Blood-Fartz]

The story of ASOIF continues to expand when it should be contracting. You have to read through so many chapters of secondary characters. He should return to the central narrative and start wrapping it up.

[@isthatyoursomnomnom]

The only thing I want to hear out of GRRM is the clackety clackety of a keyboard as he finishes the damn series.

[@carolbriscoe9337]

I've come to the conclusion Winds of Winter will never be published while George is alive. The publisher will be left with an incomplete manuscript and be forced to hire someone to finish the book. Hopefully, George will leave notes. For spite, George may just kill 2 or more of his 'protected 5'

[@michiganscythian2445]

He does have 2 assistants, Elio and Linda, who helped with “A World of Ice and Fire” so they would most likely carry on the torch, whether writing or consulting

[@carolbriscoe9337]

@@michiganscythian2445 then the publishers would ask them to finish the series

[@Regenmacher175]

@@michiganscythian2445 I wouldn't want those self-serving arrogant hacks to be anywhere near the main story.

[@akechijubeimitsuhide]

@@Regenmacher175Yeah, they are known cunts.

[@sithari518]

"Catching ideas" is how David Lynch put it -- writing a story and figuring it out as you go, catching ideas, for it to organically evolve

[@sydnitheromantictaylor112]

I personally think the book ending will be somewhat different and the same. I don't believe Jaime and Cersei will die by rubble, the white walkers won't be over at Winterfell, Arya will not be the one to end the long night and Bran will become King but NOT in the same way he became King in the show. I also believe that Jon and Daenerys will be more important for the white walker storyline and not just because they'll be riding dragons. Sansa will be the Lady of Winterfell but I don't think the North will be independent when Bran is King and the north would have no problem serving Bran.

[@colziecolz6414]

TLDR George wanted to become an author but is not disciplined enough to finish his book series.

[@naverich4603]

People that think the books will end just like the show probably never read the books lol. There is so many plots that were abandoned and those plots are going to be very important for the future....such as young griff who will probably take the king's landing at some point or Rickon Stark who won't die as stupidly etc etc...or White Walkers who definitely won't lose the only battle in Winterfell lol. Not to mention the fact with Martin's pace of writing he will never release Dream of Spring

[@ml.9417]

George already said that his ending is going to be very different from the show ending

[@bpoole99251]

I don't know who did this but I thank you and appreciate your attempt in giving the fans some sort of closing. Martin could give a crap...

[@akgakg6355]

Yeah.

[@mackfarlainethebarenakedau5113]

Yeah, cuz here it is 2024 and we haven't had a SoIaF book since 2011. Now granted I came to the series subsequent of the TV show, but 13 years seems way too long; especially considering there's apparently 1 more waiting to be written after WoW is finished and published. This is why I, as a writer, never want to work on a series or even a trilogy, saga, tetralogy, etc.; because there's no telling if it'll ever be finished.

[@bpoole99251]

@@mackfarlainethebarenakedau5113 I honestly can't figure out how he is not being sued or something by a publishing company for not finishing the book.

[@mackfarlainethebarenakedau5113]

@@bpoole99251 I don't know. I heard he'd handed 800 pages into his publisher back in 2016. He could have just published half of it then. He said WoW has already gotten bigger than he had originally planned. He's gonna need to do something.

[@Shane2sweet1]

I just hope he's changing King Bran... That was a horrible idea that literally almost EVERYONE hates

[@Kaxcer]

Yeah but king Bran is not gonna be king forever there must be somebody after him .. also it fits theme of the show that lot of brutal events happen in it. Disabled person becomes king.

[@Anthonydbrown13]

my personal opinion is he gave HBO the ending they showed and since people didnt like it he is rewriting like a madman. hence the delay...

[@blaisebear6850]

I agree. I think the show did the primary story beats GRR wrote. I think the backlash against the show ending is contributing to George rewriting and the ridiculous delays

[@Arya_25]

There were many characters who died in the show but are alive in the books and they'll affect the storyline.

[@Anthonydbrown13]

yes but those characters are mainly B/C listers. Bran being king and Dany going mad queen are different @@Arya_25

[@KristoferPettersson]

I loved the ending. People are idiots. I consider this a gift for me. :-)

[@Se0420_]

what don’t they just give us a show based around robert’s rebellion?? So many story lines, so many of the characters we know and love..

[@everythingdivine]

Naw. That'll be overkill

[@Se0420_]

@@everythingdivine no way. this crap show that’s on hbo now is overkill..

[@everythingdivine]

@@Se0420_ both are

[@TeresaEvans-z9b]

I'm finding it INCREASINGLY unlikely that WE WILL EVER EVEN GET The Winds of Winter, never MIND its successor!!!!

[@aferak145]

the iron throne has been upon by the Targaryens then the Baratheon/Lannister and soon it will be the starks. Having a poetic ending with the boy that started it all. At least that’s my theory. Will the throne injure him? I really would like to see that. I have yet to see ruler the throne has not injured. I want to see who the throne actually finds worthy of being the ruler of Westeros.

[@ProgressIsTheOnlyEvolution]

I think you are right that the outline doesn't matter and that no character is safe listed as safe in the outline, but I must admit I think George R. R. Martin is angry enough at the leaked outline and directors not including him in plans for the last series, that he may not be as motivated to write or finish the novels anymore. And since he is up in age already and there is a great amount of pressure on him to have his books become better than the series and the outline, and since he is already financially secure, with a good reputation and respect, having already proven himself successful, I am not so sure he is going to finish the series and might prefer leaving everything in wonder where fans would create their own ending and still imagine the best about what George R. R. Martin would or could produce. After all getting a satisfactory ending is as hard or harder than the beginning and story setting, especially for someone who figures things out as you go along.

[@badmadrichard]

That was smart he tested it and Game of Thrones to see if fans would like it and Blamed it on the people that made Game of Thrones 😅😅😅 he a genius

[@vishwajeetpanwar3271]

he probably gave the show his story and he saw the backlash and is probably rewrting the winds of winter now

[@LNGD_46]

Ain't no way Jon's gonna come back the same if he's dead and gets resurrected. What's the point of killing him if he's going to come back exactly how he was before. When Lord Beric was brought back from death, he couldn't remember certain things, like the hair color of his betrothed, and I think it was a foreshadowing.

[@codyjoco]

My personal theory is that George R.R. Martin's ending was pretty close to the GOT ending, but when everyone reacted so poorly to it, he knew he would need to figure something else out.

[@margisama]

That's my opinion as well. He saw how utterly hated it was by the majority of people and was sent scrambling to find a different way to end the books. Which I hope fervently is true because if the books have the same ending as the show I'll host book burning parties of the series.

[@codyjoco]

​@@margisama I wouldn't mind the show ending ultimately, since so much of what would make or break is the greatness of the writing. No matter how he ends it, I really hope he can pull more of the lore, prophecy, and sub plots together at the end.

[@MP-et1eu]

@@codyjocoit wasn’t that the ending sucked. It was just done poorly. I think it will end similarly in the books but it will actually make sense.

[@668771]

Disagree, by season 6-8 the book and show were so far apart that it couldn't happen.

[@jimmyhyun8546]

I don't really agree. There are several different things in the books - the Others have a different origin in the books and the TV series never squared away the conflict between the 2 gods, R'hllor and the Great Other. Also, the prophecy of Azhor Ahai. I can see Daenarys going bad, but it will not go as sloppy as it did in the series.

[@eric2500]

Words are Wind (s). George should write some.

[@kaberroneill94]

How the heck did it go from 3 books to 7?! One the one hand, glad it did bc I don't think he could have told the whole story in 3, but I could have settled for 5 and not been waiting for 2 more books.

[@hrabina_4057]

I believe the ending will be different 😍 just because of author's creativity and our joy to have two GOTS 😍😃😉

[@alexgcuzweguz]

Maybe, in a few years, he can just give the raw ideas on how it all shall end to an AI so it will finish the books in the original stile. I have no hope that we will see several books, otherwise.

[@timbnsfs.9275]

If he can make bran king and have it actually be good, that would be rad, but I also could see him totally giving us something unexpected. That's why it takes so long but also he's talented.

[@rocknjock9300]

I don’t think he’ll ever finish the the story.

[@haljammaly]

I agree. This is why I am not buying the books.

[@mr.snowcone6067]

This is a Talking thrones Classic!

[@petebondurant58]

At this point, I just don't care any longer.

[@Kaxcer]

Look Grrm said it best, TV shows have limited budgets, very small budgets. Hollywood movies cost 100million perhaps 200milion and many of them are flops. For 90-120 minutes. TV shows have smaller budgets for 600 minutes. 10 episodes 60 minutes each. We should be happy we got atleast something. Dont expect perfection on a TV. Like Game of Thrones got very generous adaptation. I saw much worse TV shows.

[@wanderingmoon9772]

Some people know that once you get into a story the characters take on a life of their own and do not always do what the writer wants them to do.

[@akeelyaqub2538]

Of course they always do what the writer wants. The writer writes them. They can change in the writers eyes but they arent some entities that take on independence. George is in full control of the story.

[@timrogers3504]

I believe George R. R. Martin has written and rewritten multiple copies/parallel universes of “Winds of Winter” and “A Dream of Spring” and has a living will to determine which copy/universe will be the final outcome on the time of his death.

[@abigailcosta1716]

I think exactly the same!

[@thewanderingartists]

Then with heavy hearts, I pray that day comes soon. Too many fans have perished over the decade, may their souls rest once the books are out.

[@kittyflow]

Or…instead of being butthurt about the bad reception about the show’s ending and rewriting the whole thing, that a lot of you suggested in the comments…he is just taking his time with his creative process AND living his life to the fullest in his old age without taking any obligations from anyone 🤷🏼‍♀️ We certainly didn’t know Mr. Martin in the past as someone who bows to his readers/audiances wishes for his stories, why would he do that now, with possibly his magnum opus? Personally I think regardless of how the story of ASOIAF will end, it definitely will tie everything together and none of us will be left feeling dissapointed. Well, of course it won’t be an “everybody lived happily ever after” but the plot itself will not be lacking like how the show have dealt with it.

[@zechariahzenith8762]

Ending GOT with Daenerys as the villain made the entire series useless. It could have been better another season was added and Daenerys was resurrected similar to Jon Snow.

[@robanderson6655]

Jon is the embodiment of the books he will survive

[@lindseystein9676]

When the show ended, I remember he was quoted saying the ending would be generally the same, but obviously some differences with the characters left out of the show.

[@petrarabbit3995]

Can we just pretend that the last season doesn't exist and they make it 13 seasons. 😂

[@ianpatterson6552]

The ending is lost in the crypts of Winterfell.

[@GloriousRAT]

Three volumes.... Even before diving into the massive morass that he crafted I believed, as a professional writer myself, that he should have stopped with three novels. A Feast for Crows was an unmitigated mess... He introduced scores of NEW characters and basically doomed himself ever finishing the story.

[@hccmichaelf4326]

I really enjoyed this video and it was thorough. Thank you cuz you have me curious again. 😊

[@SithScribe21]

Another awesome episode, your Grace.. I just wanted to point out that at the end there I was really hoping for the send-off to say, “We will meet again.” 😂😂 thanks for the great work you do!! ❤

[@albdamned577]

From an academic prospective, I have enjoyed reading the drafts summaries, it reminds me of reading Tolkien’s notes and letters. I wouldn’t want to wait for GRRM to die and have some editor release books 20 years from now (like Tolkien). I would much rather be able to ask a living grrm a question that arises from comparing the drafts. I don’t mean to get into asking factual questions of the story but ones that relate to the author’s creative decisions.

[@darksaint0124]

Even though you are going hard to say George has disregarded everything about this outline, the main structure of the story still remains TWot5K, Dany's Invasion, and the Invasion of the Others. George has made no efforts to change this structure.

[@Axel_Kasai]

People will end up using AI to finish his books 😅

[@LordHoward]

Would be better than the d&d ending

[@evulpes]

Not me opening chatgtp 👀

[@kendramuah]

We’re never getting his ending so I’m going to just say, everyone dies and it’s devastating. There’s no way I believe if he does write the ending, it will turn out the same way we saw in the show. In fact, I refuse to believe it!

[@ArticWolfv]

If I had to guess. what will be is the pieces will land near to if not exactly where they did in the show. The biggest difference is the reasons for, and actions around why will be significantly better plotted out. in addition, I think some of the missing characters will aid in making the entire thing work in a more satisfying way.

[@Freelancer837]

George, maybe you should finish the books so that people won't be tempted to look for even a crumb of an ending for them.

[@grasa95]

Lets face it, the song of ice and fire will never end.....

[@tcampbell5028]

If he is still working on them (IF). I think he will go a complete 180 from how the show ended. I'm saying this due to two things, 1. He says he never plans things in advance and just goes with the flow (to use a different phrasing,) and 2. the outcry from so many people who disliked the handling of season 8 of GOT in the series may make him want to do something better than was on the TV series.

[@peaceandloveusa6656]

I have to say, it hurts my brain reading so many comments about how they believe GRRM will change the ASOIAF ending because of the backlash GoT's ending received. George got stuck long before GoT even finished airing (or even before GoT's quality declined). If he already knew where the story was going to take him, we wouldn't still be waiting a decade later for the next book. People thinking GoT's reception (or GoT's ending, for that matter) will have any sort of significant impact on how ASOIAF ends is seriously projecting how *they* would react to the backlash onto someone who handles things much different than themselves. He's known some things from day 1; like which characters the story was ultimately going to be about, the main conflicts, who sits on the Iron Throne in the end, etc; but most, if not all of the rest is subject to change at any time regardless of, and unaffected by, what anyone else has to say. The man even admitted in an interview that the characters his own wife would leave him for "hurting" are not safe. How can anyone be so naive as to think the mean tweets of strangers online are going to impact his decision-making process in any way? I do not even see the average person, with average sensibilities, switching it up in his position. Even if he does a 1:1 with s8 of GoT for his final book, nothing changes. He still makes bank from the book sells, people will still be mad, and a large percentage of them will continue buying his books anyway. He has zero incentive to compromise his morals or artistic process. Zero. Thus, the books will differ from the show, and be like the show, entirely because that is what was always going to happen when he got to that point in the story. Can we start using just a tad bit of critical thinking, people?

[@Ghost-304]

The Tyrion and Jon Snow rivalry would’ve been awesome in the show . If they went by the books .This is great info and reading each page makes u think how great this show was and could’ve been if done right

[@perlundgren7797]

The Tyrion/Jon rivalry isn't in the books either. As much as the show runners screwed up, you can hardly blame them for not going by an outline GRRM himself scrapped.

[@Regenmacher175]

@@perlundgren7797 I don't even agree that the shworunners screwed up. The ending was fine. You lot just wanted a different ending with a different thematic message.

[@perlundgren7797]

@@Regenmacher175 I'm not sure what lot I belong to and didn't even mention the ending, but thank you for informing me about what I wanted.

[@jgabd7119]

@@perlundgren7797 I think there’s a chance this would happen, since tyrion is becoming really dark in the last books

[@perlundgren7797]

@@jgabd7119 Depends on what you mean with "this". Some kind of conflict, sure, but the op was talking about following the original outline. I'd be _very_ surprised if he ends up including the Jon/Tyrion/Arya love triangle...

[@WarDog793]

I would like to see all five of those characters survive as George originally planned, but he is the author and has the right to change his mind. I would also like to see him show up David & Dan for what they did with GoT and take a different tack for the saga, maybe even what he originally planned, but if he's making it up as he goes along (hell, almost all authors do that) then all best are off and a multitude of possibilities are open to him. I still hope against hope that he'll finish it, or at least leave a solid structure with supplemental details for any successor to complete it if he passes on before that. Robert Jordan did, and Brandon Sanderson finished The Wheel of Time series superbly.

[@disneymom4997]

…I just realized that, as far as the HBO series, House Targarian is no more. 😢

[@peterfrankhansen1128]

George R. R. Martin will never finish the series, he does not have the time, he's old and he is more interested in other stuff!

[@eric2500]

It did not go that way. He revised. So what? Authors do this, that's all.

[@MitchM240]

Anyone who thinks he will finish the books is dreaming. Did you see his last blog post? He blames fans and goes on a rant about climate change. WTF? He thinks he is a “thought leader” now.

[@SergentJConn]

I love you playing one of my favorite GoT songs in the background!

[@beautifulblacksoul8611]

I feel like if we accepted the endings, he'd be finished by now. Yes, the TV writers didn't give the endings justice, but his books clearly led to that ending. Bran isn't a warg for giggles. The guy was probably going to be king in the end. Tyrion, the hand. Dany will probably stay in her area, or if she comes across, it's just to help against the night walkers. Because dragons. Arya would be the kingsguard. Jon would be in the North or at the wall to prevent other attacks from walkers. Honestly, pretty predictable when reading the direction of the story. He would literally have to throw away or adjust all of his writings to change the ending. And we may never know.

[@beautifulblacksoul8611]

Also, there's a poetry in Bran being the catalyst and closing of the Game of Thrones. It is very difficult for writers to throw away their poetry. We should have just accepted it. I probably would have been reading the Winds of Winter by now. Too many people complained and cried about Bran being king. As an aspiring writer who read the books, I was shocked that people were shocked. That part was a given.

[@Divine_Chareka]

Couldn't agree more!

[@rpgadventurer32]

Bran makes no sense as a king. In the books or in the show.

[@rpgadventurer32]

@@beautifulblacksoul8611 No it wasn't. Bran's character makes no sense whatsoever to be a King of anything.

[@carlosaugustodinizgarcia3526]

​@@rpgadventurer32he is already King in the North by birthright.

[@roscoebail5551]

John Snow will become the new next Night King in the North....

[@thomasjones4570]

Who the hell actually believes that a 30 year old story outline was going to be followed? Only direhards that feel the need to cling to their hate of how the show went. So many authors have stated over the years that story outlines are just original ideas of how they think their story is going to go and rarely ever end up being close to the finish product. Especially those writing a series.

[@GrainOnTheGo]

I’m thoroughly convinced that he won’t actually finish it and someone else will have to based on his notes

[@thewanderingartists]

It will be done Posthumously so he can piss off fans for one last time 😂

[@adins.7652]

I don't mean to be rude but you need to get over this. WE ALL KNOW THAT EVERYONE HATED THE ENDING. You need to moved on. We are all sick and tired of hearing this repetitive reporting. The series is over years ago. Time to moved on.

[@xmarvelous5797]

i think if he finishes it will be very similar to the show, which isn't the end of the world if it is well written and more explained than the show

[@S1L3NTG4M3R]

My prediction is that we'll never see WOW... As he's Not working on it anymore. As you said, he did say Bran Stark would be King.... and that was in the show. I think we got an ending that covers what he was planning. Did I want more shows, yes, but I also enjoyed what I saw. I'm a big fan of the show and the characters we got to see play out the ending to the show. I think GOT was one of the best TV shows ever and can't wait for more... HOTD to continue it's run.

[@ergohash2517]

i think we would at least see the drafts of WOW in the worst case

[@S1L3NTG4M3R]

@@ergohash2517 hopefully.

[@johnnyskinwalker4095]

I would have liked to have seen what it would have done on screen with the characters growing up, maybe do jumps in time and have older actors taking over, over time. Like you start them very young, the same age as they are in the books and when you need the characters older, you make a time jump similar to House of the Dragon but not as extreme.

[@bestabhinav]

GRRM said these 5 characters will survive till the last book that doesn't mean they'll survive the climax even in TV show Danny survived till the last season

[@tadeuvi]

It is one thing to change your mind before concluding book 1. It’s another to change it after 10k pages of story, clues and lore

[@cdaffern4707]

I hated Bran being King and hated Jon being exiled, he was a hero and served justice for the massacre. His whole secret parentage was a damp squib, it was all just to make 'Fany's' ending more epic, I didn't like 'Fany, 'but they could have stretched out the downfall and spoon fed it better so it was easier to digest.

[@Sau1itos]

I believe that book and TV show will have the same ending. Its just HBO/D&D didnt give themselves enough time to conclude the story correctly.

[@KingSlayer_.]

There's two things that I'm absolutely 💯 sure of that will be revealed somewhere along in the next two books: 1.) Jamie will be Azor Ahai 2.) Cersei will be revealed to have poisoned Joffrey by accident.

[@AlinuraTaskali-f2e]

@@asimhussain8716 Jon is not Azor Ahai, neither Jamie nor Jon fulfilled the prophecy in the books.Only Danny fulfilled it in the books before we even found out about prophecies

[@bethaofhouseblackwood234]

Nope, Dany is AA in the books

[@granockss9548]

​​@@AlinuraTaskali-f2ejup and jon is second night king or the aquivalent of nissa nissa, dont know how they think jon can become the bad guy azor ahai

[@CylenxswizinSim]

Anyone who also watches supercuts delight channel please help him by making KZbin aware, his channel has been hacked for almost a week, spread this cause he also covers videos on game of thrones

[@williamfleckles]

Thank you for posting this video... Verrrry interesting! I note that in the letter, after the redacted portion, Mr. Martin ends with "But that's the second book." Could that mean he was thinking ahead to a sequel to the trilogy? Maybe I'm reading too much into it.

[@perlundgren7797]

The second book of the trilogy. If you look at the other storylines (The Others are still north of the wall and Dany is just finding her eggs) the outline doesn't go very far into the story.

[@ScientificBeatz]

If it where to have same ending then I believe the books would have been done

[@jessicamarsh9779]

I honestly don’t think he will ever finish it. I think if it’s ever finished it’s going to be by Elio Garcia & Linda Antonsson who will finish them (or someone who’s as close to the writer, familiar with his writing style & who knows all about Westero’s). But I don’t think he will be the one who finishes it.

[@joeybulford9055]

I’m glad it got leaked because it’s prbly the closest we’ll ever get to a finished ending

[@gildardorivasvalles6368]

I just hope we don't have the same situation as with Frank Herbert and the Dune saga, leaving us with a cliffhanger in Chapterhouse Dune and then going off and dying. I mean, George is getting up there in years, and he still has some books to finish before the story ends, so he better hurry up 😄

[@indiesongwriter5474]

The end in Game of Thrones with Danarys going berserk and Jon killing her is a great ending and FEELS like a George RR Martin twist. I think that's where this is going but that unlike the show it will be built up to, foreshadowed and the way there will make more sense. A lot of fans mistook an ending that is SAD and RUSHED and improperly foreshadowed as a bad ending because the Game of Thrones ending wasn't bad. Other stuff I think could be subject to change but I think that aspect will be the same

[@leviathan_is_me]

"Feel free to share this letter with anyone who wants to know how the story will go." Mad or not, he gave permission.

[@MagnaMater2]

I could imagine Bran warging into Jon's body. Jon might prefer to stay in Ghost. 'Ghosting' being certainly easier than ruling.

[@megdixonwrites]

This leaked like a decade ago. I read that back in 2014.