George R.R. Martin Has One Simple Fix For The End Of Game Of Thrones

Unsatisfied with the original ending of "Game of Thrones?" You're not alone! Luckily, original author George R.R. Martin had a solution... and unfortunately, it's a totally moot point now.

It's not exactly a secret that, when "Game of Thrones" — based partially on Martin's flagship book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" — ended back in May of 2019, audiences were disappointed, to say the very least. After eight seasons, the last two of which were much shorter than previous outings, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss apparently wanted to move onto other projects, and informed HBO that the show's eighth season would be its last.

Benioff and Weiss did work with Martin to adapt the books that he's written thus far, but since "The Winds of Winter" is, probably, never coming out anyway, they had to go off-script, which wasn't always well-received by die-hard fans of the series. However, in a stark (get it?) contrast, Martin is heavily involved in the new "Game of Thrones" spinoff "House of the Dragon," which premiered on HBO in August of 2022. So how does Martin feel about how the original series, based on his hugely famous series of books, ended — and does he have a better idea?

The answer: yes, he does. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal before "House of the Dragon" dropped on HBO, Martin was pretty clear in how he would have fixed the ending of "Game of Thrones."

Martin, according to the Journal, completely disagreed with Benioff and Weiss' eight season vision, and was quite blunt about it: "I was saying it needs to be 10 seasons at least and maybe 12, 13. I lost that one."

Not only did Martin want the show to run longer, but apparently, his creative control tapered off after Benioff and Weiss had to move past his original source material. "I had no contribution to the later seasons except, you know, inventing the world, the story and all the characters," Martin revealed. "I believe I have more influence now [on 'House of the Dragon'] than I did on the original show." Luckily for fans, "House of the Dragon" is a complete story that directly leads into the original series, as outlined by Martin's own 2018 spin-off "Fire & Blood," so the author himself has already crafted an ending.

When it comes to the mistakes the original "Game of Thrones" made as it came to a close in 2019, it's difficult to pin down where exactly to begin. After the show's fifth season, Benioff and Weiss, who once famously said that "themes are for eighth grade book reports," had to craft a story on their own — and apparently, Martin's input and assistance was minimal at best, leaving the two entirely on their own.

Benioff and Weiss' legendary bag-fumble during the final two seasons of "Thrones," wherein every character suddenly got really stupid and gained the ability to fast travel, is not only infamous, but squandered the cultural capital of "Thrones" almost immediately. In the aftermath of character assassinations galore (see: Jaime Lannister), nonsensical endings (why is Jon Snow rejoining the Night's Watch, an organization which no longer has a purpose?!), and unsatisfying arcs (Daenerys Targaryen could have gone crazy, but not like that), Benioff and Weiss became a punchline, fans clamored for "competent writers" to redo the final season, and everyone stopped talking about "Game of Thrones" seemingly overnight.

Certainly, with more time and more room, the team behind "Game of Thrones," arguably the most newsworthy series of its era, could have come up with a satisfying ending, particularly with Martin involved — but, you know, they didn't, and that's that! From here on out, "House of the Dragon," which has an ending written by Martin himself, is airing on HBO and HBO Max now, with new episodes every Sunday night at 9 PM EST.