Diehard fans of the series felt that the show ended on a low note and did not live up to the standards set by previous seasons. The debate on how the series should have ended is a continuing topic in forums and community pages. The author seemingly added more fuel to the debate about how the original series ended with his comments on the length of the show. Speaking to the Washington Journal, the GOT creator mentions “I was saying it needs to be 10 seasons at least and maybe 12, 13. I lost that one.” Now that Martin has come forward to say that the show needed a few more seasons, it validates the feeling that fans have had since the show ended. A lot of us felt there could have been more to the story or it could have had a better ending.
The final season
Game of Thrones ran for 73 episodes spread out in 8 seasons. It is one of the most popular and successful TV series winning a total of 59 Emmy awards. It is also one of the most expensive shows ever made with a total price tag of around $800 million. The cost of each episode ranged from $6 to $15 million. For its loyal fans, the show’s final season did not live up to all the hype. It was poorly received and got mixed reviews from critics. An additional two or three seasons would have added more narrative to a show that felt like it was rushing to the end. The story may have had a different or more fleshed-out ending if more seasons were added to the show. Martin also shared that he believes there is more storytelling that could have been told in Game of Thrones.
George R.R. Martin contribution
It is well documented that series showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss had more creative control over the plot of the show as it progressed beyond the published books. The author felt that he was “pretty much out of the loop” by the time the series reached season 5. Martin also mentioned that he had little input after the original material was exhausted. “I had no contribution to the later seasons except, you know, inventing the world, the story, and all the characters,” the author said in an interview. Benioff and Weiss were set on ending the series after eight seasons as they felt the show was nearing the end of its prime. Not even Martin could not convince them to extend the series beyond eight seasons.
House of the Dragons
The author and series creator George R.R. Martin appears to have learned his lesson from the way that Game of Thrones ended. Instead of just consulting, Martin now works closely with the showrunners, Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik. Martin reveals that he has more input in the prequel series House of Dragon compared to Game of Thrones. Hopefully, this can mean great things for House of the Dragon. House of Dragons and Game of Thrones are both available to stream on HBO Max.
