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[Frog-fu]

With all the character changes, non-book deaths, and plot alterations in the upcoming season of HBO’s Game of Thrones, you’d be forgiven if you thought the TV show would eventually have nothing whatsoever to do with George R.R. Martin’s books. But you’d be wrong. Show runners Dan Weiss and David Benioff confirmed over the weekend that their show would be ending in the same place as the book series, and sooner than the books as well.

Speaking to the Oxford Union, Benioff addressed the TV series outpacing the books:

Luckily, we’ve been talking about this with George for a long time, ever since we saw this could happen, and we know where things are heading. And so we’ll eventually, basically, meet up at pretty much the same place where George is going; there might be a few deviations along the route, but we’re heading towards the same destination. I kind of wish that there were some things we didn’t have to spoil, but we’re kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. The show must go on. . .and that’s what we’re going to do.

We’ve known for awhile that Weiss and Benioff knew how Martin planned to end his series. But up until this year, readers were convinced that Martin would at least deliver the long-awaited next book in the series before the show had a chance to outpace him. It’s pretty clear that the upcoming fifth season of Game of Thrones will wrap up the plots of Books 4 and 5 (A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons), leaving everybody, show watchers and book readers alike, in the same place come this year’s season finale a.k.a. in the dark about what will happen next in both Book 6 (The Winds of Winter) and Season 6.

Source
Source 2 (Oxford Union Press video)

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I wish they'd just got on a hiatus and gives us a Robert's Rebellion mini arc for a season or 2 instead, but given the logistical nightmare that could've been, it probably simply wasn't worth the time, risk or effort.

On the bright side, beware, book readers.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

Great, now it will be the show watchers spoiling the book readers.

It's like we're in bizarro world.

 

[Delta Assault]

They should just film everything on schedule and lock it in a vault until the books come out.

 

[Orbis Tabula]

I'm ready. I hope that too many book readers don't get spoiled by the show.

 

[Exterminieren]

This was obviously going to happen the second the series went into development.

Not too cut up about it, honestly. I'm looking forward to getting some concrete movement in the plot this year.

 

[WyndhamPrice]

GRRM's taken so long to get the next book out I can't even be mad about this.

 

[Cipherr]

Great, now it will be the show watchers spoiling the book readers.

It's like we're in bizarro world.

A lot of them deserve it! SUFFA LIKE G DID!

 

[NateDrake]

They should just film everything on schedule and lock it in a vault until the books come out.

I don't want to watch 1080p programming on a 16k TV in the year 2040 when the final book finally releases.

 

[massoluk]

Now instead of "I read the fucking books," it will be "I watched the fucking show."

Strange time we live in.

 

[Jonm1010]

I mean if George has all this shit mapped out already why is it taking him half a decade to finish a book?

 

[Frog-fu]

They should just film everything on schedule and lock it in a vault until the books come out.

They could try but I think with a project as huge as this it'd simply be impossible to keep details from leaking out.

 

[Skilletor]

I kind of feel like asshole show watchers are going to take pleasure in spoiling stuff for the asshole book readers that spoiled stuff for them...and that I will get spoiled as collateral damage.

 

[Memento Mori]

I'm ready. I hope that too many book readers don't get spoiled by the show.

Realistically with Game of Thrones being as popular as it is, it's going to be borderline impossible to stay spoiler-free for another decade.

 

[BSsBrolly]

I kind of feel like asshole show watchers are going to take pleasure in spoiling stuff for the asshole book readers that spoiled stuff for them...and that I will get spoiled as collateral damage.

The thought of book readers getting spoiled makes me excited.

 

[Kyleripman]

I don't like this one bit.

 

[Moon]

I kinda glad, the bullshit that came with heaps of people spoiling the red wedding was terrible.

 

[Jonm1010]

They should just film everything on schedule and lock it in a vault until the books come out.

At the rate Martin is going they will be half way through filming the inevitable remake 20 years from now. To which we will just have two shows locked in a vault.

 

[Loofy]

The next book will be called 'Winds of Winter: Based on the hit show Game of Thrones'

EDIT: I get a feeling the 'spoiler' will be about a certain popular greyjoy fan theory.

 

[ultron87]

Honestly, after Dance With Dragons I'm kind of okay with giving the show the first shot at showing me new stuff.

The "NO SHOW SPOILER" thread will be great.

 

[Memento Mori]

I mean if George has all this shit mapped out already why is it taking him half a decade to finish a book?

He doesn't have it mapped out. He knows generally what the end is but is making the way to that up as he goes along. With like 20 POV characters spread across the world, it's a really complex series to write.

 

[Delta Assault]

At the rate Martin is going they will be half way through filming the inevitable remake 20 years from now. To which we will just have two shows locked in a vault.

We'll get Geraldo to do the unvaulting.

I mean, if he's still alive then.

 

[fallengorn]

I kind of feel like asshole show watchers are going to take pleasure in spoiling stuff for the asshole book readers that spoiled stuff for them...and that I will get spoiled as collateral damage.

It's going to happen asshole show-watchers or not. Any big developments are going to saturate the media. People who want to be spoiler-free are going to have live in a cave for the next few years.

 

[MarauderShields]

Going on hiatus for 1 or 2 years wouldn't solve the problem. We will be lucky to have book 6 by the time the show ends.

 

[StMeph]

Basically the thing everyone was expecting, but hoping wouldn't happen.

 

[Fjordson]

Really sucks, but not terribly surprising.

I'm super conflicted. I prefer the books and would much rather experience those first, but the show is good also and I doubt I'll be able to stay away for years while Martin finishes the last couple books.

They could try but I think with a project as huge as this it'd simply be impossible to keep details from leaking out.

I think HBO would go nuts if they tried to delay the show. Game of Thrones is a huge franchise at this point that probably rakes in a lot of money. They wouldn't want to slow down its momentum.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

A book series all about presenting people with a paradigm they think they know, only to continually cut the kneecaps off of everything and shove your nose in it; the readers of that series, who keep an eye on people who haven't read the books, deriving almost as much joy from watching the pained, disappointed, shocked reactions of viewers as they do the adaptation itself; finding themselves, at the end, rewarded for all their time spent lording their familiarity and their fandom over johnny-come-latelies, having all that patience and longing repaid by the story reaching completion in the "lesser" medium, finding themselves at the mercy of a viewing audience who very distinctly remembers just how thoroughly the book readers relished their position.

 

[ActuallyHulk]

Please have mercy show watchers I never spoiled anything for you

 

[Orbis Tabula]

Realistically with Game of Thrones being as popular as it is, it's going to be borderline impossible to stay spoiler-free for another decade.

Yeah, I don't really expect it will be feasible. The show has too much chatter about it. Every death will be tweeted around the world.

 

[echoshifting]

Sigh....all right

The thought of book readers getting spoiled makes me excited.

Well that's shitty of you

 

[Willkiller]

Well, well done George

 

[Exterminieren]

Not a chance that book readers can remain unspoiled, unless they get off the Internet and avoid socialising with anyone who watches with the show. Good luck with all of that, particularly if you're invested enough to go to those lengths.

I mean if George has all this shit mapped out already why is it taking him half a decade to finish a book?

He's had the broad strokes of the ending for years, but he doesn't plan individual plot lines and the content of the books before he writes them.

Also, he had to scrap a lot of his plans for the fourth and fifth books and start again.

 

[Plywood]

Was bound to happen when he types with one finger.

 

[A Human Becoming]

Honestly, after Dance With Dragons I'm kind of okay with giving the show the first shot at showing me new stuff.

The "NO SHOW SPOILER" thread will be great.

We already have that one essentially.

I'm still undecided if I'll watch this next season. I like the books a lot more.

 

[ivysaur12]

Of course this was going to happen. Oh well?

 

[Memento Mori]

Yeah, I don't really expect it will be feasible. The show has too much chatter about it. Every death will be tweeted around the world.

Look at how the general zeitgeist has already adopted the phrase "Red Wedding". Even people who don't watch the show have heard of it.

 

[Schweinehund]

I'll probably watch the show regardless then read the books. I'm still doubtful that GRRM's book will end the same way, the show has already diverged quite a bit. I'm extremely cynical we'll even get to the 7th book.

 

[BrokenEchelon]

Well shit. Don't know what to do now.

 

[Jarmel]

Well at least we're getting an ending before I'm 40.

 

[BSsBrolly]

Sigh....all right



Well that's shitty of you

Well, let me clarify that statement. The thought of asshole book readers who actively seek to spoil the show for others getting spoiled by TV fans makes me excited.

 

[ginger ninja]

straight up bullshit and you know it. I have never spoiled stuff for anyone but the thought I will have to rely on the weird paced shows that have been taking out many interesting bits lately instead of the well written books is just fucking terrible.

 

[Orbis Tabula]

Look at how the general zeitgeist has already adopted the phrase "Red Wedding". Even people who don't watch the show have heard of it.

Yeah, the level of blackout one would need to go to in order to avoid spoilers would be near impossible to achieve.

 

[You Know Nothing]

Please have mercy show watchers I never spoiled anything for you

Yeah, neither did I. #notallbookreaders

But anyway, I already accepted that this was most likely going to happen a while ago. So I'll still be tuning in.

 

[styl3s]

Great, now it will be the show watchers spoiling the book readers.

It's like we're in bizarro world.

My.. My.. HOW THE TABLES HAVE TURNED.

I had every super important death/event that was going to happen in S2-S4 spoiled before S2 even aired because of inconsiderate jerk holes. I don't even bother with Twitter/Facebook or any social media anymore because of it.

 

[Dénouement]

Yeah, the "just have a spin-off season of Robert's Rebellion" idea that's always spewed not only doesn't work because it doesn't make sense to halt the story just for the book readers, and have only-show-watchers go "??? where the fuck is khaleesi? wtf is this??" but also because if they wanted to let GRRM finish the series before continuing on, the show wouldn't end until like early-mid next decade.

 

[RyanDG]

I'm slightly concerned that once the show starts delving into territory Martin hasn't actually gotten to yet, he is going to lose all motivation to end the series.

 

[The Shogun]

The vast majority of the time the show has tried to add its own "plot" its been awful.

We end up with stuff like The Hound vs Brienne and the whole Ramsay's dogs crap.

This worries me a lot

 

[Dabanton]

If that's the case, expect everything to get spoiled if you're not keeping up with the TV show.

Tbh a lot of book readers were smug sob's especially during the first three seasons of the show. It could be 'payback' for a lot of people.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

I'm down for it!

 

[Nafai1123]

This will bug me but I'll watch it anyways.

 

[Exterminieren]

I'm still undecided if I'll watch this next season. I like the books a lot more.

For me, the fact is that a story revelation is better experienced through a full episode than through a poorly made gif or someone squeeing on Twitter.

You're going to hear the spoilers anyway, so may as well get some dramatic context with them.