George R.R. Martin has criticized Game of Thrones on several occasions in the past. While television adaptations sometimes necessitate creative liberties, the author believes some of the changes and interpretations were careless and deliberate mistakes.
Martin notably expressed his two cents regarding a couple of episodes from the hit fantasy series, and some of his critiques were shockingly brutal.
From his disapproval of assault scenes to overlooked designs, the writer mentioned it all in his blog and interviews. Here are some of his unforgettable remarks about the show:
5. GRRM Was Never Consulted About Jaime and Cersei’s Shocking Altar Scene
(Season 4 Episode 3: Breaker of Chains)
In the aftermath of King Joffrey’s death, fans were treated to another shocking incident when Jaime approached a grieving Cersei beside the deathbed of their son and started caressing her. Moments later, he was already forcing himself on his sister, the latter visibly looking upset.
Martin said in a comment thread on Not A Blog that he was never informed of this scene:
The whole dynamic is different in the show, where Jaime has been back for weeks at the least, maybe longer, and he and Cersei have been in each other’s company on numerous occasions, often quarreling. The setting is the same, but neither character is in the same place as in the books, which may be why Dan & David played the sept out differently. But that’s just my surmise; we never discussed this scene, to the best of my recollection.
The author also pointed out that the butterfly effect he had been talking about was at work in this scenario. He acknowledged that the act was meant to be disturbing, though he regretted if it distressed the viewers for the wrong reasons.
4. GRRM Argued Against Omission of Lady Stoneheart
(Season 3 Episode 9: The Rains of Castamere)
One of the biggest changes in the series was Catelyn Stark not returning as Lady Stoneheart. After her tragic death during the Red Wedding, she was revived as a vengeful, cold-blooded killer.
According to Martin, in his interview with Time Magazine, he never agreed to the character’s omission:
I think one of the biggest ones would probably be when they made the decision not to bring Catelyn Stark back as Lady Stoneheart. That was probably the first major diversion of the show from the books and, you know, I argued against that, and David and Dan made that decision.
The showrunners defended their choice and explained that they did not want to diminish the impact of death and mortality in the show, especially since they were also planning to resurrect Jon Snow.
3. GRRM Was Frustrated Over Littlefinger Giving Sansa Away
(Season 5 Episode 3: High Sparrow)
Martin was very disappointed when Game of Thrones altered Littlefinger’s arc, most especially when the villain gave Sansa away to the Boltons. The books told a different story, with the Stark girl never actually marrying Ramsay.
The author explained in James Hibberd’s Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon:
My Littlefinger would have never turned Sansa over to Ramsay. Never. He’s obsessed with her. Half the time he thinks she’s the daughter he never had — that he wishes he had, if he’d married Catelyn. And half the time he thinks she is Catelyn, and he wants her for himself. He’s not going to give her to somebody who would do bad things to her.
The writer of the episode once defended the scene and argued that, in the show, Littlefinger was not aware of Ramsay’s cruelty, which does not make sense since he was supposed to know every family in Westeros.
2. GRRM Slammed House Targaryen’s Sigil Showing Four-Legged Dragons
(Season 6 Episode 10: The Winds of Winter)
One of Martin’s noteworthy comments on both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon pertains to the Targaryen sigil. He was very particular with the design, especially with the number of legs of the three-headed dragon.
On his website, Not A Blog, he pointed out the mistake in the design of the house’s sigil:
GAME OF THRONES gave us the correct two-legged sigils for the first four seasons and most of the fifth, but when Dany’s fleet hove into view, all the sails showed four-legged dragons. Someone got sloppy, I guess. Or someone opened a book on heraldry, and read just enough of it to muck it all up. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
This goes to show that, despite his no longer writing episodes for the series, Martin still tuned in to see what they had come up with, especially since they have run out of source material at this point.
1. GRRM Got Enraged After Daenerys & Drogo’s Wedding Night Turned Into R*pe
(Season 1 Episode 1: Winter is Coming)
Perhaps one of Martin’s most unforgettable comments on Game of Thrones was directed towards the infamous wedding night scene. The author was extremely upset about the change because, in the book, Drogo did not assault Daenerys.
Speaking on James Hibberd’s Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon, Martin said:
Why did the wedding scene change from the consensual seduction scene… to the brutal r*pe of Emilia Clarke? We never discussed it. It made it worse, not better.
That’s one scathing remark from the author himself! Martin was clearly not amused with many of the changes despite asserting that the show and his books are separate entities.
What do you think was Martin’s most striking criticism of the show? Let us know in the comments!
Game of Thrones is currently available to watch on HBO Max.
