The wheel may still be turning in Westeros, but our time with Game Of Thrones is officially done (at least until the prequel). There have been dragonfire-hot takes, fan complaints and many mixed feelings about the finale, but we've been waiting to hear what the man responsible for the source material (and a number of episodes in past seasons), George R.R. Martin thought of the adaptation's end.
Turns out, he's choosing to be diplomatically vague, but calling the ending bittersweet and praising the work of the telly team. And if you were wondering how he's describing his ending for the story? "'How will it all end?' I hear people asking," Martin wrote on his blog. "'The same ending as the show? Different?' Well... yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes." Well, that clears it right up. Thankfully, he goes on to elaborate.
"I am working in a very different medium than David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss], never forget. They had six hours for this final season. I expect these last two books of mine will fill 3000 manuscript pages between them before I’m done... and if more pages and chapters and scenes are needed, I’ll add them. There are characters who never made it onto the screen at all, and others who died in the show but still live in the books... so if nothing else, the readers will learn what happened to Jeyne Poole, Lady Stoneheart, Penny and her pig, Skahaz Shavepate, Arianne Martell, Darkstar, Victarion Greyjoy, Ser Garlan the Gallant, Aegon VI, and a myriad of other characters both great and small that viewers of the show never had the chance to meet. And yes, there will be unicorns... of a sort."
We're still waiting for the last two books in Martin's series, but he insists he's still working away. "The Winds Of Winter is very late, I know, I know, but it will be done," Martin adds. "I won't say when, I've tried that before only to burn you all and jinx myself, but I will finish it, and then will come A Dream Of Spring." If he doesn't finish soon, It'll have to be re-titled Summer Awakenings.
And one last jab at critics of any ending. "How about this? I’ll write it. You read it. Then everyone can make up their own mind, and argue about it on the internet." Chaos is not just a ladder. It's a Twitter.
Read more of Martin's blog here. You can find our review of the finale right here, check out our 34 Best Moments from the series as a whole and see our retrospective piece on Game Of Thrones, its challenges and impact.
Keep up to date with all the latest movie news, click here to subscribe to Empire on Great Magazines and have the latest issue delivered to your door every month.