George R.R. Martin has weighed in on recent changes — and similarities — between Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire.
Game of Thrones is never lacking in buzz-worthy story developments, but recent events have caused such a stir that Martin has proffered his opinion.
The first subject of his attention concerns differences in the mythologies of Game of Thrones and Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series. The recent unveiling of the Night’s King — a leading White Walker with the power to raise wights with a gesture — left many fans wondering if this supernatural “monarch” will appear similarly in the novels.
The answer, Martin strongly implied, is “Probably not.”
“In the books he is a legendary figure, akin to Lann the Clever and Brandon the Builder,” Martin writes on his Not-A-Blog, “And no more likely to have survived to the present day than they have.”
While Martin’s words certainly don’t put a definitive freeze on Night’s King theories, it does seem that if the terrifying figure has a role to play in A Song of Ice and Fire, it will be along much subtler and more arcane lines than in Game of Thrones.
Related: Game of Thrones season 5 finale photos make us very nervous
On a more controversial line of discussion, Martin has also alluded to his maybe/maybe-not involvement in the murder of Shireen Baratheon on this past week’s episode of the HBO series.
“Other wars are breaking out on other fronts, centered around the last few episodes of Game of Thrones,” Martin writes. “It is not my intention to get involved in those, nor to allow them to take over my blog and website, so please stop emailing me about them, or posting off-topic comments here on my Not A Blog.”
In spite of compelling evidence that Shireen’s very disturbing death in “The Dance of Dragons” was inspired by coming events in A Song of Ice and Fire, Martin reiterates that he has a very minimal role (if that) in the story decisions made on Game of Thrones.
“Yes, I know that The Hollywood Reporter named me ‘the third most powerful writer in Hollywood’ last December. You would be surprised at how little that means,” Martin says. “I cannot control what anyone else says or does, or make them stop saying or doing it, be it on the fannish or professional fronts. What I can control is what happens in my books, so I am going to return to that chapter I’ve been writing on The Winds of Winter now, thank you very much.”
Whether or not fans are satisfied by Martin’s allusion to the controversial events — not the first such disclaimer he has made for Game of Thrones season 5 — the tantalizing potential of The Winds of Winter is certain to mollify most eager readers of A Song of Ice and Fire.
The Game of Thrones season 5 finale, “Mother’s Mercy,” airs on Sunday, June 14 at 9:00 p.m. on HBO.