Poor George R.R. Martin. When he isn’t being asked about differences between his books and Game of Thrones, the myriad spinoffs of the TV show that are now in the works, or when the hell the next A Song of Ice and Fire novel is out, he has to deal with finding out that he apparently doesn’t watch the show at all… except he does.
Image: HBO
Over the past few days, much hullabaloo has been made of an alleged statement Martin gave in an interview with Metro, saying that he has no time to watch Game of Thrones between the convention circuit and his demanding work attempting to continue the novel series that the show is originally based on. But, in a twist worthy of Thrones itself, it turns out that isn’t the case at all, and Martin does still watch. Entertainment Weekly reached out to the writer to ask about the interview, and Martin confirmed he still watches the series, but is behind on the current season thanks to him not watching any TV while touring abroad in Russia recently. So don’t go around spoiling last week’s episode for him — that would be mean.
But, let’s be honest about this silliness in the first place: Why wouldn’t Martin check in on the show? He’s had a long history of involvement in it, even though his work on the books had lead to him pulling back from that. Plus, it’s Game of Thrones. He’s asked about it all the time — he almost has to try and keep up among all his other work just so he can actually talk to people.
So there you have it — Westeros’ long national nightmare has ended, and George R.R. Martin does indeed watch Game of Thrones. Go about your business with this vital factoid in your hearts and minds.