Author George R.R. Martin introduced the world to Westeros with the novel A Game of Thrones in 1991, though it wasn’t until the narrative was adapted into a TV series by HBO in 2011 that it became a major sensation. Subsequent seasons of the series adapted the next installments in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” storyline, borrowing liberally from the events of those stories. Writers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss crafted a majority of the series’ episodes, with the final three seasons being original material that wasn’t based on published novels. Star Maisie Williams recently shared that, compared to Game of Thrones scripts, every project she’s been offered has fallen far short of the series’ writing.
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“I read other scripts now and think, ‘This is trash!’ The stories are just not complex,” Williams shared with SFX Magazine [H/T Digital Spy]. “And then sometimes you read a script which is definitely like 30 pages too long and you think, ‘But there’s still no twist!’”
One element of the overall popularity of the series is that it was never afraid to make unexpected and drastic changes to its narrative, forcing fans to tune in to new episodes so they wouldn’t hear spoilers the following day. Williams notes that it was those twists that kept her engaged as an actress.
“It’s sometimes really difficult to find something that surprises you,” the actress recalled. “I think that’s what the show has always done so well.”
Despite every episode being full of exciting twists and turns, Williams noted that they all felt organic, which she felt confirmed the strength of the writers.
“And you can’t do that sort of writing unless you’re good at writing because otherwise it just becomes sort of nonsensical,” the actress pointed out. “And you’re just being shocking for the sake of being shocking rather than writing something that’s believable.”
While Williams might be a fan of the writing, some audiences haven’t shared that opinion with the actress. Most notably, the debut of the final episodes of the series saw backlash against Benioff and Weiss, citing that, without Martin’s narrative foundation, the series faltered with its conclusion. Some fans were so disappointed with the final season that they began trolling HBO by launching petitions demanding that the final season of the series be remade with new writers.
All seasons of Game of Thrones are currently available on HBO.
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