As Game of Thrones reaches its end, it's fair to say that the feelings of fans over the eighth and final season have been mixed. Some people have commended the show for finishing in a spectacular and spectacle-driven way, while others are decrying the show for dumbing down, and wish that the writing would focus more on the intrigue and drama that characterised the initial seasons.

It seems as though even George RR Martin, author of the Song of Ice and Fire novels upon which the show is based, has some misgivings of his own about the way his books have been adapted, and in particular how real-life circumstances have conspired to rush a lot of the plot.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Martin stated: "Of course you have an emotional reaction. I mean, would I prefer they do it exactly the way I did it? Sure. […] It can also be traumatic. Because sometimes their creative vision and your creative vision don’t match, and you get the famous creative differences thing - that leads to a lot of conflict."

He continued: "You get totally extraneous things like the studio or the network weighing in, and they have some particular thing that has nothing to do with the story, but relates to ‘Well this character has a very high Q Rating so let’s give him a lot more stuff to do.' The series has been … not completely faithful. Otherwise, it would have to run another five seasons."

He added: "You know, it’s complex. I’m a little sad, actually. I wish we had a few more seasons. But I understand. Dave and Dan are gonna go on to do other things, and I’m sure some of the actors were signed up for like seven or eight years, and they would like to go on and take other roles. All of that is fair. I’m not angry or anything like that, but there’s a little wistfulness in me."

However, despite the author's misgivings, it seems as though the viewing figures for Game of Thrones are still pretty damn high. After all the drama of last week's episode, a lot of fans are now wondering if Jon is preparing to kill Dany, or if Dany is thinking about killing Jon. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

As Game of Thrones reaches its end, it's fair to say that the feelings of fans over the eighth and final season have been mixed. Some people have commended the show for finishing in a spectacular and spectacle-driven way, while others are decrying the show for dumbing down, and wish that the writing would focus more on the intrigue and drama that characterised the initial seasons.

It seems as though even George RR Martin, author of the Song of Ice and Fire novels upon which the show is based, has some misgivings of his own about the way his books have been adapted, and in particular how real-life circumstances have conspired to rush a lot of the plot.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Martin stated: "Of course you have an emotional reaction. I mean, would I prefer they do it exactly the way I did it? Sure. […] It can also be traumatic. Because sometimes their creative vision and your creative vision don’t match, and you get the famous creative differences thing - that leads to a lot of conflict."

He continued: "You get totally extraneous things like the studio or the network weighing in, and they have some particular thing that has nothing to do with the story, but relates to ‘Well this character has a very high Q Rating so let’s give him a lot more stuff to do.' The series has been … not completely faithful. Otherwise, it would have to run another five seasons."

He added: "You know, it’s complex. I’m a little sad, actually. I wish we had a few more seasons. But I understand. Dave and Dan are gonna go on to do other things, and I’m sure some of the actors were signed up for like seven or eight years, and they would like to go on and take other roles. All of that is fair. I’m not angry or anything like that, but there’s a little wistfulness in me."

However, despite the author's misgivings, it seems as though the viewing figures for Game of Thrones are still pretty damn high. After all the drama of last week's episode, a lot of fans are now wondering if Jon is preparing to kill Dany, or if Dany is thinking about killing Jon. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.