George R.R. Martin’s editor is unhappy with Game of Thrones’ departures from the books
An overlying theme of Game of Thrones’ fifth season has been the show’s increasing willingness to diverge from the A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Many fans of the books who also happen to love the show (myself included), have been extremely unhappy with the story-arcs of certain characters, and many of the decisions that showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have made. Quite often, these concerns are voiced by bloggers on fan sites such as this, or can be found festering on message boards such as the ASOIAF Reddit.
However, now a new voice has been added to the throngs of fans who are unhappy with the direction of Game of Thrones: that of Jane Johnson, George R.R. Martin’s very own editor. Taking to Twitter on Monday, Johnson first expressed her displeasure over Loras’ in-show storyline.
HBO’s #GameOfThronesSeason5 has gone completely rogue now. #Loras
— Jane Johnson (@JaneJohnsonBakr) May 4, 2015
She went on to expound on her statement, when one of her Twitter followers asked her what she meant.
@photophoto I’ve never been happy that they made him a gay cartoon in the tv series: the characterization is much more nuanced in the books. — Jane Johnson (@JaneJohnsonBakr) May 4, 2015
She’s not wrong. The character of Loras, on the show, has been stripped of all the complexity he had in the books, a topic I will cover in depth on this week’s Razor’s Rant.
Johnson wasn’t done yet. When Ser Barristan the Bold went down fighting the Sons of the Harpy, she once again took to Twitter.
WHAT? #GameOfThrones Not loving these huge divergences. Read the books if you want to know the story the way the author intended it.
— Jane Johnson (@JaneJohnsonBakr) May 4, 2015
This tweet seemed to draw a mixed reaction from her followers, as some ignorantly claimed that Martin had decision-making power as a producer and therefore should take blame for these changes, which could not be further from the truth, a fact and point made quite clear by Westeros.org founders, ofttimes GRRM confidants, and A World of Ice and Fire collaborators/contributors Elio and Linda.
@capaldisreign @JaneJohnsonBakr He noted that if HBO wanted aliens to invade, he couldn’t stop them. He advises, but does not decide. — Elio & Linda (@westerosorg) May 4, 2015
Elio and Linda went even further in describing Martin’s role on Game of Thrones.
Ser Barristan’s story was tragically cut short. Tragic in the fact that show-only fans will miss out on some absolutely fantastic and amazing moments from the books…moments that defined his character and story-arc in Meereen.
@westerosorg I know. It’s very disappointing :(
— Jane Johnson (@JaneJohnsonBakr) May 4, 2015
In the end, Johnson voicing her displeasure with the direction of the show only further validates what fans of the books have been saying all along. That, while some changes are absolutely necessary in a 10-episode season, cutting solid characters from the show before their time (Barristan), or completely altering their character development (Loras) is something that is cheapening the show’s legacy, as a whole.
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