‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 6: ‘Song Of Ice And Fire’ Fans In Dilemma To Watch New Season Or Wait For ‘The Winds Of Winter’

Last Sunday, April 24, 2016, the sixth season of popular premium channel show Game of Thrones started with its initial episode. Fans of the series highly anticipated it because of the huge surprise at the end of Season 5 when Jon Snow was betrayed by some of the Black Brothers especially Alliser Thorne. After viewing the initial episode, one that set a new record for number of viewers, many fans have theories on what will happen to the bastard son of Ned Stark. Apparently, Melisandre has a trick up her sleeve that may help Jon which many believe is possibly an ability to bring him back from the dead.

Overall, the success of the first episode is probably a precursor that the sixth season of Game of Thrones will be successful. Still, there are fans who are in a dilemma. Game of Thrones is based off a novel series written by George R.R. Martin titled A Song of Ice and Fire. For the past five seasons, the television series has somewhat been true to the books. However, the end of the fifth season also marked the end of A Dance with Dragons, the fifth book in the series that was also the last published book in the novel series. This means Season 6 will be written from scratch. As a result, fans of both the television and novel series have to make a choice: watch the sixth season or wait until the next book titled The Winds of Winter releases.

The dilemma the aforementioned fans face was the topic of discussion in a recent analysis by Kotaku. According to their report, the beginning of Season 6 of Game of Thrones is marked as the time the television series itself outpaced the books upon which it is based. Because of the situation, it is a dire outcome fans of both the television series and books have to deal with, one deemed quite difficult. On one hand, the television series does a fantastic job bringing the world painted by the imagination of George R.R. Martin to life on screen. On the other hand, the books are superior in many ways compared to the television series, having far more detail and emotion that only the written word can convey.

To be frank, the choice might be a given simply because Game of Thrones is just so popular. If a fan were to choose to wait until George R.R. Martin finally releases The Winds of Winter, they might be exposed to spoilers simply because the television fandom has a thing of spoiling the show online mostly through discussion and social memes.

However, there are also reports that point to the possibility that George R.R. Martin does not want his fans to choose between the books and the television series. According to MNR Daily(through The Bit Bag), Martin might be cramming to finish the latest novel in A Song of Ice and Fire. Speculation for such came about when Martin replied to a fan on his blog asking if he wrote any of the episodes for Season 6 of Game of Thrones.

“None. Just working on the book. Writing an episode would have meant taking at least a month off, maybe longer.”

It is also reported that George R.R. Martin declined to appear at numerous events, such as conventions and talk shows, to promote the sixth season of Game of Thrones. Martin was also absent at the Season 6 premier at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. This is peculiar because he’s always been present at Game of Thrones events.

The sixth season of Game of Thrones initially began airing on Sunday, April 24, 2016. It will consist of 10 episodes airing every Sunday until the season finale on June 26, 2016.

[Image via HBO Promotions for Game of Thrones Season Six, Edited by Jan Omega]