If you think "Game of Thrones" is ending prematurely, don't blame author George R.R. Martin.

But feel free to blame him for how long it's taking him to get the final two books out. It's really no wonder he wouldn't mind if the HBO show stretched itself out, since that would give him more time to publish the conclusion before the TV series adapts it.

Oh well.

GRRM was at the 2018 Emmys last night as "Game of Thrones" won Best Drama for the third time, and Peter Dinklage picked up another trophy for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama. (GRRM was also in the background of that proposal, which some fans took as a bad luck charm -- Red Wedding, anyone?)

Variety asked GRRM about the end of "Game of Thrones" and the upcoming spinoffs.

The author said he would've been happy for the show to continue past the upcoming six-episode Season 8:

"We could’ve gone 11, 12, 13 seasons. [Showrunners] David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] have been saying for like five seasons that seven seasons is all they would go. We got them to go to eight but not any more than that. There was a period like five years ago when they were saying seven seasons and I was saying 10 seasons and they won, they’re the ones actually working on it."

Honestly, one of the things fans should respect most about showrunners D&D is how confident and consistent they have been in their vision for the show. They knew the story they wanted to tell, and were never tempted by HBO or fans -- or GRRM, apparently -- to stretch it out further.

Even though you could say they compromised to do eight seasons, the final two seasons are basically one supersized season; the first six seasons all had 10 episodes, then Season 7 had seven and Season 8 has six. That's just three more episodes than a normal season. Sure, we're expecting most if not all of the final episodes to be supersized -- basically their own mini movies -- but HBO would've given them anything they wanted to go further.

Many other shows and film franchises could take a lesson from the showrunners to just stick with the vision they had before the fame set in. Don't just continue the story because interest and $$$ are available. Only continue if you have more story to tell.

It's always better to leave fans wanting more. Otherwise you risk outstaying your welcome, with fans wishing the series would just end already. (*Cough* "The Walking Dead" *Cough*)

The world of Westeros certainly has more stories to tell, but they will be told without D&D. Martin talked to Variety about the five prequels in development that span in time from 100 years before "Game of Thrones" to 5,000 years before "Game of Thrones." So far, only one of the prequels has gotten a pilot order from HBO, and that one does take place thousands of years before the timeline of GoT.

"Game of Thrones" will end with Season 8, which will premiere its six episodes in the first half of 2019. Stand by for the first trailer, photos, or really anything official. Kit Harington (Jon Snow) recently warned that not everyone will be happy with the ending.

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