Fans of the HBO series "Game of Thrones" and those of George RR Martin's book series, "A Song of Ice and Fire" have long been aware that the show will be spoiling much of Martin's sixth book, "The Winds of Winter." Did GOT intentionally leak spoilers for book six in the latest episode titled, "The Dance of Dragons?"
"Game of Thrones" Season 5 recently threw in yet another shocking and unexpected death of one of its characters in the episode titled, "The Dance of Dragons." The episode showed Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) burning his own daughter Shireen alive as a tribute or sacrifice to the Lord of Light.
The episode received many criticisms from fans and viewers of the HBO series alike who regarded the show as brutal for killing off characters that were still alive in Martin's book series. Some fans also noted that such a scene is veering far from Stannis' real character. However, in a behind-the-scenes feature titled, "Inside Game of Thrones," producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss revealed that the death of Shireen was mentioned by author George RR Martin himself during a conversation.
"When George first told us about this [development], it was one of those moments where I remember looking at Dan. It was just like, 'Oh, that's just so horrible, and so good in a story sense.' Because it all comes together," Benioff said in the featurette, according to io9.
Benioff also explained that Stannis and Melisandre have been burning people alive and Stannis was always one who puts his duties above everything else. Elio Garcia, co-founder of 'Game of Thrones' fan site westeros.org cited that he believes that Stannis was left with no choice but to burn his own child to ashes "because he believes the fate of the world lies on his shoulders."
Garcia's co-founder, Linda Antonsson, however, criticized the show for revealing and spoiling details of Martin's sixth book, "The Winds of Winter." Antonsson cited that the HBO series does not seem to care about spoiling book readers for the purpose of using it as a "promotional material."
Antonsson expressed her sentiments on Twitter, saying, "Since D&D care nothing about spoiling book readers, I feel like having a massive campaign to spoil the big one in ep 10. #GameofThrones."
Martin is hoping to release "The Winds of Winter" before "Game of Thrones" Season 6 premieres in 2016.
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