George R. R. Martin will write just about anything besides the book he’s been promising for years. The novelist has made many blog posts over the years about his (allegedly) “upcoming” installment, but he decided to take a break from letting fans down to talking about everyone’s favorite topic: TV!
In response to Vanity Fair’s “25 Perfect TV Episodes From The Last 25 Years,” Martin mentioned that his episode of Game of Thrones titled “Blackwater” landed on the list, though he had some better ideas for what he considers “perfect.”
The author mentioned the usual popular episodes, like The Sopranos episode “The Pine Barrens” and “Ozymandias” from Breaking Bad, but there was one that he felt was better than any of the silly shenanigans that Walter White was pulling. Martin wrote:
if I had to pick one episode that was even more perfect than all the others on the list, though, it would have to be the final episode of SIX FEET UNDER. I liked that series well enough, though I cannot say I loved it as much as I loved ROME or DEADWOOD or FARGO or a few other shows missing from the list, but that last episode was far and away the best finale in the entire history of television, and I cannot imagine how anyone could possibly do better.
It’s hard to imagine a more perfect ending than seeing how every single character dies, but having it set to “Breathe Me” by Sia? That was a top-tier move from HBO. It gave closure that shows right now don’t seem to give, which is probably just to keep finales open-ended in case a spinoff is ever in the works. Listen, finales can be hard. George would know.