Game of Thrones: This is George R. R. Martin’s least favourite scene

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, George R. R. Martin said his least favourite scene in Game of Thrones occurred in season one when King Robert and his men went hunting.

The scene played out differently on film as in the books, and it was mostly due to budget constraints. The series creator explains:

“Where we really fell down in terms of budget was my least favourite scene in the entire show, in all eight seasons: King Robert goes hunting”.

Game of Thrones showrunners spent approximately $6 million per episode, however, that still wasn’t enough to bring Martin’s vision to life. He explains the books.

Game of Thrones’ most ‘disappointing scene’

No royal hunting party

The estimated $6 million per episode, a substantial budget for 2011, still proved to be insufficient to bring Martin’s ideas to life. In the series, it was Robert, Renly and four of his men. In the book, it was hundreds of men.

“I knew what a royal hunting party was like. There would have been a hundred guys. There would have been pavilions. There would have been huntsmen. There would have been dogs. There would have been horns blowing–that’s how a king goes hunting!”

The scene in the show – six men out hunting and then a wounded King Robert returns and dies – is not what Martin had in mind. However, Martin explains that the show “couldn’t afford horses or dogs of pavilions”.

Watch: Game of Thrones hunting scene

To Rickon or not to Rickon

It wasn’t always smooth sailing on set, either. Martin revealed that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss wanted to exclude the youngest of the Stark children, Rickon Stark, from the show.

“The biggest thing was Dan and David called me up and had the idea of eliminating Rickon, the youngest of the Stark children because he didn’t do much in the first book”.

It was only after Martin explained how important Rickon Stark for the plot later one, that Benioff and Weiss decided to keep him in the show.

Fans will recall that Rickon and his direwolf Shaggydog was sent to Skagos, where he was hiding for years with his wildling baby sitter Osha before the Boltons tracked him down.

The only people to ‘blame’

In another interview, Benioff and Weiss said they would have done things differently on the show if they had to do it over again. However, they “don’t know if there’s anything [they] would want to discuss publicly”. Weiss explained:

“Prince once said something about how any record you listen to that you think is terrible, somebody worked themselves to the bone to make it. So many people work so hard on any aspect of a thing. So when you say something critical it can sound like you’re blaming somebody else. And really the only people who are to blame are us – and I sure as hell don’t want to blame us”.

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