Some authors are understandably careful with their characters, making sure they survive until the end of the story. And then, there's George R.R. Martin. The writer behind Game of Thrones is known for the astounding body count in his A Song of Ice and Fire books, something that has been passed into the TV show (almost every episode features at least one death).
Sure, people joke about how Martin seems to enjoy killing off characters on every page. However, the Winds of Winter author says he still has a hard time writing off someone the fans have fallen in love with.
In an interview with Fast Company, Martin discussed the difficulty in killing off characters in Game of Thrones as well as his novels. Interestingly, the writer noted that it was fairly easy to write off a character who was despised by fans.
It's safe to say that Martin had no problem with getting rid of someone like Joffrey Baratheon. However, it's a different story when POV characters need to die.
There's a bit of comfort in knowing Martin had some difficulty writing the deaths of characters like Ned or Catelyn Stark. Unfortunately, this might also mean that other POV characters could end up dead in the final season of Game of Thrones.
Game of Thrones Season 8 airs on HBO every Sunday nights.
Related: George R.R. Martin Says Game Of Thrones Prequel Shows Are Still Happening