George R.R. Martin reveals his least favorite Game of Thrones scene from all 8 seasons

Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin reveals his least favorite scene from the show, and it’s probably not one many fans are expecting:

Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon is an upcoming Game of Thrones oral history book by Entertainment Weekly’s James Hibberd, who had unfettered access to the cast and crew during filming. The book is packed with behind-the-scenes tidbits, from an account of the show’s disastrous unaired pilot to a thorough walkthrough of the Battle of Blackwater Bay from the people who were there. We can’t get enough of the excerpts EW is releasing, and this latest is no exception.

In a new excerpt, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin reveals his least favorite scene from all eight seasons of the show, and it’s probably not one many fans were expecting. Rather than choosing something from the show’s divisive eighth season, Martin zeroed in on a small scene the sixth-ever episode, “A Golden Crown,” where King Robert, his brother Renly, Lancel Lannister and Barristan Selmy go hunting in the woods:

"Where we really fell down in terms of budget was my least favorite scene in the entire show, in all eight seasons: King Robert goes hunting. Four guys walking on foot through the woods carrying spears and Robert is giving Renly s—. In the books, Robert goes off hunting, we get word he was gored by a boar, and they bring him back and he dies."

As a hunter myself, this is what many of my hunting trips look like (minus the spears). But the last time I checked, I’m not a king, which makes all the difference. “So I never did [a hunting scene],” Martin continued. “But 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! He wouldn’t have just been walking through the woods with three of his friends holding spears hoping to meet a boar. But at that point, we couldn’t afford horses or dogs or pavilions.”

Although Game of Thrones had a big budget in its first season compared to a lot of other shows, it was nothing compared to what it would become, and it wasn’t enough to pull off some of the things Martin had in mind. He makes a fair point, though: the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms isn’t likely to simply go hunting in the woods with a couple buddies. Still, I’m a little surprised he chose such a low-key scene.

Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon lands on bookshelves and digital October 6.

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