George R.R. Martin has developed a reputation as a bloodthirsty writer. The mastermind behind A Song of Ice and Fire has never been afraid to kill off major characters, sometimes with little warning, and always due to the consequences of their own actions.
Towards the end of Martin's first book in the series, he kills off the apparent main character, Ned Stark. Ned's death isn't even the most shocking of Martin's kills, as in the third book of the series, A Storm of Swords, a seemingly innocent wedding ceremony results in the shocking massacre of the Stark forces, including Ned's wife Catelyn and son Robb.
With two more books to go in A Song of Ice and Fire, Martin is bound to kill off countless more fan favorite characters before the final page. Some fans are more eager to know who's next on the chopping block than they are to learn who will sit on the Iron Throne at the series' end.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Martin discusses one character who he'd wanted to kill off for a long time. However, based on that character's role in Game of Thrones, the TV adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, Martin may be second guessing her fate.
Sansa Stark was going to die
"I was going to kill more people...I was going to have Sansa die, but she's been so appealing on the show, maybe I'll let her live," Martin told The Hollywood Reporter.
Sansa's death would make for a huge shock. The eldest Stark daughter has acted as a point-of-view character since the first book in the series, and has appeared in four of the five published novels so far, sitting out for only A Feast for Crows. Currently, Sansa is hiding in the Vale, disguised as the bastard daughter of Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish, and very much alive.
Additionally, Sansa survives Game of Thrones, ending the series as Queen in the North. Killing the character off would make for a far more bleak conclusion for the fan favorite, especially considering how large a role Sansa plays in the final few seasons.
The relationship between A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones
Martin hides an equally prominent revelation within his discussion of initially wanting to kill Sansa. He says that Sansa's appearance on Game of Thrones, in which she is played by Sophie Turner, caused him to potentially change his mind.
Unlike most major adaptations of book series, Game of Thrones ended before A Song of Ice and Fire. While the show began its eight season run as a fairly faithful retelling of Martin's work, the series began to drift further and further away from the source material as it went on. Eventually, around the time of Season 6, Game of Thrones ran out of material from A Song of Ice and Fire to adapt, so the series forged ahead, telling its own story based somewhat on Martin's outline for the final books in the series.
To date, audiences have never read an A Song of Ice and Fire book that Martin wrote after watching Game of Thrones. The most recently published book in the series, A Dance with Dragons, came out in 2011, only a few months after Game of Thrones premiered. As such, readers have yet to see how the show influenced Martin's writing.
Martin's possible change of heart regarding Sansa acts as an example of how Game of Thrones may affect the final two installments of A Song of Ice and Fire. Because Martin's version of the story, and its ending, isn't set in stone just yet, what he has seen on Game of Thrones will influence those final two books.
Martin's ending for A Song of Ice and Fire will almost certainly differ greatly from the final seasons of Game of Thrones. Given the overall negative reception to season 8, Martin may be taking extra care to steer his story away from some of the more controversial plot points from the show's conclusion. However, Game of Thrones is bound to have some influence over Martin, and The Winds of Winter will mark his readers' first chance to see how the show affects his main series work.
Notably, Martin never confirmed in his interview whether or not Turner's take on Sansa ended up sparing the character from her initially planned fate, so audiences will still have to wait for The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring to find out what's to become of her.