Game of Thrones, the TV adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, is hailed as one of the best contributions to pop culture. Over the years, the HBO show has garnered a massive worldwide fandom. The epic saga boasts such rich lore and iconic world-building that the fans are forced to talk about it for hours.
It cannot be denied that the storytelling and the deep focus given in establishing the lore make G.R.R.M one of the best names in writing. Still, many fans have tried to point out certain plotholes on the internet, some of which are still left unanswered. However, we got one of the best internet moments when such a fan thought to directly expose Martin with a potential plothole and failed miserably on camera.
How did a Game of Thrones fan try to expose George R.R. Martin?
This awkward fan encounter played out when George R.R. Martin talked at TIFF’s In Conversation With… George R.R. Martin on Game of Thrones (see YouTube). According to a viral clip from the entire session, a GoT fan thought of exposing the author with a potential plothole regarding the Valyrian Steel.
It is well established in the Game of Thrones lore that the secret to forging Valyrian Steel was lost in the historical Doom of Valyria. The fan labeled his question a “very detail-oriented fanboy question” and asked how two of the maesters have Valyrian Steel links when we are not supposed to know how they are made.
It is with the Maesters who all forged their own links for the each subject that they master. Valyrian Steel is not supposed to be known how to be made but two of the Maesters have Valyrian Steel links.
Only the maesters, who had studied the “higher mysteries” got the Valyrian Steel links. Although the fan did not claim which two maesters he was talking about, only 1 in 100 maesters have the Valyrian Steel link. Nevertheless, the question did not seem very “detail-oriented” as even the general fans know that the Valyrian Steel cannot be made but can be reworked.
View this post on Instagram
Martin explained it using the two iconic Valyrian longswords, Oathkeeper and Widow’s Wail, that were made by reworking Ned Stark’s Ice after the latter was beheaded.
Valyrian Steel can be reworked. They cannot make new Valyrian steel but as you see when the twin swords of Oathkeeper and Widow’s Wail are created in King’s Landing, you can take existing Valyrian steel and you can rework it.
After George R.R. Martin completed his answer, the host was quick to realize that the fan’s plan failed badly- “Oh you thought you had him. So wrong. You were so wrong.” While it can be agreed that certain plotholes exist in the Westeros saga, this particular question was far from being one of them.
George R.R. Martin has recently welcomed criticism from Stephen Colbert
Despite his immense contribution, George R.R. Martin has been subjected to major online scrutiny for his delay in publishing the sixth novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Fans were supposed to receive the book around 2015-16, but still, there is no report about it. Although some fans even agreed to wait patiently for another compelling tale, the author seems to be busy with everything else but writing the novel.
The author who contributed significantly to the world of Elden Ring recently took to his blog to criticize the logo of the ongoing House of the Dragon series. Martin has a problem with how the Targaryen emblem shows the dragon with four legs instead of two. Even The Late Show host, Stephen Colbert was frustrated with the author scratching his head on a show’s logo instead of focusing on his novel.
According to @colbertlateshow via Instagram, Colbert said:
Got it, George. And I bet you’ll totally nail the correct number of dragon legs in The Winds of Winter… if you ever finish writing it! Okay? Less of this [makes talking hand movement]. More of this [makes typing hand movement]! It’s all made up!
Even the fans are very annoyed that there has been an immense delay in the sixth novel. Following The Winds of Winder, a final novel A Dream of Spring was also announced. However, with such an extensive delay, it will be interesting to see if George R.R. Martin can complete the entire saga.
Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon can be streamed on Max.
