George R.R. Martin says the Red Wedding was one of the most painful chapters for him to write

Game of Thrones featured some of the most gruesome deaths ever seen in the history of television shows, however, the shock and disbelief that the Red Wedding caused stands out amongst the rest. It was one of those episodes that painted author George R. R. Martin as a cold-blooded character killer. However, the reality was far from what appeared to be, at least according to the writer himself.

In a recent interview with The Independent, Martin admits that writing that awful episode nearly broke his heart, but he had to do it to create a powerful impact on the viewers/readers. He said, “I finished the entire book, except for the Red Wedding. That was such a painful chapter for me to write, losing some characters that I had come to know and love. Nine years I’d been with these characters, and now I was going to kill them horribly! That was difficult.”

He continued, “It’s a horrible chapter, and it upsets people. It makes people angry, it makes people sad. People throw the book against the wall or into the fireplace. When it was on TV, it had the same effect on tens of thousands, if not millions, of people. To my mind, that’s good. We’re talking about death here!”

What do you think of the Red Wedding now all these years later? Do you still remember your first viewing of the episode? Tell us in the comments below!