X
CNET logo Why You Can Trust CNET

Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement

George R.R. Martin chooses his least favorite Game of Thrones scene

And it's not from season 8.

Jennifer Bisset Former Senior Editor / Culture
Jennifer Bisset was a senior editor for CNET. She covered film and TV news and reviews. The movie that inspired her to want a career in film is Lost in Translation. She won Best New Journalist in 2019 at the Australian IT Journalism Awards.
Expertise Film and TV Credentials
  • Best New Journalist 2019 Australian IT Journalism Awards
Jennifer Bisset
2 min read
robert-baratheon

Robert Baratheon

HBO

If you're not a fan of how  Game of Thrones  panned out, it seems author George R.R. Martin isn't 100 percent satisfied with the  HBO show either. He's now picked out his least favorite scene -- and it's not from the disappointing season 8.

"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," Martin told James Hibberd for Hibberd's new book, Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon, a behind-the-scenes dive into the show.

"Four guys walking on foot through the woods carrying spears and Robert is giving Renly shit. In the books, Robert goes off hunting, we get word he was gored by a boar, and they bring him back and he dies."

Martin pointed out how the season 1 scene would've played out with a bigger budget. While final episodes of the show reportedly cost $15 million each, debut season episodes were in the $6 million ballpark.

"So I never did [a hunting scene]. 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."

Here's a look at the low-key hunting scene.

Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon will be released Tuesday, Oct. 6 and is currently available for preorder.

New Movies Coming in 2023 From Marvel, Netflix, DC and More

See all photos