George R. R. Martin, the author of The Song of Fire and Ice books that inspired HBO TV series Game of Thrones, first had to explain the infamous Red Wedding scene when it was featured in the third book in the series, A Storm of Swords, nearly ten years ago. Now that the scene has aired on the TV series, he has to answer to enraged fans yet again.

The Red Wedding scene in Game of Thrones' penultimate episode of its third season saw beloved characters of the show meet a bloody end. Robb Stark (Richard Madden), his pregnant wife Talisa (Oona Chaplin) his mother Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) and his bannermen sit for a feast at Lord Walder Frey’s for the wedding of his uncle to one of Frey’s daughters. After apologizing for a previous slight and seeing the bride and groom off to their bedding ceremony, it’s revealed that it was all a trap. Robb dies, his mother dies, as well as his pregnant wife in quick succession, followed by the mass murder of his men.

Martin knew that he would kill Robb off early on in writing the series, knowing that he wanted the story to be an unpredictable one. “I killed Ned [Stark] in the first book and it shocked a lot of people,” Martin told Entertainment Weekly, talking about Robb’s father. “I killed Ned because everybody thinks he’s the hero and that, sure, he’s going to get into trouble, but then he’ll somehow get out of it. The next predictable thing is to think his eldest son is going to rise up and avenge his father. “

Despite neither Robb or Catelyn being a “viewpoint character,” fans of the book series and TV show alike have had hostile reactions to their deaths. In addition to acknowledging the acting of Madden and Fairley, Martin believes that the manner in which their deaths are carried out has something to do with the reaction as well. "There’s a certain amount of foreboding leading up to it. It’s a betrayal. It comes out of left field. It’s at a wedding feast," said Martin. "Robb has made his peace and you think the worst is over. Then it comes out of nowhere. There’s also secondary characters killed. Then outside hundreds of Stark people are killed. It’s not just two people."

Does Martin regret writing The Red Wedding – definitely not. “It’s probably the most powerful scene in the books,” the author said. “It cost me some readers, but gained me many more.“

Game of Thrones third season finale airs Sunday on HBO at 9/8c.

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