If you’re worried that Game of Thrones, having largely reached the end of George R.R. Martin’s published materials, would start spoiling the books in season six, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss want you to know that’s not the case. “It’s not really true,†Benioff tells EW of the spoiler fears. “So much of what we’re doing diverges from the books at this point …. People are going to be very surprised when they read the books after the show. They’re quite divergent in so many respects for the remainder of the show.â€
This is a slightly different PR approach from the one the duo has previously used — last year, Benioff told the Oxford Union, “I kind of wish there were some things we didn’t have to spoil in terms of the books, but we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, so the show must go on.†— and it’s notable for being the rare occasion that Benioff and Weiss have purposefully emphasized how different the show is from Martin’s novels. (Normally, it’s Martin himself who’s bringing that up.) And though the show will undoubtedly reveal the answers to some major plot points before the books do, especially when it comes to Jon Snow, Weiss promises that though the broad strokes may be the same, the two works are largely separate beasts: “There are two different versions, and there’s no reason we can see why you can’t be thrilled and surprised and dismayed by both of these different versions of this world.†Sounds reasonable enough, but that shouldn’t keep anyone from arguing about it online.