Decoding Winds of Winter: Every Hidden Hint George R. R. Martin Has Dropped About the Ending

We are still chasing the same mythical beast: George R. R. Martin’s The Winds of Winter. It’s been more than 14 years since A Dance with Dragons, and at this point the wait feels like a plot twist of its own. Martin has even mused about not being sure which story he wants to write after this one. But he hasn’t exactly gone silent either. Across interviews, blog posts, and long rambles about fantasy, he’s dropped enough hints to sketch the shape of his endgame. Here’s what he’s actually revealed — and what that likely means for how this saga wraps.

The ending Martin keeps pointing at

Martin has said over and over that he’s aiming for a Tolkien-flavored finale — hopeful without being neat. He likes the word 'bittersweet.' Think victory with scars that don’t heal, not a body-count bloodbath or a fairy tale curtain call. He often cites The Lord of the Rings, specifically the way the world is saved but Frodo is never the same and sails West. He’s also talked about coming to appreciate 'The Scouring of the Shire' as an adult — the part where even home needs fixing after the war. If you’re expecting sunshine and puppies at the end of A Song of Ice and Fire, you haven’t been listening.

Yes, he gave the showrunners the broad strokes

Before HBO’s series outran the books, Martin sat down in Santa Fe with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss for about a week and walked them through 'where things are going' — character by character. He told them the big beats he planned, not the chapter-by-chapter details, and hoped to finish before the show caught up. They did catch up. The TV ending, by his own telling, shares major DNA with his blueprint but won’t be identical. The series got the skeleton; the books still get the muscles, nerves, and a pulse.

Death is bendable, but it isn’t cheap

Resurrection happens in this world, but it’s not heroic wish fulfillment. People come back changed — sometimes damaged. Lady Stoneheart is the textbook example. That lens makes Jon Snow the giant question mark, and Martin has a habit of sidestepping direct talk about Jon in interviews. He’ll chat about Tyrion, Daenerys, Sansa, even Littlefinger — and then swerve away from Jon. When he explained how he split A Feast for Crows from A Dance with Dragons, he said Dance was meant to focus on Daenerys and the Wall, then glided right past Jon’s final-chapter fate like a man refusing to spoil himself. If Jon’s story continues beyond the dagger, expect a price to pay — physical, emotional, moral, or all three.

He does know his endpoints (and his backups)

Martin has said he hasn’t written the ending yet, but he knows the tone and the major milestones he’s aiming for, with 'bittersweet' as the north star. He’s also admitted he keeps contingency versions in his head — darker branches he might take if the writing demands it. However long the theory-crafting goes on, the only person who knows who ends up on (or off) the Iron Throne is still Martin.

No, the books won’t just reprint the HBO finale

After the show ended, Martin posted a blog entry titled 'An Ending.' He praised the scale of the adaptation and the people who pulled it off, then reminded everyone that his version is still incoming: Winds first, then A Dream of Spring. He won’t give a date — he’s said as much — but he says he will finish both.

'The same ending as the show? Different? Well... yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes.'

He’s also flagged the biggest difference between mediums: time. The final TV season had about six hours to land the plane. He expects the last two books to run around 3,000 manuscript pages combined — and if he needs more chapters, he’ll add them. Translation: if the HBO climax felt fast to you, the book version will be the slow-cooked cut — same kitchen, more courses, deeper seasoning.

Characters have a way of grabbing the wheel

Martin loves to say his characters sometimes surprise him, and he gave a great example from Book 1. Catelyn Stark was never supposed to leave Winterfell after Bran’s fall. The plan was: send a messenger south with that odd dagger and stay put. Then he sat down to write and realized that’s not what a mother whose child was just attacked would do. Catelyn goes herself, and the ripple effects reshape the whole series. He doesn’t think characters literally whisper to him — more like one part of his brain correcting the other — maybe a right-brain/left-brain tug-of-war. Point is, so-called 'minor' figures can balloon into major arcs by the time Winds lands. Don’t assume anyone stays in the background.

The two-book finish line is still the plan

If all goes according to the blueprint, The Winds of Winter will be followed by A Dream of Spring and that will be the end of A Song of Ice and Fire. Martin has admitted Winds is spectacularly late — he once put it at 13 years behind schedule — and he cops to being terrible with deadlines. He says he’s still working, sometimes in bursts, sometimes derailed by, well, everything else: a whole constellation of spinoffs, anthologies, and TV producing. He’s said he’s still chipping away and that the books will be the definitive version of his story, not a rehash of the show.

He’s fine with you arguing about it forever

Martin likes ambiguity. He leaves prophecy, symbols, and clues for readers to interpret rather than spoon-feeding answers. He’s even predicted the discourse: some people will prefer the show’s end, others will swear the books are the real deal, and the internet will fight about it. He’s okay with that. His endgame isn’t designed to settle every question — more likely it closes the door while leaving windows open.

And yes, fans have already sniffed out big pieces

Back in 2014, Martin said a few readers had correctly guessed where it all goes. He thought about swerving just to dodge them, then decided against it. Guessing the destination isn’t the same as surviving the trip, especially in this world. Moral complexity, not curveballs for their own sake, is the point — and nobody is safe until the final page.

Where we are in the publication timeline

• A Game of Thrones — 1996
• A Clash of Kings — 1998
• A Storm of Swords — 2000
• A Feast for Crows — 2005
• A Dance with Dragons — 2011
• The Winds of Winter — TBA
• A Dream of Spring — TBA

The state of the wait

So that’s the map: bittersweet finish, TV got the outline, resurrection with a cost, more pages coming than the show could ever fit, characters still mutinying mid-draft, and an ending designed to keep us arguing. Will the book actually arrive? Or are we all just chasing dragons at this point? Drop your bet in the comments — just don’t expect me to settle it before George does.