‘Game Of Thrones’ Writer Bryan Cogman Confirms His Spin-Off Is Dead & Talks Writing Last Sunday Episode

Before the beginning of Season 8, in the boring two years in between the last season and the current one, HBO spent a fair amount of time developing potential spin-offs for “Game of Thrones.” The idea is that once this final season ends, fans won’t have to wait long before venturing back into Westeros with a new cast and a new story to obsess over.

The network enlisted five groups of writers to pitch ideas for spin-offs, with only one (so far) making the cut — the prequel from author George R.R. Martin and writer/showrunner Jane Goldman. One of those 4 other pitches came from frequent ‘Thrones’ writer Bryan Cogman. However, as he confirmed to Variety, his potential spin-off is officially dead in the water.

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“This [episode] is it for me in terms of Westeros,” Cogman said, who wrote this past Sunday’s Season 8 episode. “It’s been a beautifully cathartic thing re-watching the series recently, it’s been ten years of my life.”

He also said that the recent episode, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” is a great way to end his ‘Thrones’ run, saying he “couldn’t think of a more beautiful episode to go out on.”

However, even though last weekend’s episode was wildly enjoyed by fans of the series, with some hyperbolically calling it the best ever (not even close), Cogman says his first draft of the episode was most definitely not up to par.

“[The first draft] was a sea of red [marks] like blood dripping from my soul because it was a mess and they were right,” he revealed. “It was a lot of talking about stuff that had happened and asking questions the audience already knows.”

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Obviously, through some rewrites and notes, the final product was filled with some of the most memorable moments of the entire series, with certain scenes that people have been waiting years to finally witness. If you’re a fan of the series, you know what I’m talking about.

So, considering we know that HBO is moving forward with one prequel, and not the one pitched by the writer, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is a hell of a way to go out. For Cogman, his watch has now ended.

The are four episodes of “Game of Thrones” left, with this Sunday’s “The Battle of Winterfell” is perhaps the biggest, most anticipated yet.