Amazon’sFourth WingTV show is poised to become the next big fantasy adaptation, and it can learn fromGame of Thrones’mistakes. While there are manyongoing fantasy TV seriesthat Amazon’sFourth Wingcan look to for inspiration, the books' popularity and focus on dragons makeGame of Thronesan obvious choice. After its massive mainstream success,Game of Throneshas become the standard for fantasy television. However, the HBO show’s later seasons have undeniable flaws, and new projects would be wise to avoid these when aiming for a similar legacy.
Game of Thrones’divisive season 8highlights some of the series' later shortcomings, many of which stem from its departure fromGeorge R.R. Martin’s booksand the author’s diminished involvement. Fortunately, knowing what went wrong towards the end of the HBO series gives Amazon a good idea of what to avoid withFourth Wing.AndFourth Wingalready looks set to address several of the prior fantasy series' problems, painting a promising picture for the adaptation’s future.
5Rebecca Yarros Could Be More Heavily Involved In The Fourth Wing Show
George R.R. Martin Became Less Involved In Later Game Of Thrones Seasons
One wayAmazon’sFourth Wingshow could avoid repeatingGame of Thrones’mistakes is to keep Rebecca Yarros involvedin the adaptation throughout its run. This benefited the first four seasons ofGame of Thrones, which arguably remain the strongest chapters of the fantasy series.Martin wrote episodes ofGame of Thronesduring this period, and according toDeadline, he was also included in the creative process. Unfortunately, his involvement in decision-making dwindled over time, which likely impacted the show’s interpretation of his characters and story.
Keeping a work’s author in the loop is a great way to ensure faithfulness in an adaptation, andthat’s something readers are hoping for withFourth Wing.As Yarros is an executive producer on the upcoming series and has posted updates, it seems she’ll be included. With any luck, this will continue beyond the initial outings, ensuring thatFourth Wing’s adaptationcaptures the aspects of the books that readers love.Yarros' updates about the TV showare promising so far, suggesting the characters and dialogue will match the books. This should put readers' minds at ease.
4Fourth Wing’s TV Show Won’t Overtake The Books
The Empyrean Series Will Be Finished Before The Series' Final Seasons
Martin’s diminished involvement wasn’t the only reasonGame of Thronesbegan to struggle in its later seasons; it also passedtheSong of Ice and Firebooks, asThe Winds of Winterhadn’t come outwhen it started adapting the latter half of the story (and the sequel has yet to receive a release date as of this writing). While Martin gave the showrunners details about his ending, they were forced to get there without source material.TheFourth Wingshow must avoid such a situationin order to accurately tackle the books. Fortunately, that shouldn’t be a problem.
It’s doubtful that Amazon will put out three seasons of TV before Yarros writes the nextEmpyrean Seriesbook.
With three of the five plannedEmpyrean Seriesbooksout already,there’s plenty of time for Yarros to finish her story before the TV show catches up. Filming onFourth Winghasn’t even started, so it’s doubtful that Amazon will put out three seasons of TV before Yarros writes the nextEmpyrean Seriesbook. And the author herself toldVarietythat “the show has no chance of getting to Season 4 before I get to Book 4.” Thisall but guarantees theFourth Wingshow won’tfollow inGame of Thrones’footsteps in that regard.
3Fourth Wing Will Have Greater Representation
Rebecca Yarros' Books Already Have Greater Diversity
AmongGame of Thrones’biggest criticisms was its handling of diversity and representation. In general, the HBO series lacked diversity — and where it did exist, it wasn’t always handled very well. From the sexual violence many women on the show faced to the poor treatment of its characters of color,Game of Thronesdidn’t do the best job of including a range of perspectives or giving them the depth they deserved.
Fourth Wingcan outshineGame of Throneswhen it comes to diversity and inclusion, as it’s already basked into Yarros' story.Fourth Wing’s heroine has a disability, there are multiple LGBTQ+ characters, and some of the most prominent players are people of color. Thus far, Yarros has handled representation throughoutThe Empyrean Serieswith care, and there’s little reason to think the Amazon show will do any differently. This would be a huge step in the right direction for fantasy television.
2Fourth Wing Can Handle Its Villains Better Than Game Of Thrones
The Venin Are Already More Fleshed Out Than The White Walkers & Night King
Part of the reasonGame of Thrones’endingwas so underwhelming was becauseit didn’t do its biggest villains justice after building them up for eight seasons. The Night King and the White Walkers were defeated in just a single episode, andGame of Thronesleft more questions than it answered about these undead beings. Meanwhile, Cersei Lannister didn’t get the comeuppance she so desperately deserved, with season 8 seeing her crushed by debris rather than confronted by one of the characters she’d wronged.
Fourth Wingshould steer clear of thisGame of Thronesmistake by giving its villains plenty of developmentprior to the last season — and by ensuring their endings fit seasons' worth of setup. Thankfully,Onyx Storm’s expansion of venin loresuggests that the book series and its adaptation will do a better job with the venin thanGame of Thronesdid adapting the Others. And if theFourth Wingshow gives its human villains satisfying send-offs, it will avoid repeating one ofGame of Thronesseason 8’s biggest missteps.
1Fourth Wing Can Avoid Doing A Complete 180 On Its Biggest Character Arcs
It Should Heed What Happened With Jaime Lannister & Daenerys Targaryen
The other aspect ofGame of Thrones' ending that hurt the series' legacy was season 8’s willingness to do a complete 180 on all the show’s character development — without doing the work to explain why it was happening. Jaime Lannister’s sudden regression is probably the best example, but even Daenerys' Mad Queen story and Tyrion’s sudden bout of naivety make no sense after everything that came before. Such turnarounds left viewers frustrated with these characters and where they ended up.
Amazon’sFourth Wingshow can avoid this mistake by ensuring that it doesn’t rush to the finish line.
Amazon’sFourth Wingshow can avoid this mistake by ensuring that it doesn’t rush to the finish line, sacrificing much of its character development in the process. The steady progression of Xaden turning venin inOnyx Stormsuggests any major twists will be properly built to, assuming the TV series follows Yarros' books. With any luck, this means we won’t have to contend with a sudden villain turn or characters acting completely differently in the series' final outing.
