George R.R. Martin, the mastermind behind the novels adapted into the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones, has named his favorite television series finale in a new blog. The famous novelist penned an insightful post on Aug. 29 to appreciate Vanity Fair‘s recent editorial naming the “25 perfect TV episodes from the last 25 years” and named an 18-year-old series finale the best of all time.
The “A Song of Ice and Fire” writer revealed that he scripted only four episodes of Game of Thrones, among which the episode “Blackwater” was ranked by Vanity Fair on its list. To this, Martin wrote an elaborate blog reviewing the entries and shared his personal favorites from the list too. “I haven’t seen all of the other episodes on the list… but I have to say, the ones that I have watched were by and large extraordinary,” the 74-year-old writer wrote.
While most of his blog applauded Vanity Fair’s selections, highlighting the aspects of those episodes he admired, the famed author took the time to “pick one episode that was even more perfect than all the others on the list.” The episode that Martin called “the best finale in the entire history of television” is none other than the finale of HBO’s 2001 drama Six Feet Under.
Though Martin pointed out that he did not love Six Feet Under more than some of the other series like Rome (2005), Deadwood (2004), or Fargo (2014), he admitted that the last episode of the ensemble drama series was far and away the best. “I cannot imagine how anyone could possibly do better,” he added.
The series finale, titled “Everyone’s Waiting,” was written and directed by creator Alan Ball and aired on Aug. 21, 2005. It is often cited as one of the finest series finales in television history by critics worldwide. The episode was also ranked in multiple “best-of” lists and received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations at the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Martin also praised other entries on the list, such as 1999’s The Sopranos episode “The Pine Barrens,” which he called “special,” and the 2003 series The Wire, which he claims came “close to perfection pretty frequently.” He also had elaborate praises for the 2011 anthology series Black Mirror:
“BLACK MIRROR is an extraordinary series in so many ways, but “San Junipero” is the episode I love to watch over and over and tell my friends to watch.”
As for the controversial finale of his show Game of Thrones, Martin has previously expressed his dissatisfaction with how the show went past his books. “The show was ahead of me, and the show was going in somewhat different directions,” he said in an interview with PBS in Chicago (via IndieWire). Martin confirmed that his books will follow a different ending, though the sixth installment, titled “The Winds of Winter,” still has no release date.