Board Thread:TV Show Discussion/@comment-1600847-20150615133347/@comment-5014364-20150620142522

Well, because Benioff and Weiss are never honest in interviews.

Frankly I'm on the fence, though; maybe they did have enough hubris to think they could do two books in one season - that doesn't mean they were right, though.

But it's a matter of "the lady doth protest too much" with the actor contract issue -- they kept saying "seven or eight seasons" then suddenly "we always said seven!" only to then, after the contract issue, be told "you can have as much time as you need".

But yes, I think it is plausible they actually wanted to get two books into one TV season.

"Slow meandering season with no payoff"? Use Hardhome. We can't have a Red Wedding style climax ALL THE TIME, and it necessitated drastic cuts and condensations to Sansa, Stannis, and Dorne, which are indefensible.