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---
description: We may finally know the third shocking twist that George R. R. Martin told the Game of Thrones showrunners he intends to include in his books.
title: Game of Thrones Finale Seems to Reveal Show&#x27;s Third &#x27;Holy Sh-t&#x27; Twist
image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte56ff9fba49cb250/69894a1686f68eed816ebe40/game-of-thrones-s8-e6-daenerys-targaryen.jpeg?branch=production&amp;width=1440&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
---

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# We May Finally Know the Third Shocking Twist That George R. R. Martin Told the _Game of Thrones_ Showrunners


![Megan McCluskey](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf85e445233dc41d2/698940894ee2620cd9313802/m_mccluskey.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

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[Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)


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## Megan McCluskey


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Staff Writer

May 20, 2019 5:06 AM CUT

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte56ff9fba49cb250/69894a1686f68eed816ebe40/game-of-thrones-s8-e6-daenerys-targaryen.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

HBO

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[Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)


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## Megan McCluskey


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May 20, 2019 5:06 AM CUT

**Warning:** This post contains spoilers for [_Game of Thrones_ ](http://time.com/4913247/game-of-thrones-season-8-premiere-date/ "undefined")[season 8](http://time.com/4913247/game-of-thrones-season-8-premiere-date/ "undefined").

After nearly a decade on the air, [_Game of Thrones_](http://time.com/5588852/game-of-thrones-last-watch-documentary-trailer/ "undefined") has come to an end. And during the show’s series finale, “The Iron Throne,” fans may have finally learned what the [third shocking twist](http://time.com/4346408/game-of-thrones-george-r-r-martin-3-twists/ "undefined") that [George R. R. Martin](http://time.com/5237850/george-r-r-martin-game-of-thrones-change-lady-stoneheart/ "undefined") told showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss he intends to include in his books was.

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf40c8e3babef6f9f/69894a1922fb853d3fe28479/2-courtesy-of-hbo.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in the series finale of Game of Thrones.

Following Hodor’s death in “The Door,” the fifth episode of _Game of Thrones_‘ sixth season, Benioff and Weiss told [_Entertainment Weekly_](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/05/24/george-rr-martin-3-twists-game-thrones "undefined") that, during a 2013 meeting, the _A Song of Ice and Fire_ author had revealed three yet-to-come “holy sh-t moments” that he already knew he was going to write into his series.

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a698fbba6725472/6989477622fb85799ee2803e/game-of-thrones-s6-e5.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp)

HBO

And although neither Martin nor the showrunners have yet confirmed this, judging by the finale, it seems as though the final twist could only be [Jon Snow killing Daenerys Targaryen](http://time.com/5589654/game-of-thrones-jon-snow-azor-ahai-prophecy/ "undefined") to keep the [Mother of Dragons-turned-Mad Queen](http://time.com/5590729/game-of-thrones-finale-daenerys/ "undefined") from ascending the Iron Throne.

The first “holy sh-t moment” took place in the ninth episode of season 5, “The Dance of Dragons,” when Stannis agreed to allow Melisandre to burn his daughter [Shireen](http://time.com/3916034/game-of-thrones-shireen-davos/ "undefined") to death as a sacrifice to the Lord of Light. The second was the revelation that [Bran Stark’s](http://time.com/4345206/game-of-thrones-three-eyed-raven-flashback-detail/ "undefined") meddling in the past was the cause of both Hodor’s condition and death.

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltccab16155f8e3ab9/69894a1a656a3fead5bd71fa/game-of-thrones-s5-e9-shireen.jpeg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp)

Helen Sloan—HBO

At the time of the 2016 interview, Benioff told _EW_ that the third moment was “from the very end,” meaning Jon killing Daenerys would definitely fit the bill. And as far as shock value goes, Jon stabbing Dany mid-kiss before she ever got the chance to sit on the Iron Throne definitely lives up to the hype.

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