Unicorns won’t be in Game of Thrones’ final season, but will be in the books

George R.R. Martin reveals there will be unicorns in future A Song of Ice and Fire books. But the final season of Game of Thrones will miss out.

The most frustrating thing about being a Game of Thrones fan is knowing that should George R. R. Martin throw in anything new in his upcoming A Song of Ice and Fire book series, there’s no way we’ll ever see it on the show. HBO’s Game of Thrones is in its final season, and while there’s a prequel and perhaps spin-offs, the stories and people that matter to us will probably not be the main focus of those shows.

Which is why Martin blurting out a shocking detail from the upcoming books in an interview with Neil DeGrasse Tyson on National Geographic’s Star Talk will leave you feeling more hallow then a White Walker. While explaining the unrealistic take on horses that never tire in other fiction, and his preference for realism, Martin accidentally mentioned his take on unicorns in the upcoming novels.

We even got an “oops” out of Martin which confirms that he didn’t intend to give away that unicorns will be in the future of A Song of Ice and Fire.  And with good reason, because flying magical horses would be a wonderful treat for the fandom that is waiting for these books. However, unicorns are nothing new to this world.

Though they haven’t made a flesh and blood appearance, unicorns have been mentioned before in ASOIAF through legend, rumor, and word of mouth. It seems that Martin is referencing that he will actually be incorporating the magical horses into the story taking place in Westeros.

How could unicorns play within the books? If the story takes shape like the TV series (the books are way behind), the following could unfold. It would be likely that Cersei Lannister as Queen could hire sellswords who ride unicorns or Euron Greyjoy could have hired them for her.

Cersei can’t get elephants, but unicorns, why not? (Plus, unicorns have been rumored to exist in the far reaches of Essos.) Also, Euron has claimed to have obtained unicorn horns from distant lands.

Another theory could be that the few remaining unicorns in the north make an appearance in fleeing from the White Walkers. According to the fifth installment, A Dance with Dragons, Jon Snow has a green dream as Ghost and witnesses Shaggydog kill a Unicorn.

Sadly, this last chapter of Game of Thrones won’t even have a shred of a horned horse in it. However, it’s good to know that unicorns will be featured in the upcoming books. If anything, the producers of the spin-offs may consider using the unicorns in the forthcoming shows.

Game of Thrones continues next Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

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