Could ‘Breaking Bad’ lead ‘Game of Thrones’ into darker waters?

It turns out George R.R. Martin is a big fan of “Breaking Bad.”

Earlier this week, the author behind the “Song of Ice and Fire” books, which serve as the basis for HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” posted a tip of the hat to the AMC series after the show’s jaw-dropping episode “Ozymandias.” But in doing so, he also hinted at a very dark future for the characters in his own universe.

“Walter White is a bigger monster than anyone in Westeros,” Martin wrote. Then added, “I need to do something about that.”

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The reaction to “Ozymandias,” in which a major character died and White (Bryan Cranston) finally acted out on his darkest impulses, caused a viewer reaction unseen since ... well, the “Red Wedding” episode of “Game of Thrones” earlier this summer. That episode saw several major characters die and caused stunned and horrified reactions from viewers around the world -- mostly from people who hadn’t already read the books.

The difference, of course, is that the incidents of “Breaking Bad” come just as the series is ending its run. Martin, meanwhile, is still hard at work writing the sixth (and eventually seventh) books in the series. So he’s got plenty of time to devise even more shocking events to rival what we’ve already seen.

Martin then went on to speculate about the chances of his show winning best dramatic series at the Emmys on Sunday. Though he feels assured that “Breaking Bad” is the one to beat next year, this year looks good for fantasy.

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“If the Academy is ever going to give their ultimate accolade to a fantasy show (something that is by no means certain), it’s going to be this year, I think,” he wrote.

If not this year, then it’s fairly certain Martin is plotting events that will push the show over the edge in years to come. The sixth book in the series, “The Winds of Winter,” can’t come soon enough.

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