Emilia Clarke Says ‘Game of Thrones’ Ending Would Upset People ‘No Matter What We Did’
The ending of Game of Thrones is highly contested among fans. However, Emilia Clarke doesn’t think they would have been happy with any ending HBO put forth. Here’s why.
‘Game of Thrones’ ending sparked outrage among many fans
For a while, Game of Thrones held fans’ attention with incredible storytelling, acting, and graphics. However, after building fans up season after season, it all came crashing down in the final moments of the HBO series.
Most fans were upset at the way Daenerys Targaryen’s story ended. She worked hard to build up an army of supporters throughout the series and made promises to be different from her predecessors. But in the end, she lost her good conscious and became a blood-thirsty and power-hungry version of herself, which caught many fans off guard.
Also, as The Gamer pointed out, some fans argue that the Game of Thrones ending was terrible because HBO rushed it. After seven seasons of building up the world and characters of Game of Thrones, the HBO series sprinted toward the finish line with copious amounts of blurry action in season 8.
Emilia Clarke thought the ‘Game of Thrones’ ending was a challenge, but she respect it
In a June 2022 interview with The Guardian, Clarke addressed the highly contested Game of Thrones finale. Upon her first read of the script, Clarke admitted the final season was “definitely a challenge.”
“I walked out my door, took my keys, forgot my phone and just kept walking,” she elaborated, alluding to disliking it herself. In the end, she accepted it.
“I totally understand and respect why they did it,” Clarke added. “There’s a depressing reality of how it ended that actually feels based in truth, which no one wants for their favorite fantasy show. I’m not sure in what other direction she could have gone.”
Despite those fans who despise Game of Thrones’ ending, Clarke says it’s “the ultimate flattery.” In her opinion, fans wouldn’t be happy regardless. She concluded: “No matter what we did, we would have upset people because it was ending.”
George R.R. Martin is working on a new ending
Now, the author of the source material George R.R. Martin is finishing the final two books of the series. In 2020, he promised that the book ending will be completely different from the show. There has been a lot of speculation about the Winds of Winter release date, but Martin has not announced an official release for the book at publication.
‘Game of Thrones’ prequels and sequels coming soon
As if the books weren’t enough to look forward to, fans are getting even more Game of Thrones content in the near future. House of the Dragon will premiere on August 21, 2022. The prequel takes place 200 years before the fall of the throne we see in Game of Thrones and details the beginnings of House Targaryen, including the events that led to the Dance of the Dragons — the Targaryen civil war.
More recently, Martin shared news of another Game of Thrones spinoff centering around Jon Snow. Kit Harrington will reprise his role, but other plot details are still under wraps. The series could deal with the consequences of Jon being a Targaryen.
Right now, the working title for the series is SNOW, according to a blog post from Martin. Stay tuned to Showbiz Cheat Sheet for updates.
