Emilia Clarke Explains Why She's 'Annoyed' With the 'Game of Thrones' Ending
As we get more distance from the underwhelming Game of Thrones series finale, the slow drip of truth continues to trickle out of the cast. Back in September, Emilia Clarke claimed that fan blowback was “profoundly flattering” even in its negativity, as it showed the investment of the show’s fans. Now, in a new interview about the finale, Clarke has taken off the gloves.
Speaking about Daenerys’ ending, which saw her murdered by her nephew and lover Jon Snow, Clarke said, “I felt for her. I really felt for her. And yeah, was I annoyed that Jon Snow didn’t have to deal with something? He got away with murder—literally.”
The end to Daenerys’ story, wherein she turns to genocide of innocent civilians in pursuit of the Iron Throne, came as a shock to many. For Clarke, who had known about the ending years in advance, described the conclusion of the show as “like coming out of a bunker.” She went on to add, “I knew how I felt when I first read it, and I tried, at every turn, not to consider too much what other people might say, but I did always consider what the fans might think—because we did it for them, and they were the ones who made us successful, so... it’s just polite, isn’t it?”
Despite Clarke’s thoughtful approach to fan investment, fans were and remain vocally dissatisfied about the final season of the show. A petition to remake Season Eight “with competent writers” is still going strong at over 1.8 million signatures, while the fallout continues to be felt for showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who admitted late last year that they were making things up as they went along.
Clarke joined the fans in their frustration, saying that the truncated final season could have been “spun out” for longer. She also echoed fan frustration about the show’s prioritization of big budget battles, saying that the show needed more dialogue while adding, “It was all about the set pieces. I think the sensational nature of the show was, possibly, given a huge amount of airtime because that’s what makes sense.”
Clarke admitted she was frustrated that Daenerys didn’t get a happy ending, but described the show as a “gift” for her as an actor. When asked if she was happy the show ended when it did, she described happy as “a funny word,” adding, “The show was so big. I was a small cog in a very, very, very big machine.”
While the show gave Clarke a dependable structure, she admitted that being a cog isn’t always for the best.
“Doing a show so many people had opinions about doesn’t serve your creativity on any level,” Clarke said.
Up next, Clarke is starring on the West End in a much smaller project: a modernization of Chekhov’s The Seagull.
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