Seven Years Later, Game of Thrones Star Is Still Absolutely Livid About the Finale

Wrapping up a cultural juggernaut like Game of Thrones was never going to please everyone – let’s be honest, it barely pleased anyone. For most of its run, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss had the security blanket of George R.R. Martin’s sprawling novels to guide them. But once the series shot past Martin’s last published book, things started to go off-piste, culminating in that notorious eighth season where everyone, cast included, seemed a bit bewildered.

In case you needed reminding, here’s a quick refresher: by the time Season 8 rolled around, Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke) had gone from fan favourite “Breaker of Chains” to, basically, dragon-powered tyrant, at least according to some on-screen council of anxious advisors. In the end, Kit Harington’s Jon Snow decided that the only way to save the world was to put a knife in her chest. Subtle, it wasn’t.

The fallout from all this hasn’t exactly vanished. Game of Thrones’ legacy is still up for debate—just ask House of the Dragon, which has to live in its shadow whether it wants to or not. And it’s not just angry online fans stewing over the finale: even cast members are still chewing it over. Emilia Clarke, for one, has recently said she’s still 'absolutely livid' about her character’s fate. And honestly, who can blame her?

Emilia Clarke Opens Up

Talking to Variety, Clarke gave some proper insight into what playing Daenerys was actually like – and how it felt being handed those infamous final scripts. After eight years as the “Mother of Dragons” (and possibly HBO’s favourite merchandise machine), Clarke had to make sense of Daenerys’s abrupt zigzag into villainy. She said:

'I was given the seasons, and I, to the best of my ability, empathised and understood and tracked every choice she made so it felt like mine. I felt like that was what my job was.'

She also made it clear that she wasn’t exactly pulling creative strings behind the scenes:

'Aside from what I brought as an actor, I didn’t have any creative input, nor did I want any.'

If anyone out there thought actors get to call shots on character arcs, there you have it. By Clarke’s account, Benioff and Weiss were notorious for making sure everyone stuck exactly to their script, word for word – a bit rigid, if you ask me, considering how messy Westeros tends to be.

From Daenerys to... Something Else

Spending close to a decade as one of television’s most recognisable faces tends to leave a mark – and, for Clarke, a bit of career typecasting. But with newer projects (like the Peacock series Ponies), she says she’s finally managed to break out of the dragon-queen mould and appreciate Thrones for what it was: huge, world-changing, but not everything.

'I have gone through every circuitous route to get to the place that I am now, which is finally being able to be very grateful for everything that Game of Thrones did and has given me. I no longer feel trapped in it, or trapped in the result of being in it. I feel just really lucky that it happened to me — even luckier that I’ve had time to understand what that was, and now I feel firmly on the other side.'

Worth Remembering...

• Benioff and Weiss only had Martin’s books as a guide up until season 6. After that, they were winging it.
• The final season split fans, critics and the cast themselves. Clarke is just the latest in a line of cast members to share candid feelings.
• Clarke still thinks highly of the showrunners, even while taking issue with their handling of her character’s big finish.
• Despite everything, she credits Game of Thrones as her breakout role – one she can now finally look back on with a bit of distance.
• George R.R. Martin still hasn’t published the last books. Yes, people are still waiting. No, we don’t know when that will change.