Game of Thrones fans were distraught about the show’s eighth and final season, and one of its stars, Kit Harington, says he felt blindsided by the negative response. Adapting author George R.R. Martin’s seminal fantasy universe, Game of Thrones captured the attention of the world when it first aired in 2011. The HBO series redefined water-cooler talk and was once regarded as one of the greatest TV shows ever made. However, its finale deflated years of hype and anticipation, leading to nearly 2 million fans signing a petition for HBO to re-make the Season 8. Speaking to GQ, Harrington (who played Jon Snow throughout the series) addressed the unprecedented backlash to the show’s final season. While the series lived at the peak of pop-culture discussions since its pilot episode, Season 8 brought it crashing down, and Harrington didn’t know what to make of it. The actor said:
“I went in and everyone loved Thrones; I came out and everyone hated it. I thought, What the f*ck is going on?!”
Harrington has been made deftly aware of the backlash surrounding Game of Thrones‘ finale. As well as signing an immensely popular petition, some fans took to directly attacking the actors online for their involvement with the finale. Five years later, Harrington takes an honest approach to analyzing the show’s final episode. He said:
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I think there were mistakes made, story-wise, towards the end maybe. I think there were some interesting choices that didn’t quite work.”
Kit Harington was Exhausted Working on Game of Thrones
Being an internationally recognized actor has its perks. Obviously, there are the big paychecks, and the traveling around the globe, as well as the sponsorships, free stuff, and getting to work with other bona-fide A-listers. However, as anyone who’s worked on a film/TV set will surely tell you, they are long, grueling days. And Harrington attributes part of Game of Thrones‘ downfall to sheer exhaustion from the cast and crew.
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Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss pumped out eight seasons of a high-budget, CGI-filled, globe-hopping HBO series within eight years. That workload would take a toll on anyone, and Harrington believes that is partly to blame for Game of Thrones‘ lackluster Season 8. Looking back at the show, Kit Harington says he looked “exhausted” in the show’s finale, and was partially glad the series was coming to a close. He said:
“I think if there was any fault with the end of Thrones, is that we were all so f*cking tired, we couldn’t have gone on longer. And so I understand some people thought it was rushed and I might agree with them. But I’m not sure there was any alternative. I look at pictures of me in that final season and I look exhausted. I look spent. I didn’t have another season in me.”
Kit Harington was set to be making his Game of Thrones return in a new Jon Snow-focused spin-off series. However, that show has been canceled indefinitely. According to the actor, it simply came down to the writing process and the creatives involved being unable to settle on a satisfying story. For now, we will have to wait and see whether Harington is ever tempted back to Westeros.
Game of Thrones
is streaming on Max.