Any series finale for a popular show is bound to face criticism. But the backlash against the final episode of “Game of Thrones” was extreme. Fans and critics universally panned the ending, saying it was a huge disappointment after so many years of build-up.
But at least one main character from the show is speaking out in favor of the decision to have Daenerys go full Mad Queen, crown Bran king, banish Jon Snow to the North, and watch Drogon literally melt the Iron Throne. Peter Dinklage, who played Tyrion Lannister on the show, discussed his thoughts during an interview with the New York Times.
“[Fans] wanted the pretty white people to ride off into the sunset together. By the way, it’s fiction. There’s dragons in it. Move on,” the 52-year-old actor said.
Dinklage went on to describe the challenge series creators had with concocting an ending to a series based on books that weren’t finished yet. And he claims that surprising the audience was part of the appeal.
“The show subverts what you think, and that’s what I love about it,” Dinklage said. “Yeah, it was called ‘Game of Thrones,’ but at the end, the whole dialogue when people would approach me on the street was, ‘Who’s going to be on the throne?’ I don’t know why that was their takeaway because the show really was more than that.”
The actor went on to describe how he believed the throne melting was one of the best parts of “Game of Thrones.”
“One of my favorite moments was when the dragon burned the throne because it sort of just killed that whole conversation, which is really irreverent and kind of brilliant on behalf of the show’s creators: ‘Shut up, it’s not about that,'” Dinklage told the Times. “They constantly did that, where you thought one thing and they delivered another. Everybody had their own stories going on while watching that show, but nobody’s was as good as what the show delivered, I think.”
Previously, actor Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow, also defended what happened in the “Game of Thrones” finale.
“When people say to me, ‘I wish you’d been on the Throne or I wish you’d been with Dany on the Throne,’ I disagree because Jon’s place was always in the North,” he told fans during a Q&A session post-finale.
But the actor did admit to being shocked and saddened when reading the script for the first time. After Harington claims he “didn’t realize what was going to happen,” he described his reaction to The Hollywood Reporter.
“I remember my mouth dropping open and looking across Emilia [Clarke] at the table, who was slowly nodding as I went, ‘No, no, no!’ It was a ‘holy (expletive)’ moment,” he shared. “Jaw-dropping.”
“Game of Thrones” ended in 2019, but HBO is developing a prequel series called “House of the Dragon” that explores the world of Westeros 200 years before “Game of Thrones” events occur. It premieres in 2022.