The final season of the fantasy drama, Game of Thrones, is set to conclude this Monday. But the past five episodes of the eighth season have left the viewers with mixed emotions. While some of them have found reasons to what's unfolding on the screen, many of them are a bit disappointed with how the makers are churning out the last season.
But not just viewers, some of the cast members, too, have expressed their disappointment. Fans are also looking at cast interviews about the show with a whole new perspective.
Actor Conleth Hill, who essayed the role of Lord Varys in the show, told the media that while his overall takeaway from the show has been positive, the last couple of seasons haven't been his favourite. Conleth was asked if he has been reduced to the sidelines in the past few seasons, to which he has been quoted as saying, "That’s been my feeling the last couple seasons, that my character became more peripheral, that they concentrated on others more. That’s fine. It’s the nature of a multi-character show. It was kind of frustrating. As a whole, it’s been overwhelmingly positive and brilliant, but I suppose the last couple of seasons weren’t my favourite.” He further added, “If he was such an intelligent man and he had such resources, how come he didn’t know about things? That added to my dismay. It’s now being rectified with getting a great and noble ending. But that was frustrating for a couple of seasons".
Lena Headey, who played the iconic Cersei Lannister, expressed her concerns over her character sleeping with Euron Greyjoy in the first episode. In an interaction with fans, Lena said, "I kept saying, ‘She wouldn’t, she wouldn’t, that she would keep fighting,’ but (David and Dan) obviously know what they’re doing and were adamant Cersei would do what she had to do." As for her final scene, which was turned into more of a love saga, the actress said, "I wanted her to have some big piece or fight with somebody".
While Cersei's death was a scene full of love, another story that took a turn as a love story was that of Brienne of Tarth. Gwendoline Christie, who plays Brienne in the show, shared that she was disappointed when the makers decided that her character will take down a romantic path with Jaime Lannister. She'd said in an interview, "I know it’s just a character and I’m an actor who’s lucky to do her job. It’s so heartbreaking. But it’s life, isn’t it? Life is heartbreaking. I never assumed they would be together. I didn’t think that would happen. And now I can feel a million hearts breaking."
Fans are also looking at an old interview of Emilia Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen, in which she jokingly calls the final season as, "Best season ever!" while looking into the camera cheekily. In another interview, Emilia spoke about how her character's fate at the final episode of the show "messed her up". She said, "It f*cked me up. Knowing that this is going to be the lasting flavour in someone's mouth of who Daenerys is...".
With every episode, this clip gives new subtext. #GameOfThrones #DemThrones pic.twitter.com/7VzIflPzCI
— David (@Dreams_on_Paper) May 13, 2019
The most outright positive responses have come from the Stark sisters. Sophie Turner said of her character Sansa Stark, "I’m really happy where this storyline for her has ended up," while Maisie Williams described the final season as "incredible".
HBO is releasing a documentary about the making of the final season after the show concludes, so no doubt we'll get more insight into the cast's emotions then.