If Kit Harington outright avoided Game of Thrones season 8 and its subsequent controversy, his co-star Emilia Clarke addressed the blowback head-on, describing it as “profoundly flattering.”
Both Harington and Clarke were in attendance at the 2019 Emmys this past weekend, though it was the latter who was more forthcoming about the eighth and final season of Thrones – a season in which Daenerys Targaryen’s swift downfall sparked heated debate among the show’s fanbase, given many assumed that her character would be the one to “break the wheel” of tyrannical rulers.
And yet, Dany succumbed to the same fate as her father, the Mad King, torching King’s Landing and (almost) everyone in it. But in the eyes of Clarke, the conversation generated by the Game of Thrones finale only underlined just how popular the show really is – something she found “profoundly flattering.”
You know what? It was profoundly flattering is what it was because when someone cares that much that they’re ready to make such a noise about how they believe the characters should’ve been finished and how the story should’ve gone. That’s just enormously flattering. That just shows how much everybody loved it.
On a more personal note, Emilia Clarke went on to describe her own experience following the Game of Thrones finale, and what it was like to reunite with her Westerosi cohorts now that the dust has ostensibly settled.
We’ve had enough space now since filming, since it coming out, since the premiere, and all of that stuff. It’s been all of these different stages. Now, here we are and it feels like everyone’s had some time to cool down a little bit.
Game of Thrones season 8 entered the 2019 Emmys race with 10 nominations, ultimately winning two: Best Supporting Actor for Peter Dinklage and the crème de la crème, Best Drama, the latter of which proved particularly controversial for those who feel HBO’s fantasy drama ended on a low point.