While there have been plenty of contentious shows and movies from the past few months, nothing seems to top Game of Thrones. Back in April, the final season of HBO’s epic fantasy series hit the airwaves, and it didn’t take too long before the backlash became apparent. While some took no issue with how David Benioff and D.B. Weiss wrapped things up, plenty of longtime viewers were left disappointed with how the ending panned out.
This didn’t come as a shock to some – in a show which featured dozens of characters and plotlines, it was pretty likely that a few long-hanging stories wouldn’t get the conclusions they deserve. There’s probably a few reasons that contributed to the backlash from fans, but one Game of Thrones star has his own theory as to why the final season got so much hate in the first place.
As reported by ComicBook.com, a handful of the show’s cast members traveled out west for this year’s annual San Diego Comic-Con. And while there, Conleth Hill, who played Varys for all eight seasons, blamed the media, arguing that they fostered hatred towards the series.
“You look at the amount of people who are here, and we’ere here to thank you for watching us all those years,” Hill said during a panel focused on the show. “We were never divisive as a cast, we didn’t fight among each other, we always did our hardest work and crew for you, and so we’re very grateful for your fandom over the years. And I think that this is the reality, rather than a sort of media-led hate.”
It’s worth noting that although fans were not particularly pleased with the final season – it currently has a 33 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes – the last batch of episodes also received negative reviews from professional critics from all over. In fact, as ComicBook.com points out, Hill himself admitted that he wasn’t too fond of the show’s final season.
“As a whole it’s been overwhelmingly positive and brilliant but I suppose the last couple seasons weren’t my favorite,” Hill admitted. “I can’t complain because it’s six great seasons and I had some great scenes these last two seasons. But that’s when It changed for me a little.”
Frankly, it’s sad that such a beloved series ended as poorly as Game of Thrones did. While a few of us here at We Got This Covered thoroughly enjoyed the majority of HBO’s show, it’s hard to deny that the final season marked a serious drop in quality. We’re not entirely ready to petition for a remake, but we can’t help but wonder how a different team of writers would have handled the final episodes. Here’s hoping that the prequel fares better.