“I genuinely thought it was a joke script”: Emilia Clarke Can Defend Game of Thrones Ending All She Wants But Her Co-Star Felt Differently After Reading it for the First Time

Fans could relate to this Game of Thrones star’s reaction to the ending, proving that it dropped the ball with Emilia Clarke’s finale scene!

Emilia Clarke’s Game of Thrones aired its final season in 2019 and fans still can’t get over how bad the final season was. Unlike the critical acclaim for its seven seasons, the eighth season let down fans with numerous creative decisions about the character arcs and plot. One of the lead stars believed the ending of the series to be a joke until he realized that it was not.

Isaac Hempstead Wright couldn’t initially believe that Bran Stark got to ascend the throne and become the king of the six kingdoms. Before the finale, fans expected Kit Harington’s Jon Snow or Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen to sit on the Iron Throne. However, Jon kills Daenerys and Drogon destroys the Iron Throne in the series finale.

While Emilia Clarke Defends Game Of Thrones, Her Co-Star’s Shock At The Ending Explains Fan Reactions

Talking about the controversial finale of Game of Thrones, Emilia Clarke noted that fans would’ve gotten mad no matter what they did (via The Guardian). She accepted the fate of Daenerys despite declaring at the time of the episode’s release that she stood with her character (via EW). However, another cast member’s reaction perfectly sums up what the finale felt like for fans.

Isaac Hempstead Wright, who played Bran Stark, couldn’t believe the ending when it was revealed to him. Although he was excited to become the king, he thought that the showrunners were kind of playing a prank on him. He shared with EW that he initially thought David Benioff and D.B. Weiss wrote a joke script for every character, making them the king. He told EW:

When I got to the [Dragonpit scene] in the last episode and they’re like, ‘What about Bran?’ I had to get up and pace around the room. I genuinely thought it was a joke script and that [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] sent to everyone a script with their own character ends up on the Iron Throne. ‘Yeah, good one guys. Oh sh*t, it’s actually real?’

Even Wright did not feel that the showrunners were making the right decision. Despite him being the all-knowing Three-Eyed Raven, the Stark boy was mostly a spectator among the numerous players aiming for the throne. Fan-favorite Daenerys was turned into a dictator and a villain and was killed off. Jon Snow, after killing Dany, banished himself to the Night Watch once again.

The leaders of the Westeros chose Bran as the king, who declared independence of the North and crowned Sansa as the Queen. He also appointed Tyrion as his Hand. These creative directions for the characters did not sit well with fans who continue to hate the series finale.

Isaac Hempstead Wright Also Admitted That People Would Be Upset At The Ending

Similar to Emilia Clarke’s response, Wright too shared that people would be upset at the ending and shared that it was difficult to please everyone. He shared that the best fans could hope for from the finale was unpredictability. Unfortunately, the ending turned out to be unpredictably bad for fans. Wright shared with EW:

Not everyone will be happy. It’s so difficult to finish a series as popular as this without pissing some people off. I don’t think anybody will think it’s predictable and that’s as much as you can hope for. People are going to be angry. There’s going to be a lot of broken hearts. It’s ‘bittersweet,’ exactly as George R.R. Martin intended. It’s a fitting conclusion to this epic saga.

Wright also shared that he kind of wanted a different ending to his character arc. He shared that he hoped for a good death scene for Bran Stark in the series finale, with a gruesome exploding head scene or something similar. It seems to be a better idea than what fans actually got.

Game of Thrones is now available for streaming on Max and HBO.