Emilia Clarke: “Multiple endings” written for Game of Thrones season 8

Thanks to leaks and on-set photos, pretty much the entirely of Game of Thrones season 7 was spoiled before so much as the first episode aired. Speaking to The Telegraph, Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) talked about the security measures in place this year to make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself. “We have a very strict social-media ban this year, because people need to stop spoiling it for everyone,” she said. “It’s really frustrating.”

Clarke has a widely-followed Instagram account, and while she’s posted a few eyebrow-raising things ahead of season 8 (she broke the news that she was dyeing her hair Daenerys-blonde herself), there’s nothing that could amount to a spoiler.*

Beyond that, Clarke confirmed what HBO programming president Casey Bloys said back in September: that the production will film multiple conclusions to season 8 to further defend itself against leaks. Per Clarke, creators and showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss have “written a number of different endings.”

"None of the cast know what the actual ending is. If there’s ever a leak of any kind, don’t believe it because it’s probably not true."

Now, we’d take this with a few hulking teaspoons of salt. It’s not unheard of for Game of Thrones cast members to fudge the truth a little when trying to mislead the audience. And even if Clarke is telling the truth, it’s doubtful that HBO would go to the expense of filming multiple endings that were actually significantly different from each other — it’s still a company with a budget. It’s possible that there are a few versions of the final scene floating around out there, each of which involve different characters, but we’re guessing that’s as far as it goes.

It’s also worth noting that when asked about the possibility of multiple endings, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister) poopooed it pretty hard. “It seems really stupid to me,” he said. “They know how expensive it is to shoot. You’re not going to waste $100,000 a day to shoot something you’re not going to use. It’s not going to happen.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Clarke talked about how playing Daenerys has changed her everyday life. ”It’s given me a real insight into what it feels like to be a woman who stands up to inequality and hate.”

"And as [Daenerys] has become more empowered as a woman, you can’t hide anymore. You are adding to the voices that are going to make people realise an equal society is what we’re aiming for."

You can read the whole thing at The Telegraph, although it’s behind a pay wall.

Next: Someone is raising money so HBO can include Ghost in season 8, and other curiosities

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*For those interested, Clarke also has a Twitter account. Despite having over half a million followers, she’s only ever posted once.