Iain Glen: The Game of Thrones series finale will satisfy fans, but “you cannot please everyone”

Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont) is among a handful of people on Earth who know how Game of Thrones ends, and you can bet that news outlets are curious to pick his brain about it. The Indian Express is no exception — it asked him whether the series finale will give fans a sense of closure.

"Yes, I hope. I can’t tell, but I am one of the few people who has read the script and I know the ending and what happens. When I read it, I thought it was rather brilliant. I am a bit of a fan of the series as well, and it satiated my expectation and hopes, I felt (it was the) conclusion… But we will just have to see. You know with something this big like Game of Thrones, you cannot please everyone."

Glen’s diplomatic comments remind us of what Maisie Williams (Arya) said when she was asked about the finale: “It’s either going to be everything that everyone dreamed of, or it’s gonna be disappointing. It depends which side of the fence you’re going to sit on. I think no matter what you do there’s definitely going to be that divide. It depends on what people want from the final season. I love it, but I don’t know.”

We can’t help but wonder: What in the final season is making cast members hedge their bets like this? You’d think that people working on this show would be more comfortable being blandly effusive. Does it have anything to do with the cast members breaking down in tears at the table read after they reportedly read their own death scenes? WE HAVE TO KNOW!

But of course Glen isn’t going to tell us. “All I can say is that we will be doing what we have done before and the writers have written great episodes,” he continued. “They have had a great strike rate up to now and I am sure that will continue.” Well, pretty great.

Glen also reminisced about the show’s development over the years. Although it’s easy to forget this, Game of Thrones didn’t start out as a global phenomenon. “I had a hunch somewhere that it might go on to do something, but… the milieu of ‘Game of Thrones’… Fantasy… has not had a great track record. I think everyone was definitely surprised about how it grew year on year.”

Glen believes much of that success is owed to HBO, which he called a “perfect match” for the material. “It is really rare to find a production company who put the finances that were required to create a very diverse world, landscapes and everything the ‘Game of Thrones’ has done.”

As for Jorah himself, Glen thinks he has a softer side we only see glimpses of onscreen.

"I always found a romantic streak in him. The makers never decided to write it in the series and I can understand why because everything about Jorah gets revealed onscreen in the story we have already seen. (And rest) we shall see."

Oh, I dunno if he’s right to say we haven’t seen Jorah’s romantic streak. He’s been holding a torch for Daenerys for basically the entire show.

Anyway, the actor was understandably coy about specifics, saying only that, “There may be surprises…You will have to see what happens up ahead.” If you insist.

Next: HBO execs promise multiple character deaths in Game of Thrones season 8

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