Jacob Anderson, Nathalie Emmanuel tease a surprising, heartbreaking final season of Game of Thrones
By Dan Selcke
A critical mass of Game of Thrones stars gathered at the 70th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday night, and pretty much all of them were asked about the upcoming final season of the show. Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm) and Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei) were no exception. After confirming who they support to take the Iron Throne (Daenerys, obviously), the pair teased the dickens out of the ending, which Anderson says came as a shock. “I really like it, but I was really surprised,” he told Elle. “I didn’t expect it. I didn’t see it coming.”
Emmanuel, demonstrating a thoughtfulness and patience that reminds me of her character, jumped in to add some context:
"I think they tell the story so, so well, that you can’t help but love it no matter who you were rooting for in the end. Game of Thrones is known for shocking, it’s known for surprising, it’s known for breaking your heart into a million pieces, and then building it up again—putting you back together, sort of. So you’re used to that at this point, and I think that’s also true for season eight."
If Game of Thrones didn’t break my heart at least once during the final countdown I would consider it a disappointment. Bring it on. I can take it, so long as I have a pillow to sob into when the time comes.
They’re not the only ones getting their tease on. Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth) — who cut possibly the most memorable figure of the night in a shiny yellow number with long sleeves, a short train, and a belt of rope — spoke to ET Online about what to expect. Her thoughts pretty much fall into step alongside Anderson’s and Emmanuel’s.
“We finished filming the final season, which has been…an incredible process. And I think we’ve all worked incredibly hard to give you all the gift you deserve. It will be something you could never expect.”
There are only so many things we can’t expect. Between now and spring 2019, the fans can go through all of them, I’m sure.
Christie also revealed the penalty for spoiling things out of turn. “You’re fined. And if you don’t have the money, they you lose one of your toes.” That explains why everyone stops at teases.
Finally, speaking after Game of Thrones won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, Kit Harington (Jon Snow) and Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) took turns at the mic describing how the show has changed their lives. They probably could have each gotten away with just saying “a lot,” but they give us full service:
“I met my wife in this show, so in that way, it gave me hopefully my future family and my life from here on in,” Harington said. “That’s the main thing it did for me…It’s changed it completely…You could not ask for a better job to take you through your 20s than to be an actor in Game of Thrones. It’s been the most amazing thing.”
Clarke concurred. “Yeah, really similar, apart for the wife bit,” she quipped. “It’s given me my entire career. It’s given me my entire life as I know it now. I genuinely owe it absolutely everything.”
Congrats to all the winners at this year’s Emmy Awards, and to Game of Thrones in particular. Only one more ceremony to go…
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