Everything Game of Thrones stars have said about season 8

A Fandom Divided

So we know the final season of Game of Thrones will be spectacular, and we know it will be surprising. But according to multiple cast members, it also has the potential to divide fans right down the middle. Take a look at what some of them have said and judge for yourself:

• Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark): “It won’t go the way some people want. It will be too happy for some people, or too sad, or too whatever. That’s the nature of an ending. Midway through a season, there’s always the idea that this is going to continue and somewhere along the way we’ll make up for it all. When it comes to a conclusion, this is the end. Nothing more is coming, and the certainty of it being over will definitely bother people. But overall, I think we’re going to smash it. (Laughs)”
• Maisie Williams (Arya Stark): “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. You never know.”
• Turner: “I think a lot of fans will be disappointed and a lot of fans will be over the moon, I think. I think it will be really interesting to see people’s reactions.”
• Kit Harington (Jon Snow): “I think a TV series that’s spanned eight, nine years is an incredibly difficult thing to end. I think not everyone’s going to be happy, you know, and you can’t please everyone.”
• Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen): “People will scream and people will say, ‘That’s exactly what I wanted.’ And some people will go, ‘Huh?’ — my mum, probably.”
• Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont): “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.”

Those are some strong words. Does this mean we’re headed for an ending akin to the one we got on The Sopranos, which fans still debate to this day? What about the Game of Thrones series finale has cast members hedging their bets like this? As Hempstead Wright implies, are endings just divisive by their nature, since there’s nothing to follow them? Or is there something about this ending in particular that’s going to stir up controversy?

I don’t know, but I sure am interested. We’ll give David Nutter, who directed half of the episodes in season 8, the final word:

"All I know is that David and Dan spent a lot of time to tell the story in a proper fashion, and the audience will be completely satisfied. Not everybody will be satisfied, but I feel the audience will be satisfied with the direction the series goes. It lives up to all the building it’s coming to, I promise you that."

Here’s hoping.