Nearly a year out from the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones, and the stars are getting a little looser with what they thought of the controversial ending. Among the most controversial parts of that ending was the death of Daenerys Targaryen at the hands of Jon Snow, who killed her after she flash-fried half the population of King’s Landing. Fans talked a lot about whether that was fair, to the characters or the actors or the audience. Talking to the The Times, Emilia Clarke — the Mother of Dragons herself — had a few things to say about it.
“Yeah, I felt for her,” Clarke said of her iconic character. “I really felt for her. And yeah, was I annoyed that Jon Snow didn’t have to deal with something? He got away with murder – literally.”
Technically, Jon Snow was sent to the Wall as punishment for killing his queen, but seeing as he once joined the Night’s Watch voluntarily and fully planned to spend his whole life there, that’s basically a slap on the wrist. And he may have just wandered off to join the wildlings north of the Wall anyway. Yes, all in all, he got off pretty easy, with Tyrion Lannister getting off easier still.
That said, after Daenerys did what she did, it’s hard to blame Jon too much for taking action. But the real problem — or at least my real problem — with the whole affair is difficulty believing that Dany would do what she did in the first place, but we should probably stop before we chase this issue down a rabbit hole from which there is no emerging.
I think a lot of fans agree that one way the show could have made Dany’s fateful decision a little more believable is by giving us more context and setup. Responding to criticisms that the final season was rushed, Clarke agreed that it “could have spun it out for a little longer.”
Man, I’m looking forward to that inevitable Game of Thrones reunion years from now when the cast all let loose with their opinions.
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