Game of Thrones ended nearly seven years to the date, yet the tender feelings around the HBO show’s ending are still raw—for both its fans and its stars. The fantasy phenomenon based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series changed TV forever, bringing the genre to the mainstream in a way that had never been done before. And though the series was widely acclaimed, the final season left a bitter taste in viewers’ mouths.
With complaints ranging from rushed pacing to plot holes, to say the fandom was disappointed by Game of Thrones season 8 would be an understatement. And for the cast and crew of the show, this reality was understandably difficult to navigate.
Kit Harington defends Game of Thrones season 8, despite “mistakes” that may have been made
Kit Harington, who played Jon Snow for all eight seasons, recently talked about this during an appearance at Motor City Comic Con in Michigan this past weekend, getting candid on his thoughts all these years later.
As seen in the video below, Harington explained that the reason he’s still “very protective” and “very defensive” over the final season—as well as the show as a whole—is because he feels the creators were the best people to do the job, and the process of making the final season wasn’t easy:
Kit Harington during his panel yesterday at #MotorCityComicCon. pic.twitter.com/oMXuFnDFiW
— Kit Harington Updates (@BestofKitH) May 17, 2026
Because showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with the full Game of Thrones team, were the ones to bring Martin’s epic story to life, Harington trusted them to finish out the show in the best way possible. He admitted that there may have been “mistakes” or choices people didn’t agree with, but at the end of the day, he believes the team “did the right thing.”
Harington also explained that the process of making the final season wasn’t an easy one, and he saw firsthand the amount of work that went into doing it. Of course, fans really only see the finished product, so it’s easy for viewers to take the behind-the-scenes production for granted.
See Harington’s full quote transcribed below:
“The season 8 thing, guys, I feel very protective of it still. And the reason is, cause I mean, I guess you all saw it from the outside, whereas I saw it from the inside. So I knew, I know how much care and how much love and how much work and how much life went into making it, and the conversations that would have happened and the arguments around the table about what way to go, and what thing to do. It’s not a small process. It’s an incredibly complex and lengthy and intricate process. And I feel that the best people to be able to do that were the people who gave us the first seven seasons, that brought it to TV, that brought George’s thing and brought it to TV. And so my feeling about it is, there may have been mistakes, as we can all decide whether we liked it or not, and what we liked about it, what we didn’t. But there’s no doubt in my head that what they did was the right thing because they’re the people who brought it to us. And I kind of stand by that. Like, I feel very defensive of it as a show and as a season. And I think I always will, actually.”
The pressure of Game of Thrones
While fans felt incredibly letdown by the final season of Game of Thrones, the reactions were particularly cruel. The aftermath of the series finale was intense, with someone famously creating a petition to remake the final season “with competent writers”—a petition that has over 1.8 million signatures. Benioff and Weiss faced vitriol, and the cast wasn’t spared either.
Weeks before the final episode aired in May 2019, Harington checked into a rehab facility for what was reported at the time to be “stress and exhaustion and also alcohol,” and in the years since, he’s opened up on the pressures of fame and navigating negative reactions about him on the internet. The English actor was eventually diagnosed with ADHD and was able to get sober.
“The fact that I am proud of getting sober is in and of itself a mark of being an entirely different person,” Harington reflected in 2024. “And now, every set I step onto, whatever work I do, I’m proud of, because I know I put everything into it.”
Harington talks Jon Snow sequel
As for revisiting the Game of Thrones franchise, which he has such a long history with, Harington isn’t planning to jump back in just yet. Of course, it was first reported in 2022 that a Jon Snow show was being developed, but those plans have since fizzled out. At Motor City Comic Con, Harington discussed the sequel series again, noting that he didn’t want to do it without “the right reasons.”
“But I did feel there was something left to say, and I did think the idea of exploring something kind of entirely around [Jon Snow], or a lot around him, would be interesting,” Harington added. “Because remember in Game of Thrones, you’re part of a huge ensemble, and it would be quite interesting to look at a character dive more focused on [him]. And that’s why I was intrigued, but we couldn’t find the right thing, and so we put it down for the moment.”
The last we heard, a sequel series was still in development, with an idea to potentially bring Arya Stark back. At this time, however, no set plans have been announced.
Miss seeing Harington on your screen? His most recent movie, The Dreadful, in which he stars alongside Game of Thrones alum Sophie Turner, is now streaming on Prime Video. You can also catch him in two upcoming shows: Hulu’s Count My Lies and BBC One and MGM+’s A Tale of Two Cities. Neither projects have release dates but are expected sometime this year. And if you still haven’t watched Harington in HBO’s Industry, we highly recommend it.
Keep up with all the latest Game of Thrones news here at Winter Is Coming.
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