Emilia Clarke says she was blindsided by the major plot twist involving her character Daenerys Targaryen in the season finale of Game of Thrones on Sunday.
**SPOILER ALERT**
The British actress shared her thoughts on the unexpected fate of her character in episode 6, the final episode of the wildly popular HBO series, which ended on Sunday.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Emilia admitted she was “flabbergasted” upon discovering Daenerys dies at the hands of her lover Jon Snow (played by Kit Harington). Her death meant that Jon’s crippled brother Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) was declared King of the Six Kingdoms, with his sister Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) becoming the Queen in the North.
“What, what, what, WHAT!?” Emilia recalled her shocked reaction when she read the script for the first time. “Because it comes out of f**king nowhere. I’m flabbergasted. Absolutely never saw that coming.”
In the show’s emotional finale, Dany was murdered by Jon after her dragon burned down the city of Westeros killing innocent men, women and children.
“It was a f**king struggle reading the scripts,” Emilia admitted during the interview. “What I was taught at drama school – and if you print this there will be drama school teachers going ‘that’s bulls**t,’ but here we go: I was told that your character is right.”
“Your character makes a choice and you need to be right with that. An actor should never be afraid to look ugly,” the 32-year-old said of the murderous direction Daenerys took. “We have uglier sides to ourselves. And after 10 years of working on this show, it’s logical. Where else can she go?”
But Emilia said she wasn’t completely surprised or disappointed with the way her character was killed off.
“I thought she was going to die,” she added. “I feel very taken care of as a character in that sense. It’s a very beautiful and touching ending. Hopefully, what you’ll see in that last moment as she’s dying is: There’s the vulnerability – there’s the little girl you met in season one. See? She’s right there. And now, she’s not there anymore.
“But having said all of the things I’ve just said, I stand by Daenerys. I stand by her! I can’t not.”
Actor Kit Harington, who finished off Daenerys, shared his reaction to her shocking death in the series finale.
Harington, who starred in all eight seasons, predicted her demise would divide fans but he insisted she deserved a fate worse than death. The evidence of her cruelty was always there, he said.
“She crucifies people. She burns people alive. This has been building,” the British star told Entertainment Weekly. “But if you track her story all the way back, she does some terrible things. So, we have to say to the audience: ‘You’re in denial about this woman as well. You knew something was wrong. You’re culpable, you cheered her on.'”
Game of Thrones has been accused of sexism when it comes to its portrayal of its female characters and Harington admitted the decision to murder Daenerys just as she realizes her ambition of taking the Iron Throne will fuel the sexist accusations.
But Harington said why shouldn’t they die just because they’re women?
“One of my worries with this is we have Cersei (Lannister) and Dany, two leading women, who fall,” he continued. “The justification is: Just because they’re women, why should they be the goodies? They’re the most interesting characters in the show.
“You can’t just say the strong women are going to end up the good people. Dany is not a good person. It’s going to open up discussion but there’s nothing done in this show that isn’t truthful to the characters. And when have you ever seen a woman play a dictator?”
Photos by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images | Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic | HBO
when is this thang finally over?
I did not watch either. But my friends swear by this show (like I did with Scandal). So in that sense I get it…..
The series finale was yesterday. Its over now.
I’m on season 4 now (Didn’t read the write up and dodging all these spoilers are crazy). Its a good show but it seems like season 8 was disappointing for a lot of people
It will be a disappointment to you as well.. I was gonna watch it all over again, but they f***** up this season so much, I cancelled HBO.. smh
I feel you Boo! Want my Sunday night time with my Hubby BACK before Football season ?
Ion watch this https://media1.giphy.com/media/3ohc15TmFoS2M1Yi8o/giphy.gif
This girl SO MUCH better with light hair!
In other news… Gayle King either Combed and Flatironed her wig OR got a new one.. Look better
Beautiful said by Kitt.
The Hollywood narrative never ever makes the woman evil. Especially the white woman. The white woman is normally seen in Hollywood as the savior, the heroine, the good pure one. Now Hollywood is pushing this tough woman narrative. Game of Thrones did the best job in displaying a more well rounded female character like of Cersei. She did an excellent job also she was a great villain.
Shut yo mouth ????
I have never seen one episode of this show…..
“On my knees” Please be a new one, please be a new one….. ???
Cersi was a calculating ish but Dani was a inbred manipulative demon both were responsible for the death of innocent men women and children used as pawns to absolute power.Power corrupts and God does not condone incestuous relationships so they and the men they effed them with were all damned to hell.It was a fitting ending to a barbaric season.
The dragon was the only one with the sense to burn the object of their true desire the Iron thrown.
I must be hungry because I read combed as cornbread. SMH. Let me go fix myself something to eat.
???
i’m one of three people in the world who is not into/caught up into this show. i tried, but meh…
Poor Jon Snow.
Amen! She’s a real basic broad without the lace front.
Me neither. Never did.. never will.
I don’t feel like I’m missing much either.
Me neither. Never did.. never will.
I don’t feel like I’m missing much either.
I saw it coming. The episode was pretty predictable.
You can pretty much stop at Season 6, maybe 5 if you get bored with it. I forget which season/episode a conniving major character gets their just due, but after that, all downhill.
Same here.
Season 7 was Zzzzzzzz.
Don’t want to post a spoiler for others, but let’s just say I did not expect who wound up becoming the head of the six kingdoms. I liked how Sansa stood up for the North. The scenes with the dragon are epic.
He got what he deserved. I was sad for him but if he would have fought for his rightful place, the innocent would not have fallen at the hands of Dany.
He was weak as a leader… IMO
rofl…
Your hubby not into basketball? Many of them were tuned in to BB!
Mine is a football guy too.
He liked staying in the background unless he was fighting. Always had a pained look on his face, too.
That red wedding in Season 3 tho!
My favorite Character … besides the dragons …. got nothing else
I can’t stomach Sansa … sweet lordt … let me get out of here
GoT was such a Shock and Awe kind of show, which made me LOVE it… expect the unexpected… but the finale was so anti-climatic, and although unexpected, put together as if no one cared anymore… I loved Season 8 all the way up until episode 6… this season was RUSHED in my opinion… could have been so much more… such a let down to a GREAT series
I didn’t like her character much, either. Every time I saw her on screen I wanted to drop kick her, lol, but I loved that she went hard for the North.
That Sansa was jealous as hell in thee end ….. so much betrayal … smh …. but glad its over
Last night’s episode was very disappointing. Bran winds up on the Throne!? Wtf? The writers were given extra time by HBO to mesh the show out. HBO even offered to give them another season, but thw writers were done with GOT to begin working on Star Wars. I didn’t want Cersei to die the way she did. In fact, i wanted her to have that baby and that baby be born a dwarf like her brother. I wanted Brienne to exact revenge on Jamie after he took her virginity and went back into the arms of his sister. There’s a lot of shit that I wanted to happen but didn’t because this season was rushed.
Varys was a good character. He had determained the Khaleesi was bad. Maybe if they focuses more on why Varys thought the realm should have been protected from her it would have made more sense. Like showing flashbacks of the MadKing and how similar Danerys was to his madness. It just made a big leap from she’s the “breaker of chains” to she’s dangerous. I would have wanted to see Verdi commit suicide. That would have been an ultimate ending and for Jaime to run back to her like that made him look like a 1 handed wimp.
Oh yes, Drogon was probably the best actor of the episode. When he realized his mother was dead he truly mourned and I felt that.
I’m still smh at how it all ended. It really wasn’t even realistic. Greyworm didn’t kill Jon Snow after discovering that he killed their Queen. A prisioner, who betrayed his Queen and part of the most hated family, gets to decided who’s King… Smh smh
That brown hair ages her badly.
Was not expecting for Rob Stark sexy ass to get killed like that. Damn!
She is very plain Jane looking with dark hair.
Either another season of 8 shows to tie things up or an elongated season Eight of 12 to 16 shows. This was underwhelming and they all know it. I think a dwarf child for Cersei would have been great Karma for her. I don’t think the writers wanted to give the pregnant queen a horrible ending (even though they have done so to others). They took the easy way out imo. It also seems all the characters went weak in the end, all of them including Brienne and Arya. It was a light speed rush.
The throne should have been melted in season one. Many lives would have been spared and specially my time investment. In the end, the smartest one of them all was Drogon. If mommy can’t have the throne, no one else can.
I knew either Bran or Sansa would rule. The finale sucked but I am glad it’s over. HBO subscription cancelled.
Don’t forget they screwed up again and showed his hand, instead of the gold prosthetic. The actor forgot to wear it, lol. But you are right, Dany was going mad and Varys caught on. A couple of more episodes would have given her the character development she deserved.
She really is.
He really isnt. Just during playoffs and even then, he isnt as loyal as he is to football. Thats what I get for marrying a southern dude ?
That scene when he blasted the Iron Throne was so powerful because her death was the result of her desire for it.
hadn’t watched this show until about a month ago. binge watched/skipped around until i caught up so that i could watch the finale live. i must say, i’m glad that my favorite character, other than the dragons – tyrion- lived. he truly played the long game. cersei was also a favorite of mine and i feel like she and her jamie met their deserved fates.
nothing for the starks. except rip ned. he was really the only one i cared about.
not surprised with the ending for dany (who looks SO much different without her wig. definitely an interesting looking woman) she had become the very thing she claimed to despise. it was so weird that they kept infantilizing her character. while i’ve never read the books, i found it quite odd that this obviously grown a** woman was repeatedly referred to as a girl/child.
Oh damn and it’s so good right now (Joffrey bitch azz just got poisoned) ???. This happens with every show I get into ????? Walking Dead eventually became a disappointment too
We never saw the Mad King, maybe is we saw flash backs of the Mad King then we would understand that Danerys was losing it. Varys was an advisor to the Mad King so they could have easily let Varys have flashbacks and connect the two. I feel cheated.
Who are you telling?! I was so into TWD that I named my dog after a major character. That show is another major disappointment for me. I stopped watching after they killed Sasha off. I just lost all energy for it.
And who was Varys(sp) sending the letters to in the previous episode? Why show that if they’re not going to expand on it? I understand the writers were anxious to move on, but I would have preferred it they would have followed through. There is nothing worse than a suck-ass ending to one of the greatest shows on TV in which dedicated fans had been watching and waiting for years.
Agreed.
Thank you! They could have done a quick montage of showing Varys flashbacking when Dany burned Kings Landing, letting the audience see how mad The Mad King was. And then show him talking to Tyrion.
Never seen 5 seconds of this show but I like the top of her dress.
Dany quit it’s a series, that you got paid very well for. Besides you were becoming your dad. You burnt down a entire city!
It ended when she died 40 minutes into the show there was not much left to do.
Nah you bugging the show is good -_- hater. Go watch BET
I hated how when he became sick that she ordered Varys to find his own cure.
“She’s a real basic broad without the lace front.”
This can be said about sooooo many women. Lol
Why does she look so much older in person? Wow what makeup can do for you!
not watching this devlish nonsense
The finale episode was so wack I was mad. Why they do the mother of dragons like that? They exiled Jon when hes the true heir to the iron throne. Now Bran the broken suppose to rule over the 7 kingdoms? FOH!
Be nice she’s suffered 2 brain aneurysms and has brain surgery.
I was like ughhhhh so wack of a ending..
Not a hater of GOT, just a season 8 hater, yes.
You are missing out. Truly. Honestly.
I really don’t know why people are so surprised about Dany and the way she ended. She was nothing but a coloniser.
I wasn’t happy about Bran taking the throne. He has abilities beyond everyone else, but did nothing with them. He sat around while everyone else did the work. He didn’t deserve it.
That was Jorah, not Varys.
Haven’t watched..no intentions of watching.. https://media2.giphy.com/media/XJCL959KwYbE4/giphy.gif
it seems that most of the characters on this show looked better AS THEIR CHARACTERS..which is strange….all of them with the exception of the blond-headed woman who I thought was a lesbian , look better IN CHARACTER. Forgive me, I just only watched this last season because of the Gemini. He is a fan. I never was….so I don’t know all the characters name.
IN REAL life???? You serious? The lady up top had brain aneurysms in REAL life? Wow.
Daenerys was my favorite character.. That dragon was pissed off when he killed her.. I enjoyed when he picked her body up and flew away .. I did expect more from the finale episode.
?????
Yes, that was seriously incredulous.
Mines too! I think they made her too dark. I would have loved it if she all but tore up the Red Keep… then stopped!
She was angry… and went too far!
I can’t help but to think Daenerys could be brought back to life… like her nephew!
Only 6 people know that Jon is the true heir.
The seventh person is dead!
Bran the broken rules only 6 kingdoms.
Sansa said… I Love you but NO!
She is Queen of the North.
I’m about to cancel mines too! Rofl
I agree!
Whatever lol
After the first 2 episodes it turned to shit.
Why was Jon even a prisoner? Everyone else that killed their king or queen becomes king/queen.
How did they even know he stabbed her when the dragon flew away with her body and Bran is king but leaves his brother rotting in prison… Jon Snow is a dumbass.
Ending was wack…nuff said
I blame the writers who were in a hurry to move on.
Yes, she did. She almost died (IRL) in season 1, from what I read.
The show was phenomenal until the last season. It seemed rushed and like they took no real thought in the storyline anymore.
Im gonna hopefully wait for the book. I can guarantee you the different will be different and more fleshed out. I’ve been waiting 8 years. This is what happens when you don’t release the book first and then the series.
Blogs were reporting that the 8th season cost something like $9 million to make. For all that money we get a weak storyline/ending and barely visible cinematography ?
Me too ?
The lacefront all throughout the series was tragic asf ?