Game of Thrones Star Defends Series' Ending

The passionate following of HBO's Game of Thrones ensured that, no matter how the narrative concluded, not everyone would be happy, with a number of viewers expressing their disappointment of the finale over the years, yet star Peter Dinklage recently weighed in on the backlash from fans and expressed his support for the series' conclusion. The actor also noted that part of the ire the final episode drew was in relation to the misguided disappointment felt by viewers, as they were upset to have to say goodbye to characters they had grown to love over the decade. HBO is currently developing multiple spinoffs for the franchise.

"I think the reason there was some backlash about the ending is because they were angry at us for breaking up with them," Dinklage shared with The New York Times. "We were going off the air and they didn't know what to do with their Sunday nights anymore. They wanted more, so they backlashed about that."

The actor also thinks that fans were disappointed by the ending because they expected a more positive outcome, as well as the series finale determining a "winner" of the titular game.

"They wanted the pretty white people to ride off into the sunset together. By the way, it's fiction. There's dragons in it. Move on," the actor joked. "No, but the show subverts what you think, and that's what I love about it. Yeah, it was called Game of Thrones, but at the end, the whole dialogue when people would approach me on the street was, 'Who's going to be on the throne?' I don't know why that was their takeaway because the show really was more than that."

These latest comments echo remarks that the actor made about the experience back in 2019.

"Well, everybody's always going to have an opinion, and that means an ownership. It's like breaking up with somebody. They get upset," Dinklage shared with The New Yorker. "I can't speak for everybody, but my feeling is they didn't want it to end, so a lot of people got angry. I feel like what [the showrunners] Dave [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] did was extraordinary. This happens. Monsters are created. And you don't see it coming. We vote them into office. You look the other way. So for everybody to get upset because they loved a character so much and they had so much faith in that person—there were signposts all along the way for that character."

Stay tuned for details on the future of the Game of Thrones franchise.

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