When the final season of GAME OF THRONES kicked off on HBO it seemed everyone and their mothers tuned in to see how the epic series would end – and a lot of people were not happy. The season received the worst reviews of the series (but still won the Emmy!), and everyone took to Twitter to share why they didn’t think the season shouldn’t have played out that way, why they think it should’ve, and what they thought about CGI wolves. Needless to say, “controversy” is the word that keeps getting thrown around, and star Kit Harington revealed he had a special way of dealing with it this time around: He just didn’t watch the show.
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The series picked up two Emmys on Sunday, one being for Best Drama Series, and when creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were asked by reporters after their win how they felt about the controversy around the final season, Harington stepped up to the plate (via IndieWire).
“I still haven’t seen the show. So that’s how I dealt with that controversy — I haven’t seen the final season but I know what it took to shoot it. It was hard and all of them put their love and effort into it. Controversy, I think for us, we knew what we were doing was right, storywise, and we knew that it was right for the characters because we lived with them for 10 years. Controversy for us didn’t really affect us.”
That’s certainly one way to stay out of the discussion. Having been there for the whole run of the series and to be the focus of the series’ final scene, perhaps there isn’t much reason to see it play out on screen. Not to mention, Harington understandably broke down during the reading of the final episode, as seen in the HBO documentary about the making of the final season. Probably didn’t want to relive that.
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But then there’s Emilia Clarke, who also shared her view on the backlash with Variety, saying that it’s probably a great sign that so many people voiced their displeasure.
“You know what? It was profoundly flattering is what it was because when someone cares that much that they’re ready to make such a noise about how they believe the characters should’ve been finished and how the story should’ve gone. That’s just enormously flattering. That just shows how much everybody loved it.”
I mean, yes, that’s also one way of looking at it. Benioff and Weiss eventually addressed the topic, and while not giving a clear answer to the question did say they hope the legacy of the show continues to drive people to be watching it decades from now.
“It’s not really up for us to decide what people feel about it,” Weiss said. “I hope people watch and like it in the future. There’s no way to tell how things are going to be perceived in 10, 20, even five years. These things change so fast. The landscape of television changes so quickly, it’s changing as we’re standing here right now. It’s so gratifying to have reached this many people. I hope people a little too young to watch now will grow up to learn about it and watch it as well.
Just as it is for STAR WARS or comic book movies, the fanbase for a show like GAME OF THRONES is certainly passionate, so there was probably no way the show would end that would make everyone happy. This final season suffered for legitimate reasons (pacing, too few episodes, etc.), but everyone quoted here does make a good point in some way. The fact everyone had such strong opinions is a testament to how much the show meant to them; The final season will probably be viewed in a different light a few years from now (see the finale of LOST) and; sometimes, maybe the best thing to do is just stay out of it and find something else to occupy your time with.