Even though we still have no idea WHEN in 2019 the final season of ‘Game of Thrones‘ will be premiering, we know the end is soon. And with that in mind, we also know that much of the season has already been shot, with the actors well aware of how it is all going to go down, and many of them, including Emilia Clarke (the Khaleesi herself), are downright sad to see it all coming to an end, and very curious about how the fans are going to react to the finale, especially after 8 years of build-up (and A LOT of very high expectations.)
According to Clarke in a recent interview with The Herald Sun while out promoting ‘Solo:’
“People will scream and people will say, ‘That’s exactly what I wanted.’ And some people will go, ‘Huh?’ – my mum, probably.”
Recently, she also spoke about filming her final episodes with Vanity Fair, claiming that her last scene really “f—ed me up … knowing that is going to be a lasting flavor in someone’s mouth of what Daenerys is…” She later went on ‘Good Morning America’ and stated:
“It really is the most heartbreaking thing to be filming the last of anything. I’ve become an emotional wreck on set. They’re like ‘Emilia…it’s okay,’ and I’m like, ‘But it’s the last time!’”
That big about her “mum” saying “Huh?” has some people raising an eyebrow, wondering what Clarke could possibly be referring to, what mystery resolved that could be confusing to her mother. One such theory is the revelation of who Azor Ahai actually turns out to be might be somewhat confusing or may turn out to be someone completely unexpected and off-putting (like if we learned at the end that Cersei was Azor) and that could be what surprises her mum. Of course, this is very little to be building a theory on, but we don’t have much to go on right now. The bits about her being very emotional on set also makes me slightly nervous as I am not sure whether she is just sad to see the series and her character’s story coming to an end, or if it is because Daenerys dies, or a character Daenerys is close to dies (i.e. Jon or Tyrion). As always, we will just have to wait and see.
Clark is not the only one talking about the eventual audience reaction to the finale, Isaac Hempstead Wright (aka Bran Stark) also had some thoughts on the matter. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, claiming the finale would “hit hard,” and then going on to say:
“We’re all so confident in the way this story goes and the message it gives and how the whole story arc works… [The finale] won’t go the way some people want. It will be too happy for some people, or too sad, or too whatever. That’s the nature of an ending. ..Overall, I think we’re going to smash it.”
It is good to hear that the cast has such confidence in where the show is heading, even if they are very emotional about the ending of the series. And after 7 seasons of superior television so far, it is not that surprising to hear that the showrunners are closing out ‘Game of Thrones’ competently and on the terms they wanted, in the way they wanted. I just hope this manages to break the mold yet again, and be a series finale that everyone agrees was well-done and worth the wait, and not go down in history with other finales that left a bad-taste in the mouths of loyal viewers.
