While some actors have found peace with the Game of Thrones finale, the road to closure has been anything but smooth for others.
When a series dominates the cultural landscape like Game of Thrones, the finale will inevitably bear the crushing weight of millions of expectations. But as we all know, expectations are tricky. They’re like that one relative who’s always a little too hard to please. In the case of GoT, the final season became a battleground of opinions, with many fans feeling let down by how their favorite characters’ journeys ended.
At the heart of the controversy was Daenerys Targaryen, the once-untouchable ‘Mother of Dragons’, whose stunning transformation into the Mad Queen shocked everyone. Her tragic death at the hands of Jon Snow—her lover, her nephew, and the one person who was supposed to share her vision—left viewers gasping for air.
What’s fascinating here is the raw emotion this finale sparked not only from fans but from the actors themselves. Jason Momoa, who portrayed the mighty Khal Drogo, couldn’t help but voice his frustration at what happened to his beloved Khaleesi.
Jason Momoa’s furious reaction to the Game of Thrones finale
When the final season of Game of Thrones aired, it didn’t just leave fans stunned—it left actors like Jason Momoa with their heads spinning. Known for his role as Khal Drogo, the Dothraki warlord who captured hearts in Season 1, Momoa was emotionally invested in the fate of his on-screen wife, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke).
Momoa didn’t hold back when venting about the shocking end to Khaleesi’s story. Live-streaming his reaction to Instagram (via Business Insider), he let his followers in on his raw, unfiltered feelings. As the episode reached its gut-wrenching climax with Jon Snow (Kit Harington) slaying Daenerys and being sent to the Night’s Watch, Jason didn’t mince words:
Let me get this sht straight. You’re going back to what the f**k you did in the first place and you killed Khaleesi… Oh my God! We’re gonna go to the bars and we’re gonna get in a fight.
The actor was clearly heartbroken, stating:
I feel lost. I’m lost. What the f**k? Drogon should’ve melted his a*s. Ugh. And the goddan bar is closed!
It’s clear: To Momoa, the unspeakable act of Jon Snow’s betrayal wasn’t just a plot twist—it was an emotional gut-punch that left him fuming.
GoT: Emilia Clarke opens up about Daenerys’ tragic end
How hard is it for an actor to watch their character’s legacy end so abruptly?
As if Jason Momoa’s frustrations weren’t enough, Emilia Clarke also had some reflections of her own on the fate of her beloved character. The actress hasn’t fully come to terms with Daenerys’ dark transformation into the Mad Queen.
She admitted that even though she was aware of her character’s tragic arc from the get-go, processing it still felt like emerging from a deep, unsettling bunker. In an interview with The Sunday Times, she confessed that it was hard to not feel conflicted, even as she tried to push aside the inevitable backlash.
“Yeah, I felt for her. I really felt for her. And yeah, was I annoyed that Jon Snow didn’t have to deal with something?” Clarke quipped with a laugh, adding that Jon “got away with murder—literally.”
Clarke wasn’t just upset about the storyline itself. She acknowledged that the rushed pacing of the final season left fans with a lot to chew on, but not enough time to properly digest. “We could have spun it out for a little longer,” she noted, agreeing with the criticism that the final episodes tried to cram too much into too little time.
Meanwhile, Jon Snow’s fate in the series finale remains one of the hottest potatoes, sparking endless debates among fans. But for Kit Harington, he’s not about to pull any punches. His take on the matter? Straightforward, unapologetic, and as blunt as a sword to the gut.
In a candid interview with Esquire, Harington stated:
I know how much work was put into this. I know how much people cared about this. I know how much pressure people put on themselves and I know how many sleepless nights working or otherwise people had on this show. Because they cared about it so much.
The actor, who spent a decade playing Jon Snow, is acutely aware of the fans’ negative reactions—but his feelings toward the critics were blunt. “Now if people feel let down by it, I don’t give a f—. That’s how I feel.” Harington’s unapologetic defense of the show speaks to the raw, unsung efforts that went into the series’ conclusion, despite the online petitions and angry rants from fans.
Well, it seems that Game of Thrones will forever be a mixed bag—one that leaves its cast, its crew, and its fans with feelings of satisfaction and disillusionment in equal measure. Whether it was the tragic end of Khaleesi or the awkward arc of Jon Snow, the show’s final moments will continue to spark conversation!
