Kit Harington Opens Up About ‘Game of Thrones’ Ending; Actor Says, ‘I Think There Were Mistakes Made, Story-Wise, Towards the End’
Kit Harington has admitted that the final season of Game of Thrones felt rushed due to the cast's exhaustion. While acknowledging some story-related shortcomings, he defended the show against criticism, stating that everyone is entitled to their opinion.
The final season of the popular Game of Thrones series received a lot of backlash when it was released in 2019. Now, after five years, Kit opened up about his thoughts about the eighth season, saying the ending was rushed, as per The Hollywood Reporter. ‘House of the Dragon’ S2 Finale: Not Emilia Clarke, This Actress Played Daenerys Targaryen in Daemon’s Vision Shown in Episode 8!.
In a new GQ interview, Kit said, "I think if there was any fault with the end of Thrones, is that we were all so f***ing tired, we couldn't have gone on longer. And so I understand some people thought it was rushed and I might agree with them. But I'm not sure there was any alternative. I look at pictures of me in that final season and I look exhausted. I look spent. I didn't have another season in me."
Regarding the backlash to the series finale episode, Harington replied, "Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I think there were mistakes made, story-wise, towards the end maybe. I think there were some interesting choices that didn't quite work."
Harington also discussed HBO's shelved Thrones spinoff, titled Snow, that was in development for a period of time. While the actor declined to say what the storyline was about ("because it starts a whole thing [online]"), he did explain his thinking behind working on it and why it ultimately didn't work out. "What I can tell you is it was HBO that came to me and said, 'Would you consider this?'" he recalled. ‘House of the Dragon’: Ryan Condal Confirms HOTD To Conclude With Season 4, Production of Season 3 To Begin in 2025.
"My first reaction was 'no.' And then I thought there could be an interesting and important story about the soldier after the war. I felt that there might be something left to say and a story left to tell in a pretty limited way. We spent a couple of years back and forth developing it. And it just didn't ... nothing got us excited enough. In the end, I kind of backed out and said, 'I think if we push this any further and keep developing it we could end up with something that's not good. And that's the last thing we all want.'"
In the show, Kit essayed the role of Jon Snow.