Mistakes were made during the final season of Game of Thrones, says British star Kit Harington, who played the fan-favourite character Jon Snow in the HBO series. In a candid profile interview with GQ Magazine, Harington echoed the sentiments of many fans, agreeing that the eighth and final season of the globally-renowned show, which premiered in May 2019 to a slew of negative reviews, felt “rushed.”
“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 admitted. He further elaborated, “I think if there was any fault with the end of Thrones, it is that we were all so f**king 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.”
The final season of Game of Thrones, which aired in 2019, faced widespread criticism from fans and critics alike for various reasons, the most recurrent being that the show, which had spent years meticulously building complex storylines and character arcs, hastily crammed significant events into a mere six episodes. This pacing issue left many feeling that the conclusion was not only unsatisfying but also a disservice to the elaborate narratives they had followed for almost a decade.
Many fans also felt that the character arcs of pivotal figures, especially Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen, were poorly concluded. Daenerys’ abrupt descent into madness and subsequent death, in particular, sparked an uproar among viewers who felt her ending was inconsistent with her established character development.
Harington acknowledged this sentiment, though he stressed that “everyone is entitled to their opinion.” He cited the team’s exhaustion after filming the series for over ten years as a significant factor in the perceived rushed conclusion. “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,” he said candidly. Reflecting on the shift in public opinion, he added, “I went in and everyone loved Thrones; I came out and everyone hated it … I thought, ‘What the f**k is going on?’”
The British actor didn’t shy away from addressing the future of the franchise, specifically the much-anticipated spin-off centered around Jon Snow, which is no longer in development. “I don’t really want to say. Because it starts a whole thing,” he remarked, cautious about fueling speculation.
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Back in June 2022, it was reported that HBO was developing a Jon Snow spin-off with Harington in talks to reprise his iconic role. However, by April this year, the actor revealed that the project was “off the table.” Reflecting on his initial reaction to HBO’s approach, Harington shared, “My first reaction was no.”
Despite his initial reluctance, Harington considered the potential of the spin-off. “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.”
However, despite the promising premise, the development process hit several stumbling blocks. “We spent a couple of years back and forth developing it. And it just didn’t… nothing got us excited enough,” he disclosed. In the end, Harington decided to step back from the project. “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,’” he explained, shedding light on the creative challenges that put the final pin in the spin-off’s development.
While the curtain may have fallen on Game of Thrones, fans’ love for the characters and the world they inhabited remains robust. Harington’s reflections offer a rare glimpse into the complexities and challenges faced by the cast and crew, adding another layer of understanding to the extraordinary phenomenon that was Game of Thrones. Fans and critics alike are left to ponder what could have been, both with the final season and the abandoned spin-off, as the legacy of Westeros continues to shape the landscape of modern television storytelling.
