Upon its release, Game of Thrones Season 8 garnered widespread criticism following its rushed nature, and even years later, the sentiment surrounding the season remains the same. But some actors did come forward to speak against the initial backlash that the show and its showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss received, including Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
Known for playing Jaime Lannister, not only did the actor come forward to defend the showrunners against the unbridled hate, but contrary to popular belief, he also felt the ending was amazing.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Deems GOT’s Controversial Ending Amazing
Unlike the previous seasons, which allowed its story and characters to progress in a natural flow, season 8 maintained a breakneck pace from start to finish. In doing so, the magic of the previous seasons was lost, and fans were less than thrilled by the rushed conclusion to one of the biggest TV shows of all time. While Nikolaj Coster-Waldau too acknowledged this issue about the final season being a departure from what fans were used to, unlike most fans, he felt the ending was amazing.
He said:
There was never an alternative ending. I met people last week and they said, ‘I know you shot several endings …’ But there was never anything else. Game Of Thrones was always going to end in that way, like it or not. I thought it was an amazing ending.
While he’s definitely not in the majority, Coster-Waldau isn’t alone who spoke against the fan backlash at the time. Reflecting on the hate wagon, his costar Sophie Turner deemed it disrespectful (via The New York Times), stressing that many people worked hard on it.
Game of Thrones Should’ve Had More Seasons Per George R.R. Martin
Following the reception to season 8, it’s safe to say the show would’ve definitely benefited from more seasons. Author George R.R. Martin too felt similar, as he expressed the show should’ve at least run up to 10 or maybe even 12 or 13 seasons.
He said (via Variety):
I was saying it needs to be 10 seasons at least and maybe 12, 13. I lost that one.
Moreover, the author clarified that he had little to no impact in the latter seasons of the show, which explains its deviation from the source material.
I had no contribution to the later seasons except, you know, inventing the world, the story and all the characters
Fortunately, this isn’t the case with House of the Dragon, as Martin revealed that he has more influence in the spin-off in comparison to his impact on the original series.
Game of Thrones is available to stream on Max.
