The Internet is currently awash with Game of Thrones commentary – from NSFW reactions to online petitions, you don’t have to search too far to find the latest hot take about A Song of Ice and Fire and, more specifically, the way in which HBO’s saga came to a close.
No matter which side of the fence you find yourself on – or even if you’re perched somewhere in the middle – may we direct your attention to Entertainment Weekly, where Daenerys Targaryen herself, Emilia Clarke, reacted to “The Iron Throne.” Cutting right to the chase, Clarke addresses the fate that befell Daenerys, who was ultimately killed by her nephew – the apple of her eye – Jon Snow at the foot of the Iron Throne. Suffice it to say, she wasn’t expecting such a gut-wrenching twist.
What, what, what, WHAT!? Because it comes out of f*cking nowhere. I’m flabbergasted. Absolutely never saw that coming. I cried, and I went for a walk. I walked out of the house and took my keys and phone and walked back with blisters on my feet. I didn’t come back for five hours. I’m like, ‘How am I going to do this?’
So while Kit Harington is of the belief that Dany’s track record speaks for itself, Clarke is more hopeful, and tells EW that her dragon queen “genuinely starts with the best intentions and truly hopes there isn’t going to be something scuttling her greatest plans.”
Instead, she’s warped beyond recognition by forces beyond her control – Missadeni’s death; Varys’ betrayal; the loss of Jorah Mormont to the Army of the Dead – fueling a Targaryen rage deep in her soul. Their house motto is ‘Fire and Blood’ for a reason, you know.
Clarke continued:
It’s a very beautiful and touching ending. Hopefully, what you’ll see in that last moment as she’s dying is: There’s the vulnerability — there’s the little girl you met in season 1. See? She’s right there. And now, she’s not there anymore… But having said all of the things I’ve just said… I stand by Daenerys. I stand by her! I can’t not.
Game of Thrones is officially done and dusted… for now. While the Song of Ice and Fire has reached its crescendo, a prequel series is already foot, and it’ll whisk HBO viewers back 10,000 years, to a time when the Children of the Forest still roamed Westeros.