Emilia Clarke Understands Why ‘Game Of Thrones’ Fans Are Still ‘Pissed’ About The Finale

It’s been over two years since Game of Thrones ended, but no interview with Emilia Clarke has been completed without a question about the widely-disliked final season. The fan reaction to the eighth season, and the series finale in particular, came up during her conversation with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

“I get why people are pissed,” Clarke said. “I totally get it. But, me being the actor, you can’t do justice to the character that you poured your blood, sweat, and tears into for a decade without getting on the same page. So like, I’m not just going to be there being like, ‘Fine, I’ll do the scene, whatever. I’m so pissed.’ You have to turn up.”

There are many valid complaints about the final season, but the quality of the acting is not one of them — Clarke, Lena Headey, and Peter Dinklage, in particular, were phenomenal. What makes their performances all the more impressive is how you get the feeling that, based on Clarke’s comments, she could sense that the scripts weren’t up to the level of excellence that she (and the show’s viewers) were accustomed to.

Later, Clarke was asked if she had a suspicion that “The Iron Throne” might not join The Sopranos and M*A*S*H among the greatest TV finales of all-time. “Well, the first instinct when you read the scripts is you just get that gut-punch of like, ‘Whoa, okay!’ You’re thinking about… your first reaction is that. It’s ‘OK.’ And then you start to go, ‘Oh. Maybe people are going to … mmm, yeah. I wonder.’ You don’t know, but you do wonder.”

You can watch the interview below.