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You might still be in disbelief over the Game of Thrones series finale, but no one was more distressed than the cast. The Game of Thrones cast finale reactions should have told us everything we needed to know about how the series was going to end. Throughout their entire press run, the Thrones cast seemed to be subtly warning us to prepare ourselves, but we did not listen. After eight long seasons of traveling through Westeros and fighting for the Iron Throne, the beloved series went out with more of a whisper than the bang that we all expected.
Most GoT fans believe that showrunners/creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss rushed the series off the air with just six episodes. They did not allow the character development and plotlines to breathe and unfurl as they had done in previous seasons. For the cast who have been with their respective characters and the crew for more than a decade, saying goodbye was especially hard.
They seemed to know that fans might not be so thrilled about the ending. It was also shocking that after so many years, they would not be returning to Westeros again. The Game of Thrones cast revealed that leaving was filled with a ton of sorrow.
Image: HBO.
Kit Harington
Jon Snow pulled the most Jon Snow move ever during the GoT finale and Kit Harington was unable to deal. The man who played Lord Snow said, “I looked at Emilia [Clarke] and there was a moment of me realizing, ‘No, no…’” Clarke added, “He was crying.”
Image: Helen Sloan/HBO.
Lena Headey
Cersei Lannister’s death was one of the most anticlimactic we’ve ever seen on TV, but Lena Heady who had played the diabolical queen from the beginning still had all the feels. She explained to People, “It was exciting and sad and overwhelming. Being a part of Thrones has undoubtedly brought more opportunity than I’d ever dreamt of and for that, I am eternally grateful.”
Image: HBO.
Emilia Clarke
Daenerys Targaryen had one of the most shocking endings ever on Game of Thrones and Emilia Clarke was not ready. She explained, “The last day on set, I remember the fact that I couldn’t get through the speech that I was saying near the end, because I was kind of crying too, too much.”
She continued, “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?’”
Image: Helen Sloan/HBO.
Sophie Turner
In the end, Sansa probably got the most legendary ending of anyone on GoT, but Turner could barely keep it together to film her final scenes. She remembered, “I remember just crying and crying and crying. I think the most memorable thing was that I knew that [the end] was coming so I was waiting for them to say, ‘Cut.’ They would say ‘Cut!’ and I would think, ‘Oh my God this is it,’ and I’d start crying. And then they’d say, ‘Moving on to the next setup.’ And then I’d have to be like, ‘Okay. Keep it together. Keep it together.’ I just remember just being on the edge of tears all day.”
Image: Helen Sloan/HBO.
Maisie Williams
Can someone please explain how Arya Stark went from the Night Kingslayer to Christopher Columbus in just a couple of episodes? Williams was also flummoxed which is why she coped with GoT ending by walking around in denial. She said, “I remember trying not to think about it. Doing everything I could to not think about it. Like wandering around like, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll have an ice pop.’ ‘Oh, the weather is so nice, am I right?’ ‘Look at that horse, so cute.’”
Image: HBO.
Gwendoline Christie
Ser Brienne of Tarth deserved way more than the ending she was given. The image of her standing outside of Winterfell in her robe, begging for Jamie Lannister still makes our blood boil. She should have written something awful about him in that history book. On her last day of filming Christie who played the Knight of the Seven Kingdoms revealed, “I remember thinking that I wasn’t going to humiliate myself by crying. Because they filmed it for the behind-the-scenes documentary.”
Image: HBO.
Kristopher Hivju
Though Brienne rejected Tormound for Jamie (BLECH)–we’re very pleased that the red-headed Wildling got to see his old friend Jon Snow when it was all said and done. Hivju was overcome with emotion. He recalled, “The last day, I just remember I didn’t understand anything. My wife cried. It was something very sad, and something nice as well because you feel like you’ve given everything and everything has an end. Even Game of Thrones. And there were a lot of hugs. Big hugs.”
Image: HBO.
John Bradley
If we’re being real, we’re still a little miffed that Sam didn’t keep his ass in the crypt where he belonged in the Battle of Winterfell. He is the worst fighter in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. However, playing Samwell Tarley is an experience John Bradley will take with him forever.
He reflected, “On my final day I realized that this has been my training ground. This is the experience that’s taught me everything I know about how to be an actor for camera. So that’s going to be the legacy going forward in terms of everything. All of my know-how was learned on this job. I didn’t have anything going in. Whatever I do in the future is going to owe an enormous debt to my time on this show and it’s been the best training ground and learning curve I could have hoped for.”
Image: HBO.
Richard Dormer
During the Battle of Winterfell (when the show was still good)–Beric Dondarrion went out like a gangster, but Richard Dormer who played the legendary Lord of Light follower could barely deal with saying goodbye. He explained, “I was just totally bewildered. I didn’t realize it was over until they come up like, ‘Congratulations. Thank you for all your work.’ I thought I was on for another couple of days, I had no idea it was my last day. I was just totally bewildered and lost. I went home, had a cup of tea, and two hours later I think there were tears in my eyes going, ‘Oh my God I’m not going back.’ It was weird.”
Image: HBO.
Hannah Murray
Hannah Murray has played Sam’s bae, Gilly since Season 2 of #demThrones. She’s the one who discovered Jon’s true parentage. On her last day of filming, she clung to the memories. She said, “I remember I really didn’t want to take my wig off. Normally I always want to take my wig off as soon as I possibly can because it’s very uncomfortable. I had this feeling of, once I took that off I was really saying goodbye to Gilly and it would really mark the end in a way, so I was trying to delay that moment for as long as possible.”