Game of Throne is a HBO show that got the world talking, and was quintessential water cooler talk during its years on the air. Those with a HBO Max subscription were able to return to Westeros thanks to the prequel House of the Dragon, which is set generations before the flagship series. Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau famously played Jaime Lannister, and recently reacted to the backlash surrounding GOT's ending.
Game of Thrones' series finale is divisive to this day, as fans weren't happy with Dany's ending and the fact that Bran became the new King of Westeros. We've had a few years to process it all, and Coster-Waldau recently spoke to The Independent about the reception to the finale. In his words:
It was expected. How are you ever gonna make an end that’s gonna satisfy everyone? That’s a very difficult thing. I absolutely think people are entitled to whatever opinion they have, but it’s a television show. Someone told you a story and you didn’t like the ending. It’s really annoying, but…
He's not wrong. Expectations and pressure for Game of Thrones' final season couldn't have been higher, so finding a way to please everyone was an impossibility. And since George R.R. Martin still hasn't finished the books, the showrunners had to make some bold choices without the source material.
The final few season of GOT technically weren't even book to screen adaptations, since they ran out of Martin's novels after around Season 5. As such, bold new narrative choices needed to be used to continue (and eventually conclude) the story. Unfortunately, the final season in particular has received a ton of backlash over the years.
Coster-Waldau no doubt understands just how beloved the Game of Thrones franchise is, but he's still got an interesting perspective on all the finale backlash. He ultimately thinks it's just a TV show, and that all the discourse is a bit annoying. Considering how many years he put into portraying Jaime, can you really blame him?
In the end Jaime and Cersei died in each other's arms, crushed from underneath the Red Keep as a result of Dany burning down King's Landing. While some thought this was a fitting ending, others wanted a more satisfying and bloody final conflict with the Mother of Dragons. And in the end, the Lannister twins were dead for the entirety of the series finale.
Some thought that Jaimie going back to his sister/lover was him regressing as a character, but he did get a nice sendoff in the finale. Towards the end of the episode we saw Brienne finally filling in Jaime's entry in the The Book of Brothers, which is the log for each member of the Kingsguard. He was finally known as something other than the Kingslayer... even if he and Brienne didn't get their happy ending.
Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are streaming on HBO Max. The latter will return for Season 3, but it's unclear when.
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