“It was expected”: Six years after Game of Thrones, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau finally reacts to the finale backlash

Game of Thrones certainly had one of the most divisive series finales in television history. After being loved by the audience for years, the show received backlash for the way things ended for fan-favorite characters.

The audience did not agree with the fast pacing in the final season, and how some characters had a complete switch after years of development. The criticism was so intense that people started a petition to remake the final season.

The finale aired in 2019, but continues to be a topic of discussion. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who starred in all eight seasons of Game of Thrones as Jamie Lannister, has now reacted to the backlash received by the series finale. In an interview with The Independent, the actor stated that the reaction was expected, as you cannot always impress everybody:

“It was expected. How are you ever gonna make an end that’s gonna satisfy everyone? That’s a very difficult thing.”

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau reacts to the Game of Thrones fans' backlash

During the interview, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau added that, being a television show, Game of Thrones was bound to be divisive, as creative decisions often draw different reactions from the audience. However, he also stated that the extreme reaction the show received at the end was kind of annoying:

“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...”

Based on George R. R. Martin's novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones aired eight seasons on HBO between 2011 and 2019. The show earned critical acclaim for its surprising twists, grand production value, stellar performances, and layered characters.

However, as the show moved past Martin's story in the later seasons, the audience started feeling a disconnect with the characters. The fans accused the creators, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, of rushing the story in the final two seasons and ruining the arcs of characters like Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow.

The series creators made their feelings known about the backlash in a 2024 interview with The Hollywood Reporter and said that it would have been great if everyone had liked the Game of Thrones finale, but they are not letting social media criticism affect their lives. Benioff said:

“You always hope everyone’s going to love anything you do, and it would’ve been great if 100 percent of people loved it, but they didn’t. You can get so bogged down in public opinion that you spend your whole life googling things and trying to find people who felt one way or the other way.”

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Apart from Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Game of Thrones starred the likes of Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Iain Glen, Aidan Gillen, Liam Cunningham, and Gwendoline Christie. The fantasy drama has paved the way for a prequel series, House of the Dragon, which has aired two seasons on HBO and has already been renewed for a third one.

Game of Thrones is streaming on HBO Max.

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