The cast and crew of “Game of Thrones” tried their best to ride the wave of backlash as best as they could during the immediate aftermath of the series finale back in May of 2019, but over time, many have weighed in on how the acclaimed series came to a close. Actor Aidan Gillen was one of them, speaking up in support of the final season only a few months after airing and even going so far as to reprimand the more vocal fans who took their jilted feelings way too far. Honestly, the man made some pretty compelling points!
In a Q&A appearance at the University Philosophical Society at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland (via Winter is Coming), Gillen expressed his frustration with how fiercely and suddenly the fanbase turned against their favorite show.
“I was astounded … the mentality that there is nowadays. People get on Twitter and all of these things and just slag the f*** out of everything; I really hate it … it’s this really nasty strain of behavior … For people to turn on the writers of something that people had adored for seven seasons in such a nasty fashion, as they did, I was just taken aback. I really was.”
Boy, for someone who isn’t actually on Twitter, Gillen rather succinctly encapsulates the predominantly negative tone of the social media platform — especially when it comes to discussing movies and shows. Admittedly, I disliked the final episodes as much as the next fella, but it’s easy to tell that Gillen is specifically calling out the most extreme, vitriolic responses. There’s a place for reasoned and levelheaded criticism, of course, but significantly less room for just pure nastiness.
