Daniel Ings (Lyonel Baratheon) has been watching the Game of Thrones spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms bring audiences back into Westeros with fresh eyes and renewed enthusiasm. But when it comes to the original series’ ending? The actor had a pretty honest take on how that whole final stretch felt from the inside. The sprawling narrative of Game of Thrones had cast and crew stretched across continents and storylines, and Ings just wanted everyone to have a moment together before it all wrapped.
Quick read:
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Daniel Ings found Game of Thrones finale production stressful
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Actor wanted Starks to spend more time together onscreen
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Baratheon actor felt his house got overshadowed by Starks
When characters couldn’t catch a break onscreen or off
The frustration with Game of Thrones’ final seasons wasn’t just about the plot—it was also about the sheer logistics of keeping everyone’s stories coherent. He said in a recent BuzzFeed interview, “I did find it stressful towards the end when they were all like nearly together and then not. You know, there were so many points where it was like where Bran’s like hiding up in the tower and John’s down there with the wildlings. And I kept thinking like, come on, guys. I just want to see them all hanging out together and then get together and there’s still tensions.”
It’s the kind of observation that only someone who lived through those production years could make—Ings wasn’t just commenting on the narrative structure, he was expressing genuine fatigue with how scattered everything felt.
Why the Starks earned his respect despite the mess
Despite his frustration with the trajectory of those final episodes, Ings held the Starks in high regard for navigating such a complicated conclusion. “I feel very proud of them, but not as [much] proud as my Baratheon kin.” It’s a cheeky way of acknowledging that while the Starks got the ending focus, the Baratheons felt a little left behind in the narrative—which, honestly, feels like a fair criticism given how sidelined the house became by season eight.
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