Game of Thrones has had a great run through the course of its telecast. Barring the last two seasons, the last one, in particular, the story was appreciated for its build-up and delivery. The final season kind of imploded in the sense that many fans across the world felt it was rushed and simplistic. We are well aware of the criticism that followed, especially on the internet. Some of it was quite ugly and the brunt of it was faced by the showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
Most of the cast members have expressed their minds about the ending of the show and the fans’ reaction. Yet now and then, we hear something new from one of the cast or crew. The latest name on the list is Aidan Gillen (Littlefinger). Last November, he received the Bram Stoker Medal of Cultural Achievement by the University Philosophical Society at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland; thus he was invited for a Q&A session at the society. He spoke about a host of things about films and television, among which was his reaction to the reception of Game of Thrones Season 8.
“There was a lot of flak about the eighth season of Game of Thrones,” Aidan recounted. He went on, “I was astounded. The mentality there’s nowadays when people go on Twitter and slag the fuck out of everything; I really hate it. I am not on any social media…It’s a really nasty strain of behavior that’s come with all of that technology…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 really taken aback. I really was.”
While the reaction of the audience was shocking for Aidan, his perception about the last season is largely positive.
“I thought that some of the best scenes, the best sequences, of Game of Thrones were in the last season. I don’t have any doubt about that. They ended it the only way that they could end it; which was strangely reminiscent of how it began – there’s people sitting in this land which seems to have some kind of stability, but there’s also uncertainty and threat, which is, I suppose, what the world is like all the time,” he said.
The ending of the show became a talking point everywhere; many of us might agree with Aidan that the final points at which characters stood at the end were justified and reflective of their journeys. The Irish actor, however, did wish for something to be done differently.
“There was a part of me that wanted it to end about 20 minutes before it did. It’s just that it was an image that was so fantastic- the dragon flying away, carrying Daenerys Targaryen- that was stunning. I thought the episode before was fucking amazing!” Gillen commented. He concluded by saying, “Yeah I was (happy with the ending). I thought it was impossible to end that story.”
That sight of Drogon carrying Dany away was unexpected and heart-breaking. But if it had ended there, we wouldn’t have known who won the Game of Thrones or who became the King/Queen of ashes. People were too invested and involved in the story to not know how things were placed in the aftermath of Daenerys’ demise. Whatever the opinion, at least we have closure now; a culmination of long drawn events that ironically began with Petyr Baelish’s move to eliminate Jon Arryn. Littlefinger was perhaps the most passive-aggressive player in the game. Although his schemes and plans posed an ominous threat, his end was rather quick when the Stark sisters joined hands in season 7.
He spoke a bit about his character too, “I always wanted people to like that character, Littlefinger! And it is written that way in the books, that he’s charming. And he would have to be charming to get into those circles he did and manipulate the way he did… He was driven by being spurned; he loved somebody he couldn’t have. Then there was this whole strange relationship with Sansa Stark, which was his undoing. And it was about a warped romantic idea, which I am really glad didn’t come to anything.”
Amongst all the chaos, Aidan Gillen got unanimous praise for his cunning-and-whispering portrayal of Lord Baelish. Chaos is, after all, a ladder. He is starring as Dr. J Allen Hynek (an astronomer and professor) in Project Blue Book; a sci-fi historical period drama based on a series of studies on UFOs conducted under the same name by US Air Force. The second season premiered in January 2020.
What do you guys think about Aidan’s remarks? Tell us in the comments section.
