Game of Thrones star Jacob Anderson has responded to the petitions to remake Season 8, saying: “that sucks.”
Warning! Spoilers for Game of Thrones through Season 8, Episode 5 lie ahead!
Anderson plays Grey Worm on Game of Thrones, and like the rest of the show’s cast and crew, he has been getting backlash for the controversial final season. In the last week, a petition has emerged asking HBO to reshoot the entire season with different writers, replacing David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. When reporters from TMZ asked Anderson what he wanted to say to fans who had signed the petition, his answer was simple.
“I want to say, that sucks,” he said, driving off without another word.
The petition has raised over a million signatures now, and it is still climbing. Game of Thrones fans have different reasons for being angry at the show’s final season, ranging from the pacing of the story to the events themselves. Benioff and Weiss chose to shorten the final two seasons, as they revealed in an interview last month that HBO had offered them as many episodes as they needed.
In his roadside chat with TMZ, Anderson acknowledged that the response to the season has been mixed. He said that “yes,” he himself is happy with how Grey Worm’s story ends, but whether fans will like it is a different story.
“God no,” he said. “I can’t answer that, for anyone.”
Grey Worm has been through a lot this season, and there has not been a lot of camera time dedicated to his emotional struggles. After just barely surviving the Battle of Winterfell, the leader of the Unsullied sailed south with his love, Missandei, who was captured by the Iron fleet. Not long after, Missandei was beheaded before his eyes, leaving Grey Worm a furious wreck bent on revenge.
In the ensuing siege of King’s Landing, Grey Worm’s rage led to a massacre. Even after the Lannister soldiers had thrown down their swords in surrender, he chucked his spear at one of them, leading to an avoidable battle that killed countless people.
Anderson was apparently alright with this violent turn for his character, as it came during a time of unthinkable grief. In the past, Grey Worm has said that losing Missandei is the only thing he has ever feared in his life. Still, for some fans, the show did not leave enough time to build up to this battle, and the sudden violence of Daenerys, Grey Worm, and their previously righteous armies.
However, Grey Worm’s story may not end as violently as last week’s episode did. The Game of Thrones series finale airs on Sunday, May 19 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
