It hasn’t even been a year since Game of Thrones bid farewell to its high-fantasy fans with “The Iron Throne” back in May 2019, but it feels like an eternity. David Benioff and D. B. Weiss’ HBO show and pop culture conquistador had been coming to an end for a while, seemingly rushing to a close after it outran George R. R. Martin’s source material. The fandom was shocked at the ending, the reviews reacted in kind, and what was once the only show anyone was talking about arguably sputtered to its conclusion. And, it turns out, its stars didn’t leave Westeros without qualms of their own.
Emilia Clarke, whose Daenerys Targaryen got perhaps the shortest straw in a pack of microscopic scale, didn’t end up becoming Queen over the Seven Kingdoms. She didn’t even become An Alive Person. She had a total heel turn, melted down (by melting hundreds of people and their homes down), and was taken out by her cousin/lover Jon Snow. Talk about a rough end to an arc — especially since Daenerys was one of the most complex characters the show had to offer. Obviously, Clarke would like to stay neutral with regards to the Game of Thrones finale, but after a little time has allowed the dust to settle, it’s certainly not sitting well with her.
Speaking to The Times, Clarke said that she really “felt for her” character and her tragic end…one that seemed to allow her other half to walk away scot-free. “Yeah, I felt for her. I really felt for her,” Clarke said. “And yeah, was I annoyed that Jon Snow didn’t have to deal with something? He got away with murder — literally.”
Stabbing your aunt is always murder, even if a dragon shows up and does nothing. That doesn’t hold up in court! Clarke was also candid about criticism that the final season felt rushed (“We could have spun it out for a little longer”) and that it was all flash, but with less substance (“It was all about the set pieces. I think the sensational nature of the show was, possibly, given a huge amount of airtime because that’s what makes sense”). At least towards the end of the season, fans were able to actually see all the hard work done in the massive action scenes.
But what’s done is done. Game of Thrones‘ stars are moving on, and Clarke too is looking to the future. Will she do a big genre franchise again? “I think, if I did, it would be me having a giggle,” she said. “I want to do something absolutely stupid and silly, like, you know, The Avengers or whatever. Something where I got to have a giggle with mates.” The MCU, huh? Her Thrones co-stars Kit Harington and Richard Madden are already in the cast of the upcoming Eternals film, while Peter Dinklage was Infinity War‘s Eitri. Seemingly half the cast showed up in the X-Men movies too, so really it’s only a matter of time before the Khaleesi joins the ranks of the superhuman, right?
