Emilia Clarke recollects her reaction to learning about her character's fate in 'Game of Thrones'
Los Angeles, June 7
British actress Emilia Clarke was fuming upon learning Daenerys Targaryen's fate in the fan-favourite series 'Game of Thrones'.
The actress recently recalled being "absolutely livid" when she was told about the same. The 39-year-old actress played the Mother of Dragons in the hit HBO fantasy series, between 2011 and 2019, reports 'Female First UK'.
She still feels "bummed" that her alter ego's love interest Jon Snow (played by Kit Harington) killed her in the final episode in a bid to protect the realm from her tyrannical ways. Emilia recalled Daenerys' last words to Jon were, "We break the wheel together".
She told 'Variety', "That is the last thing I say before the cheeky little s*** stabs me. F****** outrageous. I was so p*****. I was absolutely livid. Outside of the controversy around her actions, him killing me really bummed me out. Kinda rude. I gave that man everything, burned cities to the ground for him, for us. I'm over it, clearly. I'm so over it, it's unreal. Livid".
Emilia recalled how she spent hours in a "daze" after first reading the scripts for the final season and discovering Daenerys' final arc.
She said, "I just landed from a holiday and turned my phone on, and it went 'Bing'. Of course, there it is. Went home, sat down and did what I always do, which is read them all the way through, and then found myself walking out of the house in a daze, forgot my keys, forgot my phone, forgot everything, and just walked for hours to try to assimilate what it was that I had to do that season".
As per 'Female First UK', the actress had an "existential crisis" after the show ended and it took her "years" to process the impact of the show.
She said, "You always get a bit emotional at the end of every single shoot. But this was like, 'I don't know what's happening to me', kind of crying. It was such a significant part of my life that was the entryway to my career, that ending it and then Covid happening, existential crisis here I come".
"It's taken me years to comprehend what it was. It's taken me years to comprehend what it meant. I meet as many people who haven't watched it as who have. So, I'm just grateful that it happened. But I still can't quite wrap my head around it, if that makes sense", she added.
Emilia will always feel "grateful" to her character. She said, "I'm grateful to her. She taught me a lot".
— IANS
Reader Comments
Say what you will about the ending, but Emilia Clarke is an absolute gem. Her dedication to the role and her honesty about the experience is refreshing. I mean, she walked around in a daze after reading the script—that's how much she cared. Mad respect for her. 🙌
I still can't get over how they ruined Jon Snow's character too. He went from a heroic leader to a guy who just stabs his love interest and gets exiled. Talk about character assassination. Emilia deserved better writing, and so did we as fans. The showrunners dropped the ball big time.
It's interesting how Daenerys' story resonates with Indian audiences who've seen revolutions go wrong in our own history. That said, the pacing was terrible—mad queen in two episodes after years of building? Nah, that's lazy writing. Emilia's reaction is totally valid. But honestly, I'm just grateful for the journey. The show changed television forever.
As someone who watched GoT from the very first episode, I completely understand her frustration. The final season felt rushed and unsatisfying. But I have to say, Emilia's professionalism and her ability to pour her heart into the role, even when she disagreed with the direction, is commendable. She'll always be the Mother of Dragons to me. 🐉
Look, I love Emilia, but the criticism of the ending feels a bit over the top. Daenerys was always capable of extreme violence—she crucified people in Meereen, burned the Tarlys
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