Game of Thrones ended roughly three years ago, yet many of the show's stars are still talking about (or criticizing) the show and its disappointing finale. Peter Dinklage, who played the role of Tyrion Lannister, has now shared his thoughts on the fan outrage towards the series.
Speaking with the Sunday Times, Dinklage recalled many of the criticisms from fans at the time of Game of Thrones' last season's release, and while trying to avoid what others were saying, he shared that the outrage was almost impossible to ignore. "But that was impossible," Dinklage said. "You're reminded of it on a daily basis by the fans. They had deep knowledge, but if somebody loves something they have their version of it in their head, so we got criticism early."
Dinklage would go on adding, "Then, when we were leaving, they criticized again because they didn't want us to go. Some got angry. But if you appeal to everyone you're doing something wrong. And we offended a lot of people." The actor's comments come not too long after his interview with The New York Times where he also addressed the backlash towards the show. "They wanted the pretty white people to ride off into the sunset together," Dinklage said. "By the way, it's fiction," he added with a laugh. "There's dragons in it. Move on."
Based on the series of fantasy novels written by George R.R. Martin, Game of Thrones first premiered on HBO Max in 2011, opening up to universal acclaim. Taking place in the fictional Westeros and Essos, the show follows a large ensemble of many storylines throughout the series, many dealing with the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. While Martin only had four of the seven novels published in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, many fans assumed that he would have written them all by the time the show reached its conclusion. But by the time the eighth season had arrived, the show caught up to where Martin left off in his book series.
While many fans pointed the blame towards the series' showrunners David Benioff and D.B Weiss due to their focus being on other projects like their own Star Wars trilogy (which has been canceled), there's no telling how much HBO would've invested in more seasons of Game of Thrones. But realizing how successful the series has been, both financially and critically, it's likely they would've kept going until Martin finished his work.
Either way, that's in the past. Now, a prequel series titled House of the Dragon is set to debut in 2022 and is hopefully looking to correct many wrongs Game of Thrones’ final season presented. The series takes place 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and centers on the fall of House Targaryen. The series stars Paddy Considine as King Viserys I Targaryen, Emma D'Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Lady Alicent Hightower, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower, and Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen.
Source: Sunday Times, The New York Times