Emilia Clarke defends Game of Thrones finale as 'the only way it could end'

The Game of Thrones finale might have been highly controversial among fans, but the show's leads are defending it as a fitting conclusion.

Several cast members have begun to weigh in with post-finale interviews, including Emilia Clarke, who spoke with Entertainment Weekly and called Daenerys' final scene "beautiful and touching." While admitting she initially had a difficult time processing her character's fate, she ultimately concluded that it was the "logical" outcome.

In an interview with The New Yorker, Clarke also defended the finale as "the only way it could end," adding she's "not sure it could" have gone differently for Daenerys.

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Kit Harington similarly defended Daenerys' ending, telling Entertainment Weekly "this has been building" for many seasons and that there's "nothing done in this show that isn't truthful to the characters." While he didn't comment on Jon Snow's own conclusion, Harington previously said he was "maybe not happy, but very satisfied" with how things wrapped up.

Recently, comments from Clarke, Harington, and other Thrones stars appearing to express negative feelings about season eight have gained traction online, with one such compilation racking up nearly 12 million YouTube views. But based on these new quotes, it's clear those clips don't exactly paint the full picture, showing Clarke appearing to laugh nervously while attempting to not give away whether her character has a happy ending and Harington being sarcastic when he calls the ending "disappointing" before clarifying he actually thought it was "epic."

Isaac Hempstead-Wright also wrote in a Monday essay that he was thrilled with the finale, which he argued is fitting because "life doesn’t have neat, happy endings," while Sophie Turner similarly praised it and slammed the fan petition to remake the season as "disrespectful."

While expressing their own approval, prior to the finale airing, a number of stars did predict it would be divisive, which turned out to be even more accurate than they might have had in mind.