While more than a million Game of Thrones fans found no issue crying out for HBO to
remake the eighth and final season with a different group of writers, actress Sophie
Turner feels their protests to be incredibly rude. And of course, if you didn't realize
by now: major spoilers ahead concerning the series finale of Game of Thrones!
Turner, who portrayed Sansa Stark on the series from its premiere episode in 2011 to its series
finale in 2019, addressed the recent fan petition that's been making headlines in an interview
with The New York Times.
Created by a Change.org user known only as "Dylan D," the appeal slams Game of Thrones
series creators, showrunners, and frequent directors David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
The petition accuses Benioff and Weiss of being:
"[...] woefully incompetent writers when they have no source material (i.e. the books) to
fall back on."
"He--"
He, what? What does he say about me?"
It also demands that HBO hire a team of, quote, "competent writers" to create "a final season
that makes sense."
When asked for her thoughts about the uproar from fans which reached an apex when the newly
minted Mad Queen Daenerys Targaryen set King's Landing ablaze in the series' second-to-last
episode Turner responded:
"[...] I think [the petition] is disrespectful to the crew, and the writers, and the filmmakers
who have worked tirelessly over 10 years [...] So many people worked so, so hard on it, and
for people to just rubbish it because it's not what they want to see is just disrespectful."
As Turner notes, Game of Thrones has been subverting expectations since the very beginning,
so why should it change course during the final season? The actress told The New York
Times:
"The thing about Game of Thrones that's always been amazing is the fact that there's always
been crazy twists and turns, right from [season one] with Ned's beheading. So Daenerys becoming
something of the Mad Queen — it shouldn't be such a negative thing for fans. It's a
shock for sure, but I think it's just because it hasn't gone their way."
Turner is far from the first Game of Thrones star to speak out about audience backlash.
Kit Harington, who portrayed her onscreen brother-slash-cousin Jon Snow, told Esquire
in April that any critic who makes a "negative judgement" on the final season can, quote,
"go f--- themselves," as he feels they don't fully understand how difficult it is to make
even one episode of Game of Thrones. Harington told the publication:
"I know how much people cared about this. I know how much pressure people put on themselves
and I know how many sleepless nights working or otherwise people had on this show [...] Because
they cared about not letting people down. Now if people feel let down by it, I don't
give a f---. That's how I feel."
The woman whose character's downfall catalyzed the demand for a season 8 remake, Daenerys
Targaryen actress Emilia Clarke, also recently opened up about the fan petition. Speaking
with The New Yorker, Clarke revealed that the Mother of Dragons falling from grace to
become the Mad Queen and then facing the ultimate betrayal when Jon Snow murders her, quote,
"seemed like the only way it could end" for Dany. Clarke told The New Yorker:
"It absolutely breaks my heart that anyone would think anything bad of her. But I'm sure
they will, and I can't control that. I don't know that there was any other way."
On the other hand, Turner's character completed her arc in an almost universally loved way.
After members of the remaining Great Houses of Westeros met with one another and agreed
with Tyrion Lannister's suggestion that Bran Stark should be crowned as the new king, Sansa
declared that the North would separate itself from the other kingdoms, stand independent,
and never vote on who will become the protector of the Realm. Everyone supported Sansa, and
when she returned home to Winterfell, she was crowned the Queen in the North.
Turner said of Sansa's ending:
"I loved it. It's the only place that she really, truly feels safe. The place that she's
the most capable of ruling. She would be a fair and loving ruler, and it's what she's
been striving for this whole series: to go back home, to protect her home [...]"
"I want you to help me, but I'll do it myself if I have to."
Though she's frustrated by the way audiences have reacted to the final season of Game of
Thrones, Turner isn't letting the negativity stain her good memories of the series and
what it was like to be a part of it. The actress told The New York Times:
"One of the things that I'll remember the most is just the camaraderie and the family
that we all created from being on the show. I've never felt such a strong bond with a
group of people in my life; I know that they're going to be my family forever [...] I think
that's what I'll take away the most."
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