Game of Thrones: Bran Stark actor reveals that he thought finale script was a 'joke'

**Spoilers for the season finale ahead**

**Spoilers for Game of Thrones season eight, episode six “The Iron Throne” ahead**

Game of Thrones has come to an end, with Bran Stark being named King of the Six Kingdoms and Daenerys Targaryen being murdered by her nephew Jon Snow.

Bran taking the Iron Throne came as a huge surprise to many, as the Stark-turned-Three-Eyed Raven remains one of the least qualified characters to be named ruler.

Even Isaac Hempstead-Wright, who plays Bran, was surprised at the revelation, believing the outcome to initially be a joke.

“When I got to the [Dragonpit scene] in the last episode and they’re like, ‘What about Bran?’ I had to get up and pace around the room,” he told EW. “I genuinely thought it was a joke script and that [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] sent to everyone a script with their own character ends up on the Iron Throne. ‘Yeah, good one guys. Oh s**t, it’s actually real?’”

The actor went on to say he was "happy" with the outcome, adding: “Though I kind of did want to die and get in one good death scene with an exploding head or something.”

The Independent’s critic called the finale “misjudged and hammy”, and criticised the episode for “lacking emotional resolution”. Emilia Clarke, whose character Daenerys finally perished during the episode, has said “it was a f***ing struggle reading the scripts” but that the character’s final moments were “very taken care of… it’s a very beautiful and touching ending”.

You can find a ranking of every character – from worst best – here. Flick through the below gallery for our ranking of every episode.

Game of Thrones has come to an end. You can stream previous episodes of the show on NOW TV.