Game of Thrones actor opens up about show’s ‘most hated finale in history’

‘I’m not sure there was any alternative,’ actor said

Kit Harington has explained what he believes to be the “fault” with how Game of Thrones ended, admitting “mistakes were made”.

In 2019, Game of Thrones drew to a close with a finale considered to be one of the most hated in TV history. Many – including those associated with the show – complained the truncated final season felt like a rush job.

The actor has previously spoken candidly about his time on the show, revealing he was initially “disappointed” about a plot twist involving his character Jon Snow. But he has been more levelled when it’s come to sharing his opinion on the maligned finale.

Two years after the finale aired, Harington told USA Today of the response: “My process since finishing that show is learning to be proud of what we did. The fact that some people were upset with the ending just shows how much it impacted people, and that’s a wonderful thing. I’m still processing it all, but I’m proud of it.”

The actor, who stars in the new season of Industry, is now being more honest about his thoughts. In a new interview with GQ Hype, Harington attributed the lower quality of the final season to exhaustion.

“I think if there was any fault with the end of Thrones, is that we were all so f***ing tired, we couldn’t have gone on longer,” he said. “And so I understand some people thought it was rushed and I might agree with them. But I’m not sure there was any alternative.”

Harington said that, when he “looks at pictures of me in that final season”, he can see that he looks “spent”.

He continued: “I didn’t have another season in me.”

The actor, directly addressing the finale, said: “I think there were mistakes made, story-wise, towards the end maybe. I think there were some interesting choices that didn’t quite work.”

Elsewhere in the interview, in which he also discusses his sobriety, Harington explained why a planned spin-off centred on his character is no longer in the works.

Kit Harington as Jon Snow in ‘Game of Thrones’ (HBO)

“What I can tell you is it was HBO that came to me and said, ‘Would you consider this?’ My first reaction was no. And then I thought there could be an interesting and important story about the soldier after the war. I felt that there might be something left to say and a story left to tell in a pretty limited way.

“We spent a couple of years back and forth developing it. And it just didn’t... nothing got us excited enough.”

Harington said that he “backed out” as he thought “if we push this any further and keep developing it, we could end up with something that’s not good”.

The actor can currently be seen in HBO series Industry season three, which will air in the UK on BBC One and iPlayer later this year, and on stage in Slave Play. Read the full feature online at GQ Hype now.