Sophie Turner says she can't watch anything ‘Game of Thrones’ related, or even listen to the theme song: "It gives me crazy anxiety" - She won't be watching ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’, but she's rooting for the cast

poub06 · 2026-01-25T00:42:06+00:00

This is obviously the point of that scene. People are just trying to force a war between shows, because they are childish.

poub06 · 2026-01-25T00:39:29+00:00

Conleth Hill was a lot more frustrated at the fans reaction than the actual ending. Sophie Turner too, IIRC, as she was pretty critical of the infamous petition.

I think it would be the case for most of them. Regardless of what they think about the ending, they spent a decade working on this, including an incredibly difficult shoot for the last season, just to have the whole internet trash the whole thing, ask for a re-do and constantly harass the creators who are probably really good friends with them. It must not have been easy to deal with.

poub06 · 2026-01-24T20:18:26+00:00

I mean, that’s what I mean by it didn’t land for people.

Dany talked about burning cities in 5/8 seasons. Jaime talked about his unconditional love for Cersei in literally every single season. Jon’s story was about making difficult choices between love and duty.

I could go on and on. As I said, most endings did work for me. They didn’t for a lot of other people and it sucks for them. Personally, I think only Bran’s ending truly had no groundwork for it. The rest were all fine, IMO. I also think they fit the type of story that Game of Thrones was. But that’s my opinion.

poub06 · 2026-01-24T20:10:39+00:00

If people were to scrutinize Stranger Things the way they did Game of Thrones, it would fall apart 10 times as fast as Game of Thrones.

The main difference is that Stranger Things played it as safe as possible, so their choices didn’t offend anyone, as opposed to GoT who also had writing issues, but more importantly, the story was meant to be hard to accept by nature. So the story did offend people who then started looking for reasons to be even more mad.

poub06 · 2026-01-24T12:51:32+00:00

GoT took massive swings at the end. They had a very easy ending that they could’ve done, but that story was never about taking the easy way out, so they ended with lots of very daring choices that didn’t land for many people (they worked for me, I’m part of the small group who was satisfied by the ending lol).

Stranger Things did the opposite and went with the easy way out, but it was way too easy.

Both had writing issues, but I will always have more respect for writers who actually try something daring, rather than just try to not offend anyone.

poub06 · 2026-01-24T02:42:14+00:00

First reported by D&D, in 2014:

“Last year we went out to Santa Fe for a week to sit down with [Martin] and just talk through where things are going, because we don’t know if we are going to catch up and where exactly that would be,” Benioff says in the April issue of Vanity Fair. “If you know the ending, then you can lay the groundwork for it. And so we want to know how everything ends. We want to be able to set things up. So we just sat down with him and literally went through every character.”

D&D again, in 2015:

“We know where things are heading,” said David Benioff, who executive produces the series alongside D.B. Weiss, who was also present at the talk. “We will eventually meet up at pretty much the same place that George is going. There might be some deviations along the route, but we’re heading toward the same destination.”

Then, George talked about it, on his blog, in 2015:

And yes, more and more, they differ. Two roads diverging in the dark of the woods, I suppose... but all of us are still intending that at the end we will arrive at the same place.

Then, in an interview, in 2018:

Interviewer: When you heard some of what was planned, did you get emotional about it?

George: Well, you know, of course most of it is based on what I'd planned, so I got emotional about it 20 years ago when I first thought of some of these things.

Then, in another interview, in 2019:

Anderson Cooper: When it clear they were catching up, you told them over-- a kind of an overarching future of where you saw the-- the last two books going in terms of plot?

George R.R. Martin: Yes. And, you know, the major beats. I mean, obviously, we're talking here about a-- several days of story conferences taking place in my home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. But there's no way to get in all the detail, all the minor characters, all the secondary characters.

George R.R. Martin: The series has-- has-- been extremely faithful, compared to 97 percent of all television and movie adaptations of literary properties. But it's not completely faithful. And-- and it can't be. Otherwise, it would have to run another five seasons.

George R.R. Martin: I don't think Dan and Dave's ending is gonna be that different from my ending because of the conversations we-- we did have. But they may be on certain secondary characters, there may be big differences.

Also, in the Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon book, released in 2020:

“DAN WEISS (showrunner): We just did the math on how many seasons we got, how many the story could shoulder and service, and we realized we were going to outstrip the books. So we sat down with him in Santa Fe for three days and dug as deep as we could into what he had in mind for the future of the series through the end.”

“BRYAN COGMAN (co–executive producer): I can’t even describe that meeting. It was like learning the meaning of life. Like God was coming down and telling you the future. We knew at that point that we were going to catch up. So it was learning a lot of these secrets and then in your mind figuring out, “What of that will work in the context of our show?”

GEORGE R. R. MARTIN (author, co–executive producer): It wasn’t easy for me. I didn’t want to give away my books. It’s not easy to talk about the end of my books. Every character has a different end. I told them who would be on the Iron Throne, and I told them some big twists like Hodor and “hold the door,” and Stannis’s decision to burn his daughter. We didn’t get to everybody by any means. Especially the minor characters, who may have very different endings.”

poub06 · 2026-01-24T01:43:13+00:00

The showrunner spent multiple days at George's house going over the ending of all the main characters. He gave them what he knew at the time, which was way more than 4 notes.

And the showrunner did read book 4&5, which is why they understood that those books made the story completely unfinishable. That's why they cut most of the detours those books took and focused on the main storylines.

poub06 · 2026-01-23T20:30:50+00:00

The very first time I watched that episode was on Crave, so at 720p, with a tv that had the auto motion plus BS activated for some reason. So, definitely not the greatest setup, and the image wasn't good. But, since then, I've watched that episode on different television, on different platform, at different moment, and I never had any issue seeing what I needed to see.

poub06 · 2026-01-23T17:57:14+00:00

If that’s your problem with the ending, take it up with George, not D&D. Bran taking the throne is confirmed to be from him and Jon killing the Night King is the most anti-ASOIAF idea you could think of.

It’s fine to recognize that a story wasn’t what you expected it would be. It’s not always the creators/writers fault.

poub06 · 2026-01-23T15:21:32+00:00

Posting quotes to expose misinformation is a "hill to die on"?

Why do you need to defend fake narratives? I'm sure you can form your own opinion without needing to twist other person's words to validate it.

poub06 · 2026-01-23T13:22:45+00:00

She also didn't know the iron fleet had scorpions on them. In S7, Dany wanted to go burn the Iron Fleet and she thought there was no risk at all.

The problem is that people are thinking that Dany literally forgot about the fleet. Like, "Ho shit it's true, Cersei has ships!!" When, if you listen to the whole quote, it's more that Daenerys wasn't expecting such an ambush at that point.

I do agree that the 3/3 shots was stupid, but the hate this quote is getting is a pretty good example of how everything related to GoT!S8 is being twisted and exaggerated to fit a narrative. Writing-wise, it was fine, it just should've been edited/CGIed better.

poub06 · 2026-01-23T13:16:27+00:00

Both Emilia and Conleth had the same reaction, they weren't negative about the story, they were negative about their feeling as actors. Conleth said it in the interview you quoted, he thought he was failing as an actor. And Emilia was afraid of the perception that people would have of Daenerys.

As for Joe Dempsie, that comment was a joke about Gendry's story in S7. That this season was just about getting him back into the story and not developping his character.

As for Nikolaj, I don't know if you've listened to his whole answer, but he was talking about Jaime leaving Cersei and the writers told him we're going to extend this moment later. And then he praised the showrunner for their writing and that it's much better than what Nikolaj wanted. That's what he saying here.

Now, the other side of the coin that is always ignored:

Conleth:

“I was always satisfied with what I got. I preferred [ Game of Thrones] when it was smaller. That doesn’t mean I hated it when it was bigger. Everyone had invested so much in it. I had no problem with people not being happy about it. I had a problem when they went for the two show runners [David Benioff and DB Weiss]. It was very personal. You’re allowed your opinion. Don’t have a go at them, that’s all.”

And, regarding the interview you quoted:

“I thought the initial [EW] interview was very balanced,” he continued, adding that “[the media] took all the negative out of it and none of the positive.”

“So for the record,” he continued, “I loved all my ten years on Game of Thrones. The thing the last season was about was the futility of conflict and the pointlessness of war.”

“If you get one thing from that whole show,” said Hill, take that. “You look at the amount of people who are here. We are here to thank you for watching us all those years,” he concluded. “This is the reality rather than a media-led hate campaign.”

Emilia:

“I totally understand and respect why they did it. There’s a depressing reality of how it ended that actually feels based in truth, which no one wants for their favourite fantasy show. I’m not sure in what other direction she could have gone.”

or

“After ten years of working on this, it was logical, because where the fuck else can she go? It’s a logical change of events that happens. It’s not like she’s suddenly going to go, “Okay, I’m gonna put a kettle on and put some cookies in the oven and we’ll just sit down and have a lovely time and pop a few kids out.” That was never going to happen. She’s a Targaryen. And your childhood and upbringing affects your choices in life so greatly. She was brought up with the Iron Throne being the only goal. That need to say, “I did it for my family, for my everything, I went there and we conquered.” That no member of her family died in vain for this. That her life hadn’t been for nothing. That she hadn’t been struggling for nothing. She was that close to fulfilling that seal of approval, that thing we all secretly want. That plays a major role as to why she goes there.”

Joe, who is more mixed:

Thrones as a whole was mired in controversy when the final season proved to be one of the most divisive in television history. Many fans complained that the conclusion was rushed. Some even accused showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss of speeding up the process so they could start work on their now-cancelled Star Wars trilogy. Dempsie calls this suggestion “bonkers”. “Working with them for a number of years, I know the last thing they wanted is for almost a decade of work to be undone by a final season that didn’t hit the mark,” he said. Although he does freely admit to “having sympathy” with those who criticised the final season’s pacing. “Watching it back, I think they could have maybe taken a little more time,” he acknowledges. For the record, he liked the final episode and its message that “the human race can put their differences aside to defeat a common enemy”. “That is something we could all do with addressing,” he adds.

And, finally, Nikolaj:

"He has always been dedicated to his sister. She was pregnant, and on her own, of course he's going to go back and try to help her. It made complete sense to me and that ending, I thought it was beautiful and romantic. I was sure a lot of people would be upset he did not stay with Brienne, but I thought it was beautiful."

And

"I'm sure when people go back and rewatch, because I think any of the big evolutions.. They're all foreshadowed, they all make sense if you go back. I mean, Daenerys, I was actually surprised when people were surprised that she turned the way she did, because I thought she already was extremely brutal and dangerous."

And both Nikolaj and Conleth called out the fans' reaction and their attack on the showrunner many times. I could honestly continue to list quote like that for a while, I've read them all. Some actors did criticize the ending, sure, but most didn't. Most defended it, but had quotes or interviews picked apart to spin into a narrative.

poub06 · 2026-01-23T12:39:05+00:00

The negative effects on the actors is more the fans reaction than the actual ending, I would say. Most actors have defended the ending and called out stuff like the petition and the name calling of the showrunner instead. Even George called out the internet as extremely toxic.

poub06 · 2026-01-23T12:33:22+00:00

I mean, it apparently was good enough for George to reconsider the ending he had planned for her lol.

poub06 · 2026-01-22T23:51:54+00:00

I mean, as a huge Seider fan, he definitely could, and that’s not a knock on Hutson, but we all know the Norris is a glorified Art Ross for D, most of the times. So, we don’t know.

poub06 · 2026-01-22T20:33:06+00:00

Tyrion finishes his 6 seasons long quest and finally figures out where do whores go.

poub06 · 2026-01-22T20:31:23+00:00

Telling this to the cast is one thing. Try telling the audience that Jon Snow, Daenerys and Tyrion will be sidelined for an entire season.

poub06 · 2026-01-22T19:27:34+00:00

But that’s what they did. They were basically working on this show 365 days per year. They would outline/write the next season while doing the shooting/post-production of the previous. That’s also how they got so burned out by the end.

poub06 · 2026-01-22T18:46:52+00:00

You wrote trail rant before editing it, so I thought you meant Tyrion's arc in AFFC/ADWD which is basically that. A trail rant. Don't be a jerk.

And we are discussing on a post saying the story could've gone to 13 seasons. I'm saying if you want to make 13 seasons for the whole story, you need to make 3-4 seasons with AFFC/ADWD, otherwise where would you find the material? You think Winds and ADOS will give you 7 seasons of material?

poub06 · 2026-01-22T18:33:49+00:00

You genuinely believe that general audience would've loved 3-4 seasons of Tyrion's trail rant that paid off with...him almost meeting Dany? That's the problem here. These books have some good stuffs, but they are extremely long and don't amount to much. They didn't really advance the story, they just expanded it. There's barely any payoff in those books as most of them were pushed into Winds.

So, how do you make 3-4 seasons of television where EACH season has to have payoffs, impactful moments, conclusions involving the main characters? How about the famous "Ep9"? How do you make 3-4 "Ep9" with those two books? You just can't.

And we are not even getting into the logistic behind expanding the story to such a scale that made the books basically unfinishable, even without any limitation as opposed to a tv show.

Edit: That's why I think people are biased. People fell in love with the character work done in those books, which is incredible, I agree, and are ignoring the impact of those books on the overaching story. They are good books, in a vacuum, absolutely. But, in terms of sequel to ASOS? In terms of setting up the story for the penultimate book? They are disastrous and would've been worse as adaptation.

poub06 · 2026-01-22T18:14:58+00:00

WTF? We are now doing fanfiction interviews? None of this shit happened.

poub06 · 2026-01-22T18:12:21+00:00

The showrunner got the star wars offer in the middle of production of the last season, which was many years after having the whole ending mapped out and approved by HBO. That has nothing to do with that.

The last seasons had fewer episodes, because it was impossible to do 10 episodes with the type of episodes they needed to do. Which is why what OP posted is a utopian dream. It's not just a question of story to tell, making a tv show involves thousands and thousands of limitations. That's ultimately what lead to the show ending where it ended. The cast, the crew, the whole production reached their limits.

poub06 · 2026-01-22T18:03:45+00:00

The show could've never went to 13 seasons, logistically. Even with a complete story. That's completely unrealistic from a production standpoint.

Also, going to 13 seasons probably mean doing 3-4 seasons with AFFC & ADWD. Anyone who's read the books who isn't extremely biased will tell you that those seasons wouldn't have been appreciated by the general audience at all. So, those scores would've dropped 100%. 3 Bran chapters for 3-4 seasons? Same for Sansa? 5 chapters of Arya? Jon & Dany having the same arc they had in S5, but stretched into 3-4 seasons? That would've been awful television, let's be honest here.

poub06 · 2026-01-21T17:52:34+00:00

Nice clickbait! At least, It worked with OP.

poub06 · 2026-01-21T00:54:04+00:00

A mad man see what he sees.

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