Kit Harington blames Games of Thrones backlash on cast being “f**king tired”

Kit Harington has blamed the criticism leveled against the Game of Thrones finale on the show’s being “f**king tired” while making the final season.

Despite dominating the world of television since its 2011 premiere, Game of Thrones suffered a dip in quality during its final chapter.

Due to a combination of fewer episodes and rushed storytelling, fans were left disappointed by the show’s ending, resulting in Season 8 becoming the victim of a ton of backlash.

However, Harington (who played Jon Snow) blamed the show’s poor finale on the cast themselves, telling GQ Magazine, “I think if there was any fault with the end of Thrones, is that we were all so f**king tired, we couldn’t have gone on longer.”

He continued, “I understand some people thought it was rushed and I might agree with them. But I’m not sure there was any alternative. I look at pictures of me in that final season and I look exhausted. I look spent. I didn’t have another season in me.”

Harington added that, regardless of why the finale underperformed, he understood why fans were unhappy with the final results.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinion,” he 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.”

It’s not surprising to learn the cast was ready to depart from the show. During an infamous table read of Episode 6, it appears no one was happy with how the show handled the ending for their character.

Game of Thrones Season 8 is the lowest-rated season of the entire series with Episode 6 receiving an abysmal score of 47% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The finale fallout was so severe that a group of viewers created a petition to rewrite the entire season and it gained 1,862,116 signatures. Signatures are still being added as of August 12, 2024.

Although Game of Thrones’ legacy was tarnished by its ending, fans have found their way back to the franchise thanks to the overwhelming success of the spinoff show House of the Dragon.

For more, check out our guide to the Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and 5 shows just like House of the Dragon to watch while we wait for Season 3.