Kristian Nairn, known for playing the gentle giant Hodor in Game of Thrones, has addressed the criticisms of the final season. A staunch defender of the HBO series, he also allowed himself to compare it to House of the Dragon, whose second season ended last August.
Kristian Nairn (Hodor) defends Daenerys and the end of Game of Thrones
Five years after the end of Game of Thrones, the HBO series is still being talked about. Beyond the obvious links and connections with House of the Dragon, it is indeed the end of the series that is being debated. Heavily criticized by viewers, it can count on the support of the actors and actresses, who come to its rescue. This time, this is the case of Kristian Nairn, who played the kind Hodor until season 6.
In an interview for Screenrant,The Northern Irish actor has spoken at length about the negative criticisms made about the end of season 8, in particular about the change in Daenerys' behavior, going from a liberating figure to a true despot who swears only by flames.
It wasn't perfect, no. But you also have to keep in mind that I'm not a writer, and neither are 99.99 percent of people. So [the response] really disappointed me. I don't think they could have finished it in a way that people would have been happy with. There's never been a show in the history of television, I think – maybe Breaking Bad – where people were so invested in their characters and I think everyone had their own fantasy about what was going to happen at the end with Daenerys, and any deviation from that, especially such an extreme deviation, would have been frustrating. the spectators.”
Although people say that Daenerys acted out of character, I don't understand how they couldn't see it throughout the series. The signs were there, guys. She said at one point that as soon as Drogon was old enough, she was going to burn King's Landing. And what happened? She did exactly what she said. The only criticism I have, and it's not really a criticism, because I understand the budget issues and all that, but I just wish it had been longer. I don't think those longer episodes worked. I think it would have been better to have more episodes. There was a little bit of Michael Bay in the last season with the explosions and a lot of dragons. They gave us a little bit of that, which made us want to eat it, and then all of a sudden they were like, “Your dinner is here, maybe it's not as appetizing as you thought.” Sometimes the idea of dinner is better than dinner. People who say, “This is crap.” But what are you talking about? Season 2 of House of the Dragon has not received the same glowing reception as its predecessor. After the pleasant surprise of the first season, fans criticized a series of restricted councils between the green and black camps, and sequences around Daemon at Harrenhal deemed unnecessary. This is to the detriment of an action that is slow to come. Indeed, many have shown themselves disappointed by a fireworks display that was announced, but which ultimately was not fired in the final episode. On his famous blog, the author of the Game of Thrones saga George R.R. Martin also allowed himself to say “everything that was wrong” about this season 2. His criticisms can be read right here.