Sophie Turner is so over fans’ fiery hatred of the final season of Game of Thrones!
The 23-year-old actress opened up about the HBO series’ controversial ending in a post-finale interview with The New York Times, admitting that she was “not surprised” fans have had particularly negative reactions to this last eighth season.
As far as Turner sees it, the relentless criticism of these final episodes actually makes perfect sense, because the show has always been designed to piss fans off with its shocking twists. She explained [with SPOILERS]:
“People always have an idea in their heads of how they want a show to finish, and so when it doesn’t go to their liking, they start to speak up about it and rebel…. The thing about Game of Thrones that’s always been amazing is the fact that there’s always been crazy twists and turns, right from Season 1 with Ned’s beheading. So Daenerys becoming something of the Mad Queen — it shouldn’t be such a negative thing for fans. It’s a shock for sure, but I think it’s just because it hasn’t gone their way.”
You can say that again.
VOTE: How Did YOU Feel About The ‘Game Of Thrones’ Finale??
While the Sansa Stark portrayer isn’t bothered by all the recent Thrones hate, she admits that fans can take it too far; like those who have the audacity do start a petition demanding HBO redo the entire final season — a treasonous act she finds “disrespectful.”
Joe Jonas’ wife continued:
“All of these petitions and things like that — I think it’s disrespectful to the crew, and the writers, and the filmmakers who have worked tirelessly over 10 years, and for 11 months shooting the last season. Like 50-something night shoots. So many people worked so, so hard on it, and for people to just rubbish it because it’s not what they want to see is just disrespectful.”
We guess that’s the one bad thing about having a super passionate fandom: they always think they can come up with a better ending! LOLz!
Viewers will know that Turner’s character had a rather sweet ending — especially compared to less fortunate characters — when the HBO epic came to a close on Sunday night. After Jon Snow (Kit Harington) killed liberator-turned-possible-tyrant Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), the lords and ladies of Westeros chose a new king, Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) — an opportunity Sansa seized to make the North its own kingdom, of which she became queen.
Unsurprisingly, Turner was very pleased with how her character’s storyline ended. She revealed:
“I loved it. It’s the only place that she really, truly feels safe. It’s the place that she’s the most capable of ruling. She would be a fair and loving ruler, and it’s what she’s been striving for this whole series: to go back home, to protect her home. And finally she has that.”
The actress also made sure to note how she believes Sansa reached that point in spite of the horrible things that have happened to her throughout the series, not because of them.
Related: Sophie Candidly Reveals That Joe ‘Kind Of Saved’ Her Life
She defended a line that Sansa said about survival earlier in the season, which fans thought gave credit to Sansa’s abusers. While speaking to the Hound in episode four, The Last Of The Starks, the future Queen in the North said:
“Without Littlefinger and Ramsay and the rest, I would’ve stayed a little bird all my life.”
The line quickly sparked outrage from fans, including actress Jessica Chastain, who blasted the writers for implying that the brutal rapes Sansa suffered during her marriage with Ramsay Bolton made her “stronger.”
But according to Turner, Sansa’s message was very much about how strong she was since the beginning of the series. The actress explained:
“I obviously think that’s not a message to spread. But I don’t think that was the intention. It was that she was strong in spite of all of the horrific things that she’s gone through, not because of them. She’s had resilience since the very beginning, and despite all of these awful things that happened to her, she’s kept that resilience. Sansa to the core is resilient and brave and strong, and that had nothing to do with her abusers.”
There you have it… straight from the Queen’s mouth.
It’s no secret that portraying the little dove has been an incredible personal journey for Turner, who thanked her character, the show, and even the sometimes “disrespectful” fans, in an emotional Instagram post a day after the finale aired. She wrote:
“Sansa, Thank you for teaching me resilience, bravery and what true strength really is. Thank you teaching me to be kind and patient and to lead with love. I grew up with you. I fell in love with you at 13 and now 10 years on.. at 23 I leave you behind, but I will never leave behind what you’ve taught me. To the show and the incredible people who make it, thank you for giving me the best life and drama lessons I could have ever asked for. Without you I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Thank you for giving me this chance all those years ago. And finally to the fans. Thank you for falling in love with these characters and supporting this show right through till the end. I’ll miss this more than anything.”
Long live!
[Image via HBO]
Related Posts
-
Categories
