Ever since the final season of Game of Thrones dropped, viewers have had plenty to say about it.
Some fans did like how things were wrapped up in the hit epic fantasy series. However, they were mostly drowned out by the wave of viewers who did not like the ending.
Along with fans and critics, several actors involved with the TV show have spoken out about what they thought as well. Most recently, Peter Dinklage, who portrayed fan-favorite Tyrion Lannister, discussed how he thought the ending was “kind of brilliant.”
Now, John Bradley, who played Samwell Tarly has revealed his thoughts on the Game of Thrones ending.
John Bradley admits not everyone could be pleased
Speaking to Variety recently, John Bradley opened up about the criticism regarding the Season 8 finale of Game of Thrones.
Most notably, he believed that regardless of how things played out, it was going to be impossible to please all of the fans.
“It is highly unlikely that we were ever going to please everybody,” Bradley revealed on the Just for Variety podcast.
However, the actor believes that fans might still be won over by the ending — it just might take some time.
“Chances are we were going to please a fraction of people… We almost couldn’t win. It almost meant too much to people for them to really ever be satisfied. And who knows, when the wounds have healed a little bit in a few years time, maybe people will reevaluate it and be able to see it as a complete thing.”
John Bradley bites back at those who thought no one cared
The actor also pointedly addressed a persistent reason many people gave as to why they disliked the ending of Game of Thrones.
Many viewers felt that Season 8, along with Season 7, was far too rushed and that the show’s creators no longer cared about what they were doing in order to finish the series.
“If they didn’t care, they wouldn’t choose to be standing in a field in Belfast at 3 o’clock in the morning for months on end,” Bradley said.
“They wanted to make it as good as possible, and it’s a shame if people didn’t like it because we did try our best to make something very special.”
Bradley has also recently spoken out about HBO’s upcoming spinoff series, House of the Dragon. The actor felt that the airing of the new show was “bittersweet” for him as, with the timeframe used in the new series, his character would not be present.
All seasons of Game of Thrones are available on HBO Max. Season 1 of House of the Dragon will premiere on HBO in 2022.