'Game of Thrones' Star Kit Harington Acknowledges Ending Critiques, Explains Spinoff Cancellation
"I think there were mistakes made, story-wise, towards the end maybe," Harington said.
Kit Harington got candid about the ending of Game of Thrones in a new interview with British GQ published on Monday. The actor acknowledged fans' critiques of the big finale and even agreed that some things could have been handled better, but he didn't think that more episodes or seasons would have solved the issues. He also gave some new details on his canceled spinoff series SNOW.
"I think if there was any fault with the end of Thrones, is that we were all so f-ing tired, we couldn't have gone on longer," Harington said bluntly. "And so I understand some people thought it was rushed and I might agree with them. But I'm not sure there was any alternative." Harington famously checked into rehab while the final season was airing, and he spoke at length about his mental health and his relationship with alcohol in this interview as well. He also seemed to allude to it in this answer.
"I look at pictures of me in that final season and I look exhausted. I look spent," said the actor, now 37. "I didn't have another season in me."
Harington was asked about the final episode specifically – the one where his character Jon Snow not only turns on his queen and lover Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), but kills her with a stab. Harington said: "Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I think there were mistakes made, story-wise, towards the end maybe. I think there were some interesting choices that didn't quite work."
In general, critics of the ending felt that many character arcs were rushed to the point of seeming incomprehensible and random, including Daenerys' decision to burn the city of King's Landing and Jon Snow's decision to not only turn on her, but to execute her with a sneak attack. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that this twist will play out differently in George R.R. Martin's final books, and that even if the events are similar, their build-up will be more coherent.
In the meantime, some fans hoped that Harington's spinoff series SNOW would help make sense of the chaotic ending, but Harington confirmed earlier this year that the show is no longer in development. In this interview, he also contradicted earlier reports that the spinoff was his idea in the first place, saying he was approached by HBO for the project. He declined to share any details on what the plot for the show would have been, "because it starts a whole thing."
"What I can tell you is it was HBO that came to me and said, 'Would you consider this?'" he went on. "My first reaction was no. And then I thought there could be an interesting and important story about the soldier after the war. I felt that there might be something left to say and a story left to tell in a pretty limited way. We spent a couple of years back and forth developing it. And it just didn't... nothing got us excited enough."
Harington even revealed that shutting down the project was partially his idea. He said: "In the end, I kind of backed out and said, 'I think if we push this any further and keep developing it we could end up with something that's not good. And that's the last thing we all want.'" He admitted that reprising his role as Jon Snow might not be the best thing for his career, since it would make it even harder for audiences to separate him from his most iconic character.
Game of Thrones is streaming now on Max, along with House of the Dragon. The next spinoff series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, premieres sometime in 2025 on HBO, while House of the Dragon Season 3 is in pre-production now. Martin's books are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats, and he continues to report progress on the next book, The Winds of Winter.
