‘Game of Thrones’ Star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Marvels That ‘Lannister Kids Made It to the End’

The final season of Game of Thrones is nearly upon us, and actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau thinks the Lannister siblings deserve applause just for making it this far.

Coster-Waldau plays Ser Jaime Lannister in the HBO series, a controversial figure who has been inching toward the good side for several years now. Still, it is hard to forget or forgive his many indiscretions, including grisly murders, crimes against the protagonists from the north, and of course the endless incest.

Now that Coster-Waldau has finished filming the massive series, he has a retrospective take on Jaime’s long and winding journey through war and morality. In recent interviews, he has pondered the knight’s unlikely survival, along with the remarkable longevity of his fictional siblings in a world so full of death.

“It was a surprise. God, every time we got a new script I thought, ‘Okay, this is probably going to be the one,’” he told Huffington Post. “But no. The Lannister kids made it to the end.”

Fans know what a remarkable feat that is in Westeros and the rest of George R.R. Martin’s brutal world. With so much treachery around them and so many perilous journeys back and forth across the bizarre country, it is a wonder that all three siblings will factor into the great war they are about to fight. Still, Coster-Waldau made no promises about their survival going forward, warning that Jaime could be in danger as early as the next episode, during his long ride north up the Kingsroad.

“Well, he is heading north. I don’t think you can assume that he’s going to make it up there, but who knows,” the actor teased. “For sure, we see him head north. He might be eaten by dragons, you never know. Or he might just stumble, things happen. Or he might find the love of his life and suddenly he’s like, ‘God, this is it. No more.’”

Coster-Waldau was careful to leave room for all the fan theories out there, even the long-held hope that Jaime will end up leaving his twin sister Cersei for a romance with Brienne of Tarth.

“There are so many theories out there that you comment on one and then it takes on its own life,” he noted.

More than anything, Coster-Waldau repeatedly expressed his excitement over the upcoming season. He wants to see the fans react to the show’s big finale, which he believes is as good as it could possibly be.

“I wrote the writers when I finished reading and just said, ‘I don’t think you could’ve done a better job at finishing this story,’” he said. “To me, it was very satisfying but also very surprising and all the things that I was hoping for. It still made sense.”

Season 8 of Game of Thrones is expected to air in the summer of 2019.