While the show ended in 2019, Game of Thrones is still one of the most talked-about fantasy shows today. The story, based on George R. R. Martin’s novels, took the world by storm with its politics, world-building, emotions, and extreme battles.
Unfortunately, the ending left fans frustrated. But they’re not the only ones mad. In fact, Kit Harington was livid by fans after they began a petition to re-do season 8, the finale of the show.
When you ask any fan or viewer, most would agree that the ending felt rushed and fell short. Most chalk it up to the showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, not having much direction, as the novel never officially ended. Martin told the showrunners who he wanted on the throne, and that’s about it. Because of this, fans felt as though the ending didn’t wrap up as nicely as it should have.
“That genuinely angered me,” the 39-year-old actor, who played the prominent role of Jon Snow in the fantasy drama, told New York Times during an interview published Sunday. “Like, how dare you?”
“Sorry, that’s just how I feel,” the star added. “I think it was a level of diocy that can only come about through social media.”
Harington admitted that he was shocked to hear that fans weren’t happy with the ending, but truly couldn’t believe that 1.8 million signed a petition to redo the last season with “competent writers.”
“The series deserves a final season that makes sense,” the petition reads. “Subvert my expectations and make it happen, HBO!”
Back in 2019, HBO CEO Casey Bloys, who was the programming chief, said that he and the GOT team were aware of the petition, but never “seriously considered” listening to the demands for a reshoot.
“There are very, very few downsides to having a hugely popular show, but one I can think of is when you try to end it, many people have big opinions on how it should end,” he said at the time. “The petition shows a lot of enthusiasm and passion for the show, but it wasn’t something we seriously considered.”
Kit Harington gave his opinion on why fans might not have felt truly captivated during the interview, admitting that, “I think if there was any fault with the end of Thrones, is that we were all so f**king tired, we couldn’t have gone on any longer. 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 isn’t the only star who has addressed the petition. In 2019, Sophie Turner, who played another major role in the show, Sansa Stark, told New York Times the petition was “disrespectful to the crew, and the writers, and the filmmakers who have worked tirelessly over 10 years, and for 11 months of 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.”
Even Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who played Jaime Lannister, told The Independent in 2025 that “I absolutely think people are entitled to whatever opinion they have, but it’s a television show. Someone told you a story and you didn’t like the ending. It’s really annoying, but…” he continued, “How are you ever gonna make an end that’s gonna satisfy everyone? That’s a very difficult thing.”
Game of Thrones is available to stream on HBO, and for fans who want more content, a spin-off prequel is also on HBO, House of the Dragon, which follows the Targaryen line.
Even better, a new spin-off series is airing in just a few days, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which will follow Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg, a century before the events of GOT.