The final season of Game of Thrones was met with some harsh criticism, but Kit Harrington doesn’t want to hear any of the noise. Following the series finale, the Jon Snow actor discussed the show and all of the critics who have been sharing their thoughts on the final six episodes.
In short, Harrington doesn’t have any time for the noise.
“Whatever critic spends half an hour writing about this season and makes their judgement on it, in my head they can go f–k themselves,” he said in an interview with Esquire. “Because I know how much work was put into this.
“A lot of jobs, everyone goes back to their apartments at the end of the day. They have their lives and they have their families and they have their girlfriends or boyfriends back home. I think part of what made [‘GoT’] successful was the fact that we got on like a family. Everyone who came in was welcomed into the family.”
He also discussed the end of filming:
My final day of shooting, I felt fine . . . I felt fine . . . I felt fine. . . Then I went to do my last shots and started hyperventilating a bit. Then they called, “Wrap!” And I just f*cking broke down. It was this onslaught of relief and grief about not being able to do this again. It wasn’t so much about Jon. It was about not being in this world, not getting to smell those smells, fight those fights, be with these people—the whole package.
But the weirdest bit was when we came off set and they started taking the costume off and it felt like being skinned. It felt like they were unceremoniously, for the last time, ripping off this character. I was still blubbering my tears. The costume girls were like, “F*cking, come on, get it together.” I’m being very actorly and crying. I remember going, “Wait, wait, wait!” And they wouldn’t. They just ripped. [Pantomimes sleeves being taken off.] I was like, “I need to say goodbye.” But it was too late. He was gone.
The final season of Game of Thrones came under fire over criticism regarding the showrunners.
Not only was the plot rushed, but there were certain moments of the show that seemed to slip past production. There was the infamous Starbucks cup, a water bottle, Jaime Lannister’s magically returned hand, and more.
Game of Thrones wrapped up its eighth season on Sunday, May 19.