Game of Thrones: What the cast said about the final season before it aired

*Spoilers for Game of Thrones season eight ahead*

The latest season of Game of Thrones has left many fans disgruntled, with over 750,000 people signing a petition calling on HBO to remake the last few episodes.

As a result, people have been reading more and more into what the cast of the show said before season eight was released.

Various videos, featuring the cast discussing the ending, have gone viral online, including a three-minute compilation video of the actors discussing the final episodes.

The first clip sees Emilia Clarke being asked by ET whether she was happy with the season, to which Clarke responded, with an awkward grin “best season ever”.

Another clip sees Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister, talking about how the showrunners are the “best writers in television”. On Twitter user noted: “Is it just me or does this clip of Peter Dinklage talking about the Game of Thrones finale look like a hostage video?”

During an interview with 60 minutes, Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner were asked about the ending, with Turner saying: “Some people will be satisfied, others not so much.”

Likewise, during an interview with 60 minutes, Gwendoline Christie, who plays Brienne, commented: “There are just too many elements to be able to please everyone. It’s too complex a story.”

Speaking on Stephen Colbert’s show, Kit Harington said he was “very shocked and surprised by certain events unfolding and I bawled my eyes out”. In another interview, asked to describe the final season in one word, Harington answered “disappointing”.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), speaking to Vanity Fair, commented on the pace of the season, saying: “We’re used to having a whole season to get to a point. Now suddenly, a lot of things happen very quickly.” He added that there were certain plot points he had to fill in for himself.

Perhaps the most openly damning about the final season has been Conleth Hill (Varys), who told EW of not sharing a final scene with Littlefinger: “I was very bummed to not have a final scene with him. I was bummed not to have any reaction to him dying, if he was my nemesis.

“That’s been my feeling the last couple seasons, that my character became more peripheral, that they concentrated on others more. That’s fine. It’s the nature of a multi-character show. It was kind of frustrating. As a whole it’s been overwhelmingly positive and brilliant but I suppose the last couple seasons weren’t my favourite.”

Lena Headey has also spoken cautiously about her character’s death, revealing the reason why she initially felt “mixed” about the scene.

Of course, there’s no way of knowing for sure how the actors feel about the season, but some fans have argued that they were trying to “warn” against the finale.

The Independent‘s critic described the penultimate episode – titled “The Bells” – as being “out-of-tune” and criticised the episode’s writing, asking: “What is the logic here?”

You can find a ranking of every character – from worst best – here. Flick through the below gallery for our ranking of every episode.

The final episode of Game of Thrones airs this Sunday. The show is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK.