Game of Thrones actor Carice van Houten calls fans ‘ungrateful’ one year after finale backlash

‘Knowing the writers and knowing how f***ing great they are, they don’t deserve that’

One of the cast members of Game of Thrones has shared their thoughts on the angry reaction from fans regarding the finale.

Many viewers of the HBO show expressed their disappointment over the show’s final season in general, as well as the last ever episode, which aired exactly a year ago today (19 May).

But now, in an interview with Insider, Carice van Houten – who played Melisandre – said she “loved the ending”, particularly the surprising choice to have Bran Stark sit on the Iron throne.

“I loved the randomness and clumsiness of picking a king,” she said. “That’s why I loved the first season, the guy who actually was king [Robert Baratheon], didn’t want to be king, so we already got a lesson in the beginning: ‘Why are you striving for that sort of power when, obviously, it doesn’t make you happy?’”

When asked about the fan reaction to the final episodes, Houten said it “feels a bit ungrateful”.

“The fact that some people were so disappointed is because everything before that was so good,” she said.

“You’ve had such great times and then yeah, you’re going to be disappointed because it’s not going to go exactly how you anticipated.

“Of course, you’re going to have all sorts of criticisms and I just thought it was a sign of how good the show was.”

Carice van Houten as Melisandre in 'Game of Thrones' (HBO)

Houten also referred to the fan petition trying to get showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss replaced with new writers to make a new final season.

She said this was “beyond fandom”, adding: ”That’s extremism. That’s scary. Knowing the writers and knowing how f***ing great they are, they don’t deserve that.”