Game of Thrones season 8 was one of the most anticipated television events in history. The HBO hit series broke network records, and took social media by storm in the weeks before, during, and after its series finale. While the final season lived up to expectations in its awe-inspiring cinematography and epic battles, most fans were dissatisfied. It’s been a few months since Game of Thrones season eight wrapped up, and fans have had time to settle their emotions about the finale. Now, it’s time for the actors and producers of the HBO series to share their thoughts and feelings. Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (who played Jamie Lannister) is now speaking out against fan criticisms. To many fans’ surprise, Coster-Waldau is very proud of season 8 and wants them to reconsider the season before writing it off completely.

“Jamie” Defends His Showrunners Against Raging Fans

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has spoken out about his hurt feelings after the finale’s release. He expressed frustration with the intense open criticisms, saying that he and the rest of the cast and crew worked very hard, and were very proud of the final season. In an interview, he particularly defended the writers, who faced the most criticism after the series ended. Nikolaj stated, “For anyone to imagine or to think that the two creators of the show are not the most passionate, the greatest, the most invested of all, and to for a second think that they didn’t spend the last 10 years thinking about how they were going to end it is kind of silly. And also know that they too read the comments. And it is, even though you sit on your own and go, ‘Stupid writers… They really ― like everyone on Game of Thrones, every single person and there are thousands ― we worked our [butts] off to make the best show we could for the ending.”

Why Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Feels So Strongly About Season 8

Nikolaj, like many of the cast and crew, were dismissive of fan criticisms after the series wrap. There is no doubt that Coster-Waldau’s performance in season 8 was one of his best. Thanks to the past two seasons, he was nominated for the 2018 and now the 2910 Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. The show brought Nikolaj and the other actors great fame and success, so it’s natural that they were defensive against season 8 attacks. Nikolaj admitted that while reading fan comments on social media, he and the other GoT actors were upset. He mentioned, “There was that kind of weird feeling of, ‘What the hell? We worked so hard.’” Despite his remarks, fans have been unforgiving towards GoT after season 8. Coster-Waldau even got booed by fans at the 2019 Comic Con. He stated at the GoT panel that he was satisfied with his character’s ending and the season as a whole, and fans expressed discontent towards his answers. It seems as if the cast and writers will be receiving backlash for quite some time.

Will Fans Give Game of Thrones Prequel A Chance?

The hype for season eight may have been too much for the HBO writers to handle. After all, they condensed an unfinished novel series into only eight seasons of television, which is an incredible task to take on. The added pressure from millions of worldwide fans likely did not help the writers or actors feel confident in their work, but Coster-Waldau and his peers stand by it. HBO is currently working on a Game of Thrones prequel. It features an entirely new cast, a new showrunner, and plenty of influence from George R.R. Martin. Perhaps the prequel will bring back the love fans had for the show, and restore its reputation to what it was before season 8 aired this spring.