The “Game of Thrones” cast is still at war, even after their on-screen battles are won.
The show’s last-minute panel at San Diego Comic-Con Friday was almost as tense as the last season of the HBO saga — which concluded in May.
Conleth Hill, who made waves as Lord Varys, pulled no punches when discussing reception to the final season and put the blame on media coverage, Vulture reports.
“You look at the amount of people who are here. We are hear to thank you for watching us all those years,” Hill said. “This is the reality rather than a media-led hate campaign.”
The series’ final season received an onslaught of backlash from fans and critics alike, resulting in a Change.org petition, “Remake Game of Thrones Season 8 with competent writers,” which went viral just days before the finale. The petition was still receiving signatures on Saturday.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who played the incestuous twin Jaime Lannister, offered disgruntled fans a word of advice.
“It was surprising the level of absurdity of the online petition,” he said. “Of course HBO’s going to change the whole thing. Because that’s the power of the internet! Every season, we had huge controversies. … It comes to an end, it’s going to piss you off no matter what. It’s the end! But at the end of the day, it’s absolutely fine. If you hated the ending, if you loved it, that’s great. Just don’t call people names.”
The room had a lighter air after Hill quipped, “I don’t regret starting the petition,” eliciting laughter from the crowd of thousands.
