Emilia Clarke Gives Her Brutally Honest Take on How 'Game of Thrones' Ended

It's been nearly 10 months since Game of Thrones aired its series finale, closing the chapter on what was widely perceived as a disappointing Season 8. Maybe enough time has passed where the metaphorical statute of limitations has elapsed, and cast members of the HBO series can finally be fully transparent with their thoughts on how the show ended.

Case in point, Emilia Clarke. In an interview with the U.K.'s Sunday Times, Clarke admits that she always had some underlying concerns early on about how Thrones fans would respond to the final season.

"When the show did end, it was like coming out of a bunker. Everything felt really strange. Then obviously for it to have the backlash it did …" she said. "I knew how I felt when I first read it, and I tried, at every turn, not to consider too much what other people might say, but I did always consider what the fans might think — because we did it for them, and they were the ones who made us successful, so … it's just polite, isn't it?"

"I do think that the global temperature, how much horrific news there is consistently, goes a way to explain the enormity of the fans' outrage," she continued. "Because people are going, finally, here's something I can actually see and understand and get some control back over ... and then when that turns, and you don't like what they've done..."

When asked what she thought of how Daenerys Targaryen's character arc played out, she seemed a bit disappointed, especially since there was no retribution for Jon Snow. "Yeah, I felt for her. I really felt for her," she explained. "And yeah, was I annoyed that Jon Snow didn't have to deal with something? He got away with murder — literally."